1930년대 중반 개성자본가의 만주 진출과 농업 투자 ―공진항(孔鎭恒)의 사례를 중심으로

양정필 ( Yang Jeongpil ) 역사문제연구소 2013 역사문제연구 Vol.17 No.1

Gong Jin-hang was a typical Korean capitalist who ventured outwards into Manchuria between 1934 to 1945 and operated a large-scale farming complex. The phase of Gong`s Manchurian investment can be divided into three periods. The first term was between the fall of 1934, when he initially started Manchurian farming, to 1936. The second was between 1936 to 1938, during which time Gong expanded his investment by founding a joint-stock corporation. Lastly until 1945, when he restructured his company into one-man business and engaged in reclamation of a large-scale farm. A study was conducted about the background and investment patterns during the first term in this paper. Gong Jin-hang was born as a son of a Gaesung multi-millionare. He studied in Europe for 8 years during his twenties and returned home in the spring of 1932. While helping family business for 2 years since his coming back to Korea, Gong eventually arranged family fortunes and businesses to provide a foundation for the Manchurian investment. Economic motive seems to have been the main factor for Gong Jin-hang`s venture. However, he also displayed various and unique motivations to solidify the justification for his new enterprise. For instance, Gong`s reasons included suggesting a new role model for the conservative Gaesung society, chances of more free activities in Manchuria rather than in colonial Korea, and certain anticipations to provide economic security for Korean immigrants in Manchuria. `Restoring public peace` in Manchukuo and solving the dilemma of land ownership were also prime considerations. Finally, being a devout believer in Chundogyo must also have contributed to his decision to build an utopia through running a plantation in a new land. Gong Jin-hang set off on an observation to Manchuria in the autumn of 1934 before making his final decision on the business investment. Through his journey, Gong has managed to acquire information about the realities of Korean cultivators and economic values of Manchurian investment. Successful inspection led to his subsequent venture, and the first fruition was Koryo farmstead, about the size of 100町步. The 100-町步 Koryo farmstead soon developed into over 2 million pyong by the middle of 1937. During that course, there were conflicts between Koreans over irrigation problems, as well as agreements between Korean capitalists to secure lands possible for development of paddy fields. Through such trial and error, Koryo farmstead has grown into massive plantation, with the change of name to `Koryosung` farming complex. Although Gong Jin-hang himself directly supplied more than half of the funds for his Manchurian investment, he also received certain loans from Japanese monetary organizations such as Oriental Development Company, as well as from Korean financiers.

