The Penal System

Abstract

This chapter takes a look at the types of punishment that existed during Joseon period, ranging from corporal punishment to exile, and also the rationality behind their application. Penal servitude was for criminals who committed relatively serious crime; it involved putting the captured person in a large building and making him do hard labor, similar to imprisonment today. The use of torture and corporal punishment differed according to social class. The penal system did not undergo fundamental change until the late Joseon period. Many changes occurred in the eighteenth century during the reigns of Yeongjo and Jeongjo when abuses in the system became a political and social issue. The government also increased its supervision over the penal system. In the late Joseon period, criminals did not take a direct path to their exile location but went on a winding route in order to conform to the distance stipulated by law. Keywords: corporal punishment; Jeongjo; Joseon period; penal servitude; penal system; Yeongjo