근대시기 ‘순흥초군청(順興樵軍廳)’ 결성의 배경과 의의 (The Background and Meaning of Establishing ‘the Sunheung Choguncheong’ in Early Modern Time of Korea)

서지정보

· 발행기관 : 실천민속학회
· 수록지 정보 : 실천민속학 연구 / 22권 / 41 ~ 68페이지
· 저자명 : 배영동

초록

20세기 벽두에 경북 순흥지역(현, 영주시 순흥면)에는 ‘순흥초군청’이라는 농민조직이 결성되었다. 순흥초군청은 땔나무 채취권을 확보하기 위한 나무꾼 조직이자, 풋굿[草宴]과 같이 농부들 중심의 축제를 위한 조직이었고, 또한 지역단위 성황제를 수행하기 위한 제의조직이었다. 순흥초군청은 지역의 최대 부호 김교림(1865~1938)에 의해 결성되었다. 순흥초군청은 지역의 토호(土豪)로 알려진 중소지주와 향리(鄕吏), 그리고 그들의 권세에 의탁하여 나무꾼들의 나뭇짐을 빼앗고 괴롭히던 무리로부터 핍박받던 지역의 여러 마을 농민들과 나무꾼을 보호하기 위한 것이었다. 순흥지역의 경우, 중심부는 들이 넓고 산이 별로 없어서 멀리 공리지(共利地)로 있던 소백산까지 가서 땔나무를 해야 하는 상황이었고, 가까이 있는 산은 지주나 향리들의 사유지여서 나무꾼의 조직화가 특히 필요했다. 순흥초군청은 마을공동체 노동조직인 두레, 송림(松林)을 보호하고 땔나무를 안정적으로 확보하기 위한 송계(松契)와 같은 농민조직의 전통에 뿌리를 박고 있으면서, 토호들의 권세에 대응하기 위한 것이었다. 나아가 농촌의 사회질서를 바로잡고 마을 간의 결속과 단합을 도모하여 지역 사회 전체의 결집력을 강화하기 위해서, 지역단위로 성황제를 지내고, 풋굿 의례와 같은 축제를 담당하였다. 이 점에서 순흥초군청은 농민들의 권익을 신장하기 위한 자율적 조직이되, 관으로부터 인정된 조직이었다.

영어초록

In the beginning of the 20th century, the area of Sunheung, Gyeongbuk Province established an organization of peasants, ‘the Sunheung Choguncheong(順 興樵軍廳: the Sunheung Woodcutters and Peasants’ Organization)’. This organization has been handed down consistently. The organization of the Sunheung Choguncheong was composed of woodcutters who sought firewood, and peasants.
This establishment was intended for a festival mainly led by peasants like Putgut, a kind of agricultural festival. It was also an organization to conduct a regional worshipping service, Seonghwangje. The Sunheung Choguncheong was organized by Gyo-rim Kim(1865~1938), who was the richest person in the region of Sunheung, from the end of 19th century to the beginning of the 20th Century, when the Gabo Year(1894) Peasants’ War ended and Japan began to invade the Joseon Dynasty. The Sunheung Choguncheong was intended to protect village peasants and woodcutters, who were robbed of their firewood and repressed by the regional landlords with small and mid size land and power, petty officials of a provincial town and those who used the power of petty officials in affiliation with them. As for the geography of Sunheung, it has a wide field at the center with few mountains. Common residents of Sunheung had difficulty in gathering firewood because they had to go as far as Mt. Sobaek, which was public property.
Mountains nearby were private properties of landlords and petty officials. Common people in Sunheung needed to make an organization to cope with this problem.
The Sunheung Choguncheong was an organization of peasants which was progressive and complicated at the time in Korea. It had roots in the tradition of peasants’ organizations like Dure, a labor organization of a village community and Songgye(松契) which aimed to conserve pine trees and firmly secure firewood. It was intended to counter local powerful landlords and petty officials. In addition, to establish the social order of rural communities, promote the unity between villages, and strengthen the harmony of the whole region, the Sunheung Choguncheong conducted regional worshipping services and held festive events such as the Putgut ceremony. In this respect, the Sunheung Choguncheong was an autonomous organization that promoted the rights of peasants’ society. This organization was established by the richest man in the region at the time when peasants’ modern consciousness was evolving. It was because he was a descendant of a progressive intellectual and a modern enlightened educator. Drawing on his wealth, he wanted to protect the rights of peasants from the repression by the landlords and petty officials in the region, and also to live together in harmony with the peasants in the region.

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