[특집: 동아시아 상인 열전-상인(商人)의 창을 통해 역사를 보다-] : 19세기 전반 대청(對淸) 홍삼무역의 발전과 임상옥의 활동

양정필 ( Jeongpil Yang ) 고려대학교 민족문화연구원 2015 民族文化硏究 Vol.69 No.-

조선후기 상업사 연구는 활기를 띠고 있지만, 자료 부족으로 개별 상인 혹은 상인 가문에 대한 연구는 거의 없다고 할 수 있다. 본고에서는 상인 연구의 공백을 메우기 위한 일환으로 19세기 전반기에 활동한 林尙沃에 주목하여 개별 상인에 대한 사례 연구를 진행하였다. 임상옥을 연구할 때 참고가 되는 자료는 1930년대 문일평이 지은 임상옥 전기이다. 문일평은 임상옥과 同鄕 출신으로 口傳 일화와 行狀, 문집의 自序 등을 토대로 전기를 지었다. 임상옥은 1779년 의주에서 태어났다. 18세까지는 학문에 전념했다고 하는데, 상인으로서의 기본적인 소양을 닦았을 가능성도 배제할 수 없다. 18세 이후 본격적으로 상인으로 나섰다. 그러나 28살에 父喪을 당하고도 계속 장사할 수밖에 없을 정도로 초기의 상업활동은 성공적이지 않았던 것같다. 여기에는 당시 국제 무역의 동향도 일정한 영향을 끼쳤다. 당시 국제무역은 오랜 침체에서 막 벗어나기 시작한 때로 무역 규모가 크지 않았기때문에 전반적으로 무역 상인으로 성공하기가 쉽지 않았다. 그러나 29살 무렵 임상옥은 당시 勢道家 朴宗慶의 지원 하에 대청 홍삼무역권을 획득하였고 이후 10여 년 간 홍삼 무역을 주도하면서 巨商으로성장할 수 있었다. 임상옥은 박종경의 門客으로 있으면서 父喪을 당한 박종경에게 거액을 賻儀함으로써 그의 지원을 이끌어 낼 수 있었다. 그리고임상옥이 홍삼 무역권을 획득한 이후 대청 홍삼 무역은 도약기에 접어들어서 홍삼 수출량이 급증하고 무역 규모도 크게 확대되었다. 이러한 무역의호황은 국제 거상을 배출할 수 있는 중요한 배경을 이룬다. 이 기간 동안임상옥은 개인적인 수완과 능력을 최대한 발휘하고 대청 무역의 호황이라는 환경을 잘 활용하여 국제 巨商으로 성장해 갔다. 상인으로서 임상옥이 성공하는 과정에서 勢道家 박종경의 지원이 큰 역할을 한 데서 알 수 있듯이, 임상옥의 정치적 성향은 기성 체제에 안주하는 보수적인 것이었다. 특히 그의 정치적 성향은 홍경래 난에 대한 태도에서 잘 드러난다. 그는 홍경래 난을 반대했고, 民兵將으로서 난 진압에 앞장서기도 하였다. 50대 이후 임상옥은 자선사업가 혹은 관료로 특징지을 수있다. 그는 50대에 關西 지방은 물론 경기지방의 진휼 및 災民 구제를 위해 거액의 돈을 내놓았고, 그때마다 정부는 그에 대한 포상으로 관직을 내렸다. 그래서 임상옥은 곽산 군수로 2년간 곽산 지역을 다스리기도 하였다. 이 영향으로 관서 지방에서는 임상옥을 상인보다는 사대부로 평가하려는경향도 있었다. 이러한 임상옥의 활동은 조선후기 권력과 결탁하여 성장한상인의 사례로 주목된다. Recently, studies in late Joseon period commerce are flourishing but there are still very few researches in individual merchants or merchant families due to insufficient materials. This article has conducted a case study in a particular merchant named Ihm Sang-ok to fill in such an academic vacuum. The primary source used in the study is the biography of Ihm Sang-ok, which was written in the 1930s by a historian Mun Il-pyeong. Mun came from the same birthplace as Ihm, and he wrote Ihm`s biography based on oral traditions, records of the deceased, and the anthology. Ihm Sang-ok was born in 1779 in Uiju, Korea. It is said that he was committed to learning until 18, but there is also a possibility that Ihm had a certain grounding as a tradesman during this time. He started his merchant career since 18, but his early efforts seemed unsuccessful since he had to continue engaging in trade even when his father died when Ihm was 28. International trade circumstances were one factor because they were just beginning to escape long-time recession, so that it was not easy for anyone to succeed in merchant business due to its small scale. However, fortune turned to Ihm`s favor as he acquired red ginseng trading rights to China at the age of 29 under the support of Bak Jong-gyeong, court powerman. Ihm Sang-ok since then transformed himself into a merchant ‘prince’ by leading red ginseng trade for the next decade. Ihm was Bak`s ‘service guest’(門客) and offered a huge sum of condolence money to Bak`s father`s funeral, thereby winning his support. Moreover, after Ihm obtained the red ginseng monopoly, red ginseng trade with Qing China made big progress as its export and trade volume dramatically increased. Such trade boom comprises an important background for the emergence of international business mogul. and Ihm Sang-ok maximized his personal abilities to take advantage of the situation to clench multinational wealth and reputation. As seen above, Bak`s patronage played a vital role in Ihm`s enterprise, which evidently demonstrates that Ihm`s political inclination was conservative, content with status quo. Such tendency was well illustrated in his attitude towards the Hong Gyeong-lae`s rebellion, as Ihm not only opposed to the cause but actually led anti-rebellion militia forces to put it down. Ihm in his fifties can be characterized as a philanthropist or a bureaucrat. He donated large money for relief causes in northwestern area of the Korean peninsula, and the government rewarded him by awarding office posts. Because of this, Ihm actually governed a county for 2 years. Ihm`s involvement in officialdom made some people in the related area assess him as a literati rather than a merchant. Therefore, such colorful activities of Ihm Sang-ok are indeed an interesting case study of an entrepreneur collaborating with the political powers of the late Joseon era.

