16世紀 對日貿易의 展開와 葛藤

Abstract

This paper investigates the development and conflict of the 16th century trade with Japan. In the 16th century, around the very last year of King Joongjong’s reign, the large influx of Japanese silver into the Joseon Dynasty brought about an extensive shift in the trade with Japan. As a result the overall composition of goods imported from or exported to Japan changed, the price of domestic silver plummeted, and domestic silver productions ceased. Furthermore, private trade with China began to thrive with the use of this Japanese silver. In this period, the trade with Japan was mainly led by Gyeongsang and Gaeseong merchants. Their intermediary trade business linking China and Japan based on large-scale capital, which was formed by the assets of the joint partnership of the merchants was massively lucrative. Their main trade items were Japanese silver and Chinese luxury goods. Under the amicable environment formed by Ming-centric tribute trade system, Joseon monopolized the intermediary trade of the early Japanese silver. In the mid-16th century, however, the room for the trade and profits of the Joseon merchants reduced. It was due to the expansion of the merchants who directly linked Japan and China with trade ships after the enormous production of Japanse silver, and the infestation of the late-period Japanese pirates.