Yangban
This picture shows the two gentlemen of yangban class playing baduk in 1904.
Korean name
Hangul 양반 Hanja 兩班 Revised Romanization Yangban McCune-Reischauer Yangban

The yangban were a well educated scholarly class of male Confucian intellectuals who were part of the ruling elite within Korea prior to 1910 and the republics period of Korean history. Hanja is the Korean name for Chinese characters. More specifically it refers to those Chinese characters borrowed from Chinese and incorporated The Revised Romanization of Korean is the official Korean language Romanization system in South Korea. McCune-Reischauer romanization is one of the two most widely used Korean language Romanization systems along with the Revised Romanization of Korean, which Confucianism ( is a Chinese ethical and philosophical system originally developed from the teachings of the fifth century B Korea is a geographic area composed of two sovereign countries a civilization and a former state situated on the Korean Peninsula in East Asia. The name yangban, literally "both classes," refers to two kinds of classes it consists of: munban (문반;文班), the literary class, and muban (무반;武班), the martial class. Despite the technical meaning of yangban, the term included both extended family members of literary/martial officials and scholars. Sajok (사족;士族) is a term which roughly overlaps yangban but with emphasis on the lineage factor. Women were, of course, included. The yangban or sajok tradition of close links by education, teachers, family background, city of origin, has been perpetuated within the Korean ruling class of the partitioned Koreas, with the south forming a new yangban class of leaders who share many of the values of earlier times; and the north forming a new yangban class based on military and educational fellowships and alliances. The Korean ruling class, or Korean power elite is the relatively small number of Korean people who through similar schools education family clans upbringing or corporate Chaebol

Contents 1 History 2 Ranks 3 Gallery 4 See also

History

Yangban were the Joseon Dynasty equivalent of the former Goryeo nobles who had been educated in both Buddhist and Confucian studies. The Goryeo Dynasty ( 918 - 1392) (also spelled Koryŏ was a Sovereign state established in 918 by Taejo Wang Kon. With the succession of the Yi generals within the Joseon dynasty, prior feuds and factionalism were replaced by a decisive attempt to instill administrative organization throughout Korea, and create a new scholarly class from new educational foundations. The yangban were in fact modelled on the Ming dynasty Chinese bureaucrats which helped Korea proceed towards their golden age of scholarship and civilization. The Ming Dynasty ( or Empire of the Great Ming ( was the ruling dynasty of China from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol -led

One could become a yangban by taking the civil service exams, the results of which determined placement into high ranking civil positions. In practice, however, often only the wealthy and the connected had the measures to sustain themselves while they studied for the exams. In the late Joseon Dynasty, tests were rigged to favor those from wealthy families and the sons of yangban. The yangban dominated the Royal Court and Military of pre-Modern Korea and often were exempt from various laws including those relating to taxes.

The yangban system was relatively free of corruption in the earlier part of the dynasty. After the Seven-Year War, however, the system collapsed along with the economy. Two Japanese invasions of Korea and subsequent battles on the Korean peninsula took place during the years 1592-1598 In addition to stipends granted to them from civil service duties, the yangban often received bribes and other illegal forms of payment in exchange for positions in the Royal Courts and the Military. Often, corrupt yangban also confiscated land from the peasants by imposing ridiculously large taxes on the land and then seizing the land under the pretense of unpaid taxes.

In modern day Korea, the yangban no longer possess an advantage but many often boast of having a yangban ancestor. Yangban ancestry can be traced through the Jokbo or the Korean equivalent of a family tree which is passed down in each family through the eldest son. The jokbo or chokbo is a Korean genealogical record equivalent to the Family tree.

Ranks

• Yeonguijeong (hangul: 영의정), prime minister
• Jwauijeong (hangul: 좌의정), vice prime minister
• Yeongmyeongui (hangul: 영명위; hanja: 永明慰)

Gallery

A young yangban man. This article is about the government position For other uses see Prime Minister (disambiguation.

Women of yangban class.

See also

• Korean culture
• History of Korea
• Korean Confucianism
• Korean ruling class
• Gat (clothing)

This article is about the traditional culture of Korea. For the modern culture see Culture of North Korea and Culture of South Korea The history of Korea stretches from Lower Paleolithic times to the present Korean Confucianism is the form of Confucianism developed in Korea. The Korean ruling class, or Korean power elite is the relatively small number of Korean people who through similar schools education family clans upbringing or corporate Chaebol

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