18세기 후반 金萬德의 경제활동 再考察

양정필(YANG Jeongpil) 한국사학회 2017 史學硏究 Vol.0 No.125

김만덕(1739~1812)은 濟州의 妓女였다. 1796년 제주도에 대흉년이 들어 굶어주는 사람들이 있었다. 김만덕은 많은 쌀을 관청에 무상으로 제공하여 굶주린 이들을 도왔다. 제주 牧使는 이 사실은 조정에 보고하였다. 국왕 正祖는 김만덕의 소원을 들어주도록 하였다. 김만덕은 免賤되기를 원하지 않고 서울과 금강산을 구경하고 싶다고 했다. 정조는 그 소원은 받아들여서 김만덕은 서울은 물론 금강산까지 유람할 수 있었다. 김만덕이 서울에 와서 머물 때, 官人유학자들은 김만덕의 慈善을 칭송하는 글들을 지었다. 그것이 지금까지 남아 있어서 김만덕을 역사적 위인으로 만들고 있다. 최근 김만덕은 제주도를 대표하는 인물이 됨은 물론이고 전국적으로 유명한 인물이 되었다. 그녀의 자선 활동을 생각하면 이러한 평가는 정당한 것이다. 다만 역사적 인물이 될수록 그녀의 삶에 대한 올바른 이해가 더욱 요구된다. 김만덕의 자선 활동, 서울 및 금강산 나들이에 대해서는 기록이 있어서 논란이 거의 없다. 그러나 그녀가 어떻게 부자가 될 수 있었는가 하는 문제, 즉 경제활동에 대해서는 관련 기록이 거의 없어서 구체적인 실상을 확인하기 어렵다. 그런데 최근에 그녀가 20여 세에 免賤하여 양인이 되었고, 이후 상업활동을 통해 부를 쌓아 巨商이 되었다는 주장이 널리 받아들여지고 있다. 본고에서는 이러한 이해가 당시의 시대적 조건과 부합하는 지를 살펴보았다. 당시 제주도의 상업발달 수준을 감안했을 때 그녀가 상업으로 큰 돈을 모았다는 기존의 주장은 재고의 여지가 많다. 당시 제주도와 본토를 왕래하는 船商들이 있었다. 그 선상들은 거의 대부분 제주도 출신이었다. 즉 제주도와 본토와의 교역은 제주 출신 상인들이 주도하였다. 간혹 본토 상인이 제주도를 찾아서 상업활동을 하였지만, 주된 경향이었다고 보기 어렵다. 그런데 최근에 김만덕을 巨商으로 이해하는 주장에서는 그녀가 본토에서 온 선상 혹은 상인들을 파트너로 삼아 상업에 종사하였다고 한다. 제주도를 찾아오는 본토 상인이 매우 적은 조건에서 이러한 상업 방식으로 거상이 된다는 주장은 설득력이 떨어지는 것이다. 또 김만덕은 20여 세에 면천되었다는 주장이 널리 받아들여지고 있다. 그러나 당시 官妓의 면천에는 막대한 경제적 부담이 있었다는 점, 관찬 사서에 김만덕이 기녀로 기록된 점 등으로 보아 그녀가 면천했다는 주장 역시 재고의 여지가 매우 많다. 그렇다면 김만덕은 어떻게 하여서 부자가 되었을까. 필자는 그녀가 기녀였다는 사실에 주목하였다. 조선후기에 크게 이름 난 기녀는 짧은 기간에 큰돈을 모을 수 있었다. 김만덕이 제주도 내에서 이름난 부자가 될 수 있었던 결정적 계기는 그녀의 기녀 활동이었다고 주장하고 싶다. 이러한 주장은 통설과는 많이 다르다. 비록 사료에 근거하지 못하고 당시의 시대적 조건을 감안한 주장이라는 한계가 있지만, 기존과는 다른 새로운 관점 제시로 김만덕 연구가 좀더 풍성해지는 데 조그마한 도움이라도 되기를 바란다. Kim Man-duk(1739~1812) was originally a female courtesan in Jeju island. In 1796, great famine struck the island and left many starved to death. Kim Man-duk helped these people by providing vast amounts of rice to the government for free. Impressed by her sacrifice, Jeju governor reported such deed to the court. King Jungjo was also grateful to her, granting any of Kim’s wishes. Kim surprisingly did not ask for status elevation, but merely wished to tour Seoul and Mount. Kumkang, which the king fully accepted. During Kim Man-duk’s visit to Seoul, many court Confucian literati composed writings to praise her charity. Those works still survive to this day to make her a great historical figure. Recenty, Kim Man-duk became a symbolic individual to represent Jeju island and her reputation spread nationwide. Such assessment is indeed justified as proven by her virtuous philanthropy. However, as Kim emerges more into history from myth, her life requires more accurate understanding from the public. Kim Man-duk’s charitable activities and her visit to Seoul and Kumkang mountains demand almost no controversy as they are strongly documented. But the facts of how she acquired her immense wealth or economic operations are still not clear by documents. Lately, a theory that Kim became a peasant at 20 and subsequently was involved in commerce to eventually become a business magnate is widely held. This study therefore has examined whether such understanding corresponds to the contemporary situations. Based on 18th century commercial development of Jeju island, previous opinion that Kim Man-duk became rich because of trade needs much to be reconsidered. During that time, there were ship merchants who did business between Jeju island and mainland and who were mostly of Jeju origin. This fact implies that they led such trade. However, recent study that recognizes Kim Man-duk as the merchant princess insists that she had a joint partnership with mainland merchants. This opinion lacks credibility since it was impossible for Kim to accumulate her riches by transacting with mainland traders when there were very few of them coming to the island. Another common theory that Kim Man-duk was freed of slavery around the age 20 could also be disputed. In order for government courtesans to be released of their status, vast economic costs were needed. Moreover, official records clearly recorded Kim as state-owned courtesan. Hence, aforementioned theory requires further verifications. Then, the question arises as to how Kim Man-duk rose herself to be a business powerwoman in Jeju island. Some clues can be found from the fact that she was a courtesan. A famous courtesan in late Joseon period was able to make a fortune in a short time, thus it could be said that this was the exact route that Kim took to her rise to riches. The new theory raised in this study is quite different from the established one. Although newly suggested theory has few recorded grounds and rather based on the conditions of the time, this study hopes to contribute to the deepening research of Kim Man-duk by approaching it from a fresh perspective.

