This treatise deals with chronic state of famine and exploitation of famine relief food in the later half of Chosun Period and especially in relation with socio-economic changes. There with the impact of socio-economic factors on the chronic state of famine and exploitation of famine relief food is studied mainly with a literary approach.
The influential factors which lead to the chronic state of famine were not only climatic restrictions such as flood and drought but socio-economic factors such as foreign invasion (Japanese invasion and Ching´s invasion), frequent breaking out of revolt and technological development of agriculture (rice transplantation). And disorder of land system and cultivation of cash crops by the richer peasantry, lowering the economic status of the poorer peasantry who were a major constituents of the population, aggravated the famine state.
Because the poorer peasantry were under the shortage of food, they had to seek something edible in the fields and mountains. In this process various kinds of famine relief foods were exploited by the poorer peasantry.
The majority of famine relief foods were wild vegetables. Consequently the Chronic state of famine was a cause to introduce various edible wild vegetables into Korean food, which influenced modern vegetarian food habits and firmed the Korean´s favorite taste to be hot and salty. These wild vegetables couldn´t have a marvelous effect on the relief of starved people.
Potatoes and sweet potatoes, which were newly introduced foreign crops, were encouraged to be cultivated for famine relief. But these tubers, unable to be staple food, didn´t contribute to an increase in population.
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