Old Status Trappings in a New World

Abstract

Master narratives structure discussions of ancestry in Korea. Status conscious commoners and slaves made genealogical claims in early modern Korea, but what chungin, government-employed specialists, is unclear. This study argues that as the demise of rigid status hierarchy accelerated in the nineteenth century, attitudes of the chungin and their descendants to genealogies reflect phases that Korean society has undergone vis-à-vis perceptions of descent and status. Some chungin families invented traditions, the majority stopped participating in genealogy compilations; still others have kept records for record’s sake. Critiquing Korea’s lingering tendency to privilege aristocratic families can raise questions about historical agency.