朝鮮後期 武科及第者 硏究 = (A)study on the exam-passers of the Mukwa examinations

국문 초록 (Abstract)

이 논문은 조선후기(光海君∼高宗) 무과급제자의 출신 배경과 관직 진출에 대한 연구이다. 조선후기 사회에서 어떤 일에 종사한 사람들이 무과에 급제했으며 이들이 무과의 紅牌를 가지고 얼마나 관직에 진출할 수 있었는지에 대해서 집중적으로 탐구하였다. 이를 통해 조선후기 무과가 관직등용로라는 科擧시험 본래의 기능에서 벗어난 경향은 있지만 여전히 西班職에진출하는 통로였다는 점을 밝히고자 하였다.

그 동안 이루어진 조선후기의 무과 연구는 운영상의 폐단을 부각시키면서 무과가 성장하는 계층의 압력을 해소하는 역할을 주로 수행했다고 보아왔다. 하지만 무과를 근거로 한 신분변 동론은 몇 가지 문제점을 안고있다. 구체적으로 어떤 사람들이 무과에 급제했는지에 대한 검토도 이루어지지 않은 채 막연히 하층민이나 성장하는 계층이라는 애매한 용어를 사용하였다. 또한 무과급제자가 어떤 방법과 경로를 통해 신분 변동이 가능했는가에 대한 구체적 검토 없이 적지 않은 추정을 바탕으로 하였다. 그리고 무과 운영을 폐단과 문란한 현상을 위주로 논의하다보니 무과에 대한 고정된 인식을 조성하기도 하였다.

따라서 이제는 무과의 폐단만을 강조하는 연구 시각에서 벗어나 무과에 대한 다른 시각의 접근이 필요하다고 본다. 그래서 이 글에서는 크게 세 방향에서 연구를 진행하였다. 첫째로 조선후기 무과의 운영이 조선전기에 비해 어떠한 점이 달라졌는지, 달라졌다면 어떤 방향으로 귀착되었는지 등을 검토하여 조선후기 무과의 특성을 알아보았다. 두 번째로 현전하는 조선후기 武科榜目 102回分에 실린 무과급제자 16,643명의 前歷과 거주지 및 姓貫 등을 분석하여 어떤 사람들이 무과에 급제했는지를 구체적으로 제시하였다. 세 번째로 무과에 급제한 사람들이 관직에 진출할 수 있었는지, 있었다면 어떤 관직으로 나갈 수 있었는지를 추적하였다. 이 세 가지의 연구 대상은 서로 분산된 주제가 아니라 궁극적으로 누가 무과에 급제하여 어떤 길을 걸어갔는가에 대한 탐구로 귀결시키고자 하였다.

이러한 문제의식을 가지고 진행된 이 연구에서 얻은 결론은 다음과 같다. 먼저 무과의 운영에 있어서 중요한 세 가지 특징을 밝힐 수 있었다. 가장 중요한 변화는 무과급제자의 선발 인원이 대폭적으로 증가한 점이다. 1393년부터 1591년까지 무과급제자 선발인원이 7,785명인 데비해, 1608년부터 1894년까지는 대략 12만 명으로 추산된다. 조선후기의 선발 인원이 조선전 기에 비해 15배 이상 더 선발한 셈이니 이 수치 하나만으로도 무과 급제자의 증가가 얼마나 급속히 진행되었는지 충분히 짐작할 수 있다.

선발 인원의 급증과 함께 무과 운영에 있어서 중요한 변화는 무과 응시자층이 이전 시기보다 더 확대되면서 仁祖年間 이후에 賤人의 무과 응시를 제한하는 법규가 만들어졌다는 점이다. 이와 함께 直赴殿試의 확산도 중요한 변화였다. 직부전시는 과거시험 절차인 初試․覆試 를 면제하고 바로 殿試에 응시할 수 있는 자격을 부여하는 제도로서 곧 무과 급제와 다를 바가 없었다. 이러한 직부전시가 17세 후반이후에 전체 무과급제자의 평균 50% 이상을 점유하게 되었으니 무과에 진입할 수 있는 길이 훨씬 넓어진 셈이었다.

다음으로 현전하는 무과방목 102回分에 실린 무과급제자 16,643명의 분석해보니 관직이나 관품을 소유한 사람도 다수 존재하였다. 그리고兩班과 非兩班의 공존이 확인되었다. 그럼에도 불구하고 閑良과 軍職소유자 등 武에 종사하는 사람들이 대거 급제한 현상은 무과 급제자 층의 확대를 반영하는 현상으로 여겨진다. 무과급제자의 前歷 분포를 구체적으로 제시해보면 한량 5,650명(34.1%), 군직 소유자 5,528명(33.3%), 관직 소유자 2,255명(13.6%) 품계 소유자 1,733명(10.5%), 其他職役 소유자 1,409명(8.5%)으로 나타났다.

