The Encyclopaedia of Korea

1 The Encyclopaedia of Korea Aak [Music] Academy of Korean Studies Located in Songnam in Kyonggi Province, the Academy of Korean Studies (Han'guk Chongshin Munhwa Yon'guwon) was established by the government in 1978 to undertake studies in the heritage of the Korean people. The Academy sponsors research projects in the fields of history, philosophy, education, society, literature, arts and other attributes of traditional Korean life and culture. Graduate courses commenced in 1980, with master and doctorate programs now well established in most fields of Korean studies. Unlike normal graduate schools in Korea, the academy is not affiliated with an undergraduate program. Graduate students are exempted from tuition and accommodation fees, and they live on campus, thus encouraging their complete devotion to their studies. An allowance is granted to students who maintain outstanding grades. To promote the study of Korean culture overseas, enrolment opportunities are offered to overseas students interested in Korean studies. Foreign students receive similar privileges and the same level of instruction as Korean students. Adoption Characteristics Traditional methods of adoption (yangja) in Korea were radically different from what is connoted by the accepted English meaning. The primary focus of the adoption was not the child, but the parent. Traditional adoption meant the selection of a relative of the next lower generation, to serve as the heir for a man, and to provide rituals for him after he died. Many adoptions, in fact, did not take place until after the father had died; and in most cases, the 'child' was a full-grown adult. In traditional Korea, society was based on the principles of patrilineage, that is to say, a lineage resting on patrilineal inheritance and organisation. The patrilineage was patrilineal in its inheritance practices, patriarchal in its authority structure, and patrilocal in its marriage practices. In other words, inheritance was from the father to his male heirs, political and social authority was completely in the hands of males, and upon marriage the newly-weds settled in the home of the groom's father. The patrilineage can be described as 'men, related to men, through men.' In such a society, when a man did not have an heir (meaning he had no children or had only daughters), he would have to adopt. The adopted heir would have rights to the adopter's property, and would be obligated to watch after him if still alive, and perform ancestor ceremonies for him after he died. In ideal practice, the adopted heir was the son of one's brother. If the brother did not have more than one son, then a near cousin's, or if necessary, a distant cousin's son would be a candidate for adoption. An elder brother, or the heir to the main line of the lineage (or sublineage), that is, the eldest son of the eldest son for several generations, would have claim on the older son of a younger brother or cousin. However, a younger brother (or cousin) could only ask for the younger son of his older brother or cousin. Adoption in the Koryd Kingdom From early Koryo times, households with no natal male child were legally empowered to adopt an heir from the husband's close relatives. When this was not possible, however, it 2 was permissible by law to adopt from the close kin of the wife. Yet, as the patriarchal system became firmly entrenched in late Koryo, in practice the adopted child was chosen only from the husband's close kin. Since an illegitimate son did not have the right to continue the lineage, a family without a male heir had no recourse but to adopt a male child from their relatives to carryon the lineage. The distinction within the family between legitimate and illegitimate children, which can be said to have had its origins in Koryo, developed into full-blown discrimination and existed throughout and even beyond Chosen (1392-1910). Adoption during Chosen The adoption laws of Chosen were mostly decreed during King Sejong's reign (r. 1418 1450) and they emphasised the importance of the continuation of the patrilineage. They may be summarised thus: 1) When the eldest son did not have an heir, he was to adopt the child of a younger brother if such a nephew existed. As a last resort, where there were no sons or nephews, it was permissible to adopt an illegitimate male child, either of the eldest son's own procreation, or that of his brother. While adoption from the wife's kin was acceptable, the person adopted was not given the full legal rights of succession. 2) The eldest son of a given family could not be adopted, even in the case of being an orphan, without special dispensation from the government, 3) When a son was born after the adoption of an heir, the adopted, not the natal son, held full legal rights as the heir to the lineage. 4) When an adopted child's natural family lost its eldest son, the adoptee was to be encouraged to return to his natal household to serve as heir and continue the lineage. 5) The adopter household was required to report the adoption to the Yejo (Board of Rites), which recorded the adoption and issued the necessary validating document. Although strict regulations existed, in practice these were not observed to the letter of the law and ways were devised to circumvent them. These included paekkol yangja (white bone adoption), su yangja (foster adoption) or shi yangja (orphan adoption). Paekkol yangja involved taking the name of a deceased relative of the second generation in order to adopt a grandchild. By this method, the generation of the one adopted did not need to be changed. Su yangja was the adoption of a child under three years of age from a different lineage, with the adoptee being granted the equivalent rights of a natal child; while Shi yangja used the adoption of a foundling (also under three years old), ostensibly for the welfare of the child, but in practice mainly for the purpose of providing additional labour for the adopting family. As Chosen society became more thoroughly indoctrinated in neo-Confucian ideology, the importance of perpetuating one's family line became increasingly important. Moreover, the most important tenet of neo-Confucian society was that of filial piety and while this was achieved by various means, producing a male heir to carry on one's lineage was paramount. Hence, when one was not able to procreate an heir, adoption was a necessity. It is, therefore, not surprising to discover, based on both governmental documents and private genealogies, that less than one per cent of the population was involved in an adoption in the fifteenth century., but by the eighteenth century. over fifteen per cent of the men were adopted to be heirs to their uncles. Modern Adoption Practices 3 In modem Korea inheritance laws have been re-written to grant heir status to daughters once again, but old customs die hard and many families still prize sons highly and arrange an adoption if deemed necessary. With the current trend towards smaller families, many families will not have a male heir; yet how the situation will be resolved, and whether adoption will continue to be practised as it was in the past, remains to be seen. Moreover, the growth of the women's movement in Korea has caused a revaluation of those practices that systematically discriminated against females, and the resultant new societal mores indicate that future generations will be less inclined to feel compelled to perpetuate a society based on patrilineal inheritance principles. As for the adoption of Korean children by overseas families, during the chaos of the Korean War and thereafter, foreigners began to adopt Korean orphans. Throughout many western countries Korean-born babies have grown up with western names in western families and are culturally completely westernised. Many adoptees, who are now adults, serve in government, business, education, and other occupations. However, the practice of handing-over infants to people from foreign countries came to be criticised by North Koreans and by some South Koreans too. Consequently, the South Korean government has instituted laws restricting overseas adoptions, and has resolved to prevent them altogether. In the meantime, within Korea, the number of people who are practising western style adoption, that is, the rearing of an infant or child with whom there is no blood relationship is increasing. In some cases, when a couple cannot have children, with the help of one of the three authorised agencies, they arrange to adopt an infant before the child is born. Sometimes, the adoptive mother goes through a charade of padding her clothes and then going off to stay with a relative until the child is born, then returning with the child and the illusion that she was the birth mother. Thereby, the family avoids any stigma that might befall the child from some traditional segment of society that would criticise the rearing of a child who is of a different bloodline. Bibliography Deuchler, Martina. The Confucian Transformation ofKorea: A Study ofSociety and Ideology. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1992. HMMTS, vol. 14. M.Peterson Agricultural Cooperative Associations Advancement Society (Ilchin Hoe) [Communism, Korea] Aerophones [Musical instruments] Agency for National Security Planning (Kukka Anjong Kihoek Pu) [History of Korea] Agricultural cooperatives are organizations designed to assist farmers independently in diverse matters, such as increasing production, and providing economic and social advancement, In August 1961, the Agricultural Cooperative Law (Nongop hyoptong chohap pop was enacted and forms the basis for the agricultural cooperatives in Korea today. These cooperatives manage the economic activities of firms in a partnership with the farmers themselves, There are two basic types of cooperatives.

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