1910-20년대 개성상인의 백삼(白蔘) 상품화와 판매 확대 활동

양정필(YANG Jeongpil) 大韓醫史學會 2011 醫史學 Vol.20 No.1

Ginseng has always been the typical export item in Korean history. Until the 18th century, exporting ginseng was wild ginseng from the mountains. Since the 19th century, exporting ginseng became red ginseng, which was red due to steaming and drying process. Red ginseng was produced by Gaesung merchants, so that these merchants were able to gain the control of the output. Gaesung merchants of the 19th century exported red ginseng to China and made huge economic success. However, when the Korean Empire and Japanese colonical government established red ginseng monopoly, it essentially blocked Gaesung traders from manufacturing and exporting any further of its prized commodity. Then, the traders turned to sun-dried white ginseng as a substitute to red ginseng. As a result, white ginseng production dramatically increased after 1914, which in turn made Gaesung merchants newly aware of the commercial value of white ginseng, which was previously ignored. The traders made good use of the traditional medicine herb market, which opened annually, to promote the expansion of white ginseng sales. Moreover, the merchants also adopted modern marketing techniques, as they founded companies to handle solely white ginseng sales, refreshed packaging to raise commodity values, and made an effort in advertising and mail order sales. Due to such endeavors, demand for white ginseng grew exponentially both in domestic and foreign markets, which generated steady growth of white ginseng prices despite the rapid increase of its supply. This phenomenon naturally brought about the rich economic accomplishments of Gaesung merchants. Through the white ginseng sales activities of Gaesung merchants in post-1910s era, two facts can be newly uncovered. First, the mass consumption of white ginseng today in Korean society took a full-scale step after the 1910s. Second, it was a widely-held view that during the Japanese rule, majority of Korean traditional merchants were economically ruined, while a small minority collaborated with the colonical government to obtain economic success. However, Gaesung merchants in 1910s successfully commercialized white ginseng not with the aid of the Japanese but with their own efforts alone. Such fact reveals that there were other types of traditional merchants during the Japanese colonial period who cannot be explained with the common theory.

