16세기 후반 新選軍의 설치와 운영 (Establishment and operation of Sinseongun in the late 16th century)

서지정보

· 발행기관 : 부산대학교 한국민족문화연구소
· 수록지 정보 : 한국민족문화 / 88호 / 35 ~ 64페이지
· 저자명 : 한성일

초록

新選軍은 16세기 후반 하삼도에 설치된 정예군으로, ‘신선 정로위･별시위･갑사’를 지칭한다. 이 병종에 ‘신선’이라는 용어가 붙은 이유는, 신선군이 형식적으로는 중앙 정예군인 ‘정로위･별시위･갑사’의 정원 외로 선발된 군사였기 때문으로 추정된다.
16세기 왜구의 침입이 증가함에 따라 조선 정부는 하삼도의 방어를 강화시켜야 했다. 다만 이 시기 사회경제적 변화로 수군을 비롯한 지방군의 전력이 급격히 약화되었기에, 이 지역에 정예군을 상시 배치해야 할 필요성이 증대했다. 다만 중앙 정예군을 장기간 하삼도에 파견할 수 없었기에, 16세기 전반~중반 조선 정부는 무예를 익힌 閑良 및 무과 응시자들을 군사로 편성하여 방어에 동원하였다. 신선군은 16세기 후반 이러한 조치를 제도화하면서 등장한 병종으로 추정된다. 이들은 하삼도 지역의 요충지, 특히 수군진을 중심으로 배치되었다. 신선군은 기존 지방군에 비해 숫자는 적었지만 전체 전력에서는 중요한 비중을 차지했다.
군복무에 드는 비용을 스스로 마련하는 조선 전기 군사제도의 특징으로 인해, 신선군에 입속한 이들은 대부분 비싼 군장비를 구입하고 무예를 익힐 수 있었던 士族 혹은 상층 양인이었다. 조선 정부는 이들을 신선군에 배속하기 위해 강압적인 방법을 쓰기도 했지만, 이들을 회유하기 위해 관직 획득에 유리한 중앙 정예군에 배속될 기회를 줌과 동시에 일반 정규군에 비해 좋은 복무 환경을 제공했다. 하지만 17세기 초 일반민들이 헐역으로 여겨진 신선군에 입속하는 일이 늘어났기에 신선군의 위상은 점차 하락하게 되었다.

영어초록

Sinseon-gun(新選軍) was and elite army established in Hassam-do(下三道, Gyeongsang-do, Jeolla-do, and Chungcheong-do) in the late 16th century. Sinseon-gun refers to “Sinsun-Jeong-ro-wi(定虜衛), Byeol-si-wi(別侍衛), and Gap-sa(甲士).” However, since the term “Sinsun(新選)” means “newly selected,” Sinseon-gun was also understood as a “newly selected military.” The reason why this army came to be called ‘Shinseon’ seems to be that it was a newly selected soldier outside the regular ranks of ‘Jeong-ro-wi, Byeol-si-wi, and Gap-sa’, which were elite soldiers. This army had the character of ‘Jeong-ro-wi, Byeol-si-wi, and Gap-sa’ appointed as probation. These were distinguished from the regular ‘Jeongrowi, Byeol-shiwi, and Gapsa’. They were promoted to the regular army when there were vacancies in the regular army.
In the early Joseon Dynasty, elite army were deployed only in the capital, Hanyang, and Pyongan-do and Hamgyeong-do. For the defense of the Hasamdo area, only the regular Sugun(水軍), that means navy, and Jeongbyeong(正兵), that means land army, were mobilized.
In the 16th century, the power of the navy and land army was rapidly weakened, and the only troops that maintained combat capabilities were elite army selected by testing martial arts. As the invasion of Japanese pirates increased rapidly in the 16th century, the need to deploy elite army in the Hasamdo area increased. However, if a large number of elite army were deployed in this area, the defense of the capital would inevitably be weakened.
In the first half of the 16th century, the Joseon government mobilized those who were learning martial arts in order to apply for Mu-gwa(武科), that meas an officer selection examination, on behalf of the central elite army to defend the southern region. They were called Hallyang(閑良) because they were noblemen or upper-class people who did not serve in the military.
From the late 16th century to the early 17th century, the target of conscription for the Shinseon-gun was a candidate for Mu-gwa who did not serve in the military. Considering this point, the establishment of Sinseongun was an institutional reorganization of the conscription of Hanryang. It is also presumed that this system promoted the efficiency of mobilization of troops. Sinseon-gun served in the naval and army camps in the Hasamdo area.
In the late 16th century, those who joined the Shinseon-gun were mostly wealthy nobles or upper class people. This was because in order to learn martial arts, they had to equip themselves with expensive weapons and horses at their own expense and practice martial arts for a long time.
Because the Shinseon-gun was an elite army and consisted of people of high status, so it was treated better than the general regular army. For this reason, in the early 17th century, more and more people who had not learned martial arts or were not of high social status joined the Shinseon-gun to escape the arduous military service, and the social status of the Shinseon-gun gradually declined.

참고자료

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