Was the Joseon nobi truly a slave? Discover how this historical system functioned as both social inequality and a survival safety net.👇
1. Debunking the Myth: “Joseon, the Only Country That Enslaved Its People”
Contrary to popular belief, Joseon was not uniquely barbaric for having nobi. Many historical societies enslaved their own people. The nobi system was complex, layered, and far from a direct equivalent to Western slavery.
2. What Were Nobi? Classifications and Daily Life
Nobi were divided into state-owned (gongnobi) and privately-owned (sanobi). They could live with their masters (solgeo nobi) or separately (oegeo nobi), the latter often functioning like independent tenant farmers. Many nobi worked and earned independently, submitting a portion of income like rent.
3. Legal Rights and Social Roles of Nobi
Joseon nobi were legal citizens. They could own property, sue their masters, and pass on wealth. While abuses existed, nobi were not considered livestock—they had legal standing, unlike chattel slaves in Western systems. In fact, some became wealthier than their masters over time.
4. Voluntary Servitude and Economic Mobility
In times of famine or hardship, peasants often voluntarily became nobi to ensure survival. This was a form of social safety net. Some families avoided starvation by accepting nobi status, knowing they’d at least be fed and protected. Many regained their freedom later.
5. International Comparison: Joseon vs Japan & China
Japan’s servant class (“kojin”) had no legal protection—masters could kill them without consequence. In China, domestic servants filled the role of nobi, with huge human trafficking markets like Yangzhou’s “Slim Horse” system selling young girls into elite homes or brothels. Joseon, while hierarchical, lacked such normalized trafficking.
6. Social Complexity and Inversion
Some oegeo nobi amassed enough wealth to donate grain during famines or even outperform their former aristocrat masters. Social inversion occurred—wealthy nobi sometimes sued declining yangban families. Nobi weren’t universally poor or powerless.
7. Joseon’s Efforts Toward Reform
Joseon rulers questioned the morality of hereditary servitude. In 1801, public nobi were freed. By the Gabo Reform of 1894, the nobi system was formally abolished—driven not by foreign pressure, but internal moral and administrative evolution. This predates Britain’s 1807 ban on the slave trade.
8. Dark Sides and Human Rights Issues
Nobi women were often exploited sexually, and reproduction was used to expand property holdings. Yet unlike Japan or China, parents selling children was condemned as a violation of Confucian ethics—unthinkable under Joseon law and culture.
9. Final Reflection: Beyond Simplistic Judgments
Joseon’s nobi system was unjust by modern standards, but it also offered a form of survival and limited mobility in a resource-scarce society. A nuanced view reveals a hybrid of oppression, economic necessity, and evolving legal recognition. Understanding it requires rejecting both blind patriotism and exaggerated shame.
