From the Dirt to Heaven: Northern Koreans in the Chosŏn and Early Modern Eras

In early modern Korea, families across status boundaries desired appealing self-representations in genealogies, an increasingly popular medium for expressing Status consciousness. The genealogies of the families that were neither aristocrat (yangban) nor commoner and yet commanded considerable cultural and economic capital have received little attention. Critiquing the genealogies of prominent northern families can shed more light on the question of whether the regional elite of P'Yongan and Hamgyong provinces belonged to the aristocracy. Analyzing how the north's elite Miryang Pak lineages explained their origins, this study argues that they invented traditions wherein the), were scions of the capital-southern aristocracy. Northern Miryang Pak genealogies share some characteristics in common. Above all, even the families producing prestigious civil examination degree holders generally had ail undistinguished pedigree. Also, the descent group genealogies published in Seoul or the south did not record northern lines. Moreover, the northern Miryang Pak's genealogical claims were full of contradictions that ultimately did not help them win,in acceptance as social equals by the Seoul-southern aristocracy. While analyzing the northern elite's imagined connections, this study raises questions about their significance in periodizing Korea's social history.