The concept of ‘naturalization’ displayed throughout the history of Korea was quite different from time period to time period. The early Joseon period’s concept of naturalization was related to an international tribute system centered around Ming. Joseon maintained a flexible naturalization policy, taking the international situations and the Joseon-Ming relations into account.
Examined in this article is the meaning of naturalization and the process of certain historic transformations. An early Joseon period’s concept of naturalization was expressed as “hyang’hwa” or “naejo,” and had many political and diplomatic characteristics that were quite similar to those of the contemporary definition of nationality. Joseon, first and foremost, sharply distinguished other nations(the Jurchen people for example) from the Chinese Ming. Nevertheless, naturalized persons continued to settle down in Joseon, or went back to his or her native place, or sent back to Ming, by reason of their own identity, stability and security.
Early Joseon period’s naturalization showed several cases. A person would either become a Joseon subject and enrolled into the census registration and the army register, or live in a borderland area and not be enrolled into any registers, or even remain as an independent presence with only periodic contacts with Joseon. Their incorporation into Joseon often became causes for political and diplomatic contentions between Joseon and Ming. Yet Joseon kept receiving them, as such very act was a literal declaration of the Joseon king’s moral stance to the world, and also had the merit of expanding Joseon’s territory or at least its territorial control over various regions. These ‘newly incorporated people’ were useful military assets in defending the north, as well as a possible cause for a civil strife in social issues like marriage, residence and customs. And they were also economic characters, as they were a labor force important in developing the north.
Joseon’s naturalization policy changed due to periodic disturbances, first when Yuan fell and Ming rose, and then around the times of other wars. There were many cases of naturalization, such as the Jurchen people, the Mansan-gun soldiers, persons crossing the border, people on political asylums, people found adrift on the sea, and repatriated Joseon people.
As a result, Joseon’s policy of naturalization came to display a certain level of flexibility, affected by Ming’s policy of naturalization based upon the tribute system centered around Ming. Ming approached the issue of naturalization as part of a military doctrine, and implemented the policy of appeasement to put Liaodung under stable rule. On the other hand, Joseon monitored the changes in Ming’s situation, movements of the Jurchen tribes, Mongols’ military trends, and actively modified its policy of naturalization. Responding to Ming’s strong occupation policy of the Liaodung region, Joseon tried to appease the Jurchen tribes located in the vicinity of the border, and enforced the policy of ’retrieval,’ during the reigns of Hong-mu and Yeong’rak emperors.