Dr. Anders Karlsson: Unequal inequality: The Great Ming Code and the construction of a Confucian penal system in Chosŏn Korea 

Abstract:
With the establishment of the Chosŏn dynasty (1392-1910) on the Korean peninsula, the Great Ming Code was introduced as the main penal code to aid the construction a Confucian penal system that could underpin the efforts to establish Confucianism as the creed of the new dynasty. It was, however, felt that the social hierarchy reflected in the Ming Code was not sufficient for the strict social hierarchy of Korea. Already the translation into Korean produced in the early years of the dynasty contained some changes to statutes to reflect the social environment, and later much new Chosŏn legislation enlarged the Confucian hierarchy to more broadly encompass the social status groups of Chosŏn Korea. This talk will analyse this new legislation in relation to the penal system of the Great Ming Code and will also look at discussions at court to get a sense of how Confucian ideology was negotiated in the process of constructing a Confucian penal system considered suitable for Korea.

^{Screeshot of the Lecture}