해방 이후 1950년대 홍삼 수출 연구

양정필(YANG, Jeongpil) 한국사학회 2022 史學硏究 Vol.- No.148

본고에서는 해방 이후 1950년대까지 홍삼 수출이 어떻게 이루어졌는지를 살펴보았다. 미군정 시기에는 미군정 자체의 소극적인 무역 정책과 중국 본토에서 홍삼 수입 금지 등 여러 요인이 복합적으로 작용해서 홍삼수출은 매우 침체되었다. 새로 수립된 정부는 미군정 시기에 제조되었지만 수출하지 못한 10만 근 이상의 홍삼을 넘겨받았다. 이 홍삼은 정부 재정에 크게 기여할 것으로 기대를 모았다. 그러나 이승만 정권은 홍삼 수출 방법을 둘러싸고 시행착오를 겪었다. 우여곡절 끝에 백낙승의 대한문화선전사에 홍삼을 불하하였다. 대한문화선전사는 3만근 이상의 홍삼을 홍콩으로 갖고 가서 판매를 시도하였지만 제대로 판매하지 못하였다. 그래서 전매청은 1952년에 그 계약을 파기하였다. 1950년대 초반 전쟁 중에는 홍삼 생산이나 수출이 힘들었다. 그러나 전쟁 말기인 1953년 6월부터 홍삼이 다시 수출되기 시작하였다. 1954년까지 두 번에 걸쳐 3만근 가까운 홍삼이 수출되었다. 그럼에도 3만5천여근의 홍삼이 남아 있었다. 정부는 이 홍삼을 판매할 업체로 설경동의 대한산업를 선정하였다. 그 과정에서 논란과 특혜 시비가 있었다. 대한산업은 3만5천근의 홍삼 중 1만여 근 이상을 판매하지 못하는 부진을 보였다. 1958년부터 수출된 홍삼은 전쟁 중에 혹은 그 직후에 제조된 것들이었다. 당시 홍삼 제조 수량은 1천근 내외로 이전과 비교하면 매우 적었다. 따라서 정부는 매해 공개 입찰에 의해서 업체를 선정하여 홍삼을 판매하였다. 한편 1950년대 말이 되면 한국 홍삼 생산량이 급감하면서 홍콩 시장에서는 경쟁 상품이 입지를 넓히고 또 한국 홍삼을 위조한 가짜 홍삼이 등장해서 큰 우려를 샀다. 이에 대해 전매청은 포장 방법을 일신하는 등의 방식으로 대응하면서 홍삼의 성가를 유지하려고 하였다. This paper examined how red ginseng exports were carried out from liberation to the 1950s. During the U.S. military administration, exports of red ginseng were very sluggish due to a combination of factors such as the U.S. military government’s passive trade policy and the ban on imports of red ginseng from mainland China. The newly established government took over more than 100,000 pounds of red ginseng that was manufactured during the U.S. military regime but failed to export. The red ginseng was expected to contribute greatly to the government’s finances. However, the Rhee Syng-man administration went through trial and error over how to export red ginseng. After many twists and turns, red ginseng was offered to Baek Nak-seung’s Korean Culture Propaganda. The Korean Culture Propaganda Company brought more than 30,000 pounds of red ginseng to Hong Kong and tried to sell it, but it failed to sell it properly. So the monopoly agency broke the contract in 1952. During the war in the early 1950s, red ginseng production and exports were difficult. However, red ginseng began to be exported again in June 1953 at the end of the war. By 1954, nearly 30,000 pounds of red ginseng were exported twice. Nevertheless, more than 35,000 pounds of red ginseng remained. The government selected Korean Industries in Seolgyeong-dong as the company to sell the red ginseng. In the process, there were controversies and disputes over preferential treatment. Korean Industrial showed a slump in sales of more than 10,000 of its 35,000-geun red ginseng. Red ginseng exported from 1958 was manufactured during or shortly after the war. At that time, the amount of red ginseng produced was around 1,000 roots, which was very small compared to the previous one. Therefore, these red ginsengs were sold by selecting companies through open bidding every year. Meanwhile, as Korean red ginseng production plunged in the late 1950s, competitive products expanded their presence in the Hong Kong market and fake red ginseng, which forged Korean red ginseng, caused great concern. In response, the resale agency tried to maintain the sacred value of red ginseng by responding to the packaging method by renewing it.

한말-일제 초 근대적 약업 환경과 한약업자의 대응 : 매약'제조업자의 등장과 성장을 중심으로

양정필(YANG Jeongpil) 대한의사학회 2006 醫史學 Vol.15 No.2