무과급제자를 배출한 지역은 총 327곳이었다. 이 가운데 서울이 전체의 34.7%인 5,745명을 배출하여 가장 높은 비중을 차지하였다. 다음으로 경기 14.9%, 평안도 13.8%, 황해도 13.0%의점유율을 나타냈다. 그리고 전라도․충청도․경상도․함경도는 5∼6% 안팎이었으며 강원도가 2.1%로서 가장 비중이 낮았다. 서울․경기․평안도․황해도 등 무과급제자를 많이 배출한 지역은 군사 지역과 밀접한 연관성을 가지고 있었다. 서울과 경기는 五軍營이 소재한 지역 이며 평안도․황해도 등은 親騎衛․別武士 등 특수부대가 있어 都試를 통해 획득한 直赴殿 試에 힘입어 무과 급제가 매우 활발했다고 여겨진다.

무과급제자의 관직 진출에서는 먼저 宣薦에 대해 주목하였다. 선천은 무과급제자와 한량을 대상으로 장차 宣傳官이 될만한 사람을 미리 천거해두는 제도로서 무과급제자의 향후 관직 진로를 결정하는 중요한 ‘始薦’이었다. 이 때문에 선천은 分館으로도 비유되었다. 선천은 1년에 두 차례 무과급제자와 한량 가운데 소위 ‘門閥’로 표현되는 가문의 자제들을 선발하였다. 그리고 평안․함경도에 거주하는 사람과 庶孼은 선천에 들어올 수 없었다. 선천에 뽑힌 사람은 선전관을 비롯해 武兼‧參軍‧權管‧部將‧守門將 등 다양한 관직에 우선적으로 임용되는 특권을 부여받았다. 그래서 조선후기에 무과급제자가 고위 西班職에 임용되기 위해 반드시 거쳐야 하는 이력이 되었다.

장원급제자에게는 東班 6品職의 관직을 제수하였다. 하지만 장원 급제가 初仕職의 진출이 라는 측면에서는 다른 급제자보다 순조로운 출발을 약속하지만 이후의 出世는 다른 요소, 즉가문이나 혈연․지연 등의 배경이 보다 비중 있는 요인으로 작용하고 있었다. 장원 급제자 이외에 일반 급제자의 仕路는 무과 급제 후 武班官人의 길을 순탄하게 밟은 사람이 있는가 하면 紅牌 획득으로만 만족해야 하는 사람도 있었다. 또한 軍門이나 監營․兵營 등에 배속되어 久勤을 포함한 근무 일수나 取才, 그리고 각종 試才 등을 통해 다른 직책으로 옮겨가거나 승진의 기회를 가질 수 있었다. 하지만 군문이나 감․병영의 특수부대에 속했다는 것 자체가 官人의 길에서 이미 멀어졌음을 의미하므로 상당히 오랜 세월과 인내를 요구하는 험난한 과정 이었음에 틀림없다.

이 점은 무과급제자에게 열린 관직 진출의 현실이 누구에게나 똑같지 않았으며 門地나 家 勢에 따라 현저하게 달랐다는 사실을 알려준다. 결국 무과가 능력 위주의 인재 선발 방법이라 하더라도 신분제사회에서의 관직진출은 신분이나 가문의 勢에 영향을 크게 받았으며, 무과가 양반의 기득권을 보장하는 기능 또한 컸다는 사실을 구체적으로 증명하고 있다.

결론적으로 조선후기 무과급제자에 양반 이외에 한량과 軍職 소유자 등 武에 종사하는 사람들이 대거 포함되어 있어 무과급제층이 확대되었음을 알 수 있으며 무과의 성격이 이전 시기와 달라진 점을 보았다. 또한 조선후기 武科가 실행 빈도나 선발 인원이 많아짐으로써 관직 등용로라는 科擧시험 본래의 의미는 많이 퇴색했지만 무과가 西班職에 진출하기 위한 仕路였다는 점은 변함없었음을 확인하였다. 그리고 신분이나 가문의 성쇠․고하에 따라 무과 급제 이후의 관직 진출이 현저하게 달라지므로 무과급제가 곧 신분 상승으로 이어지지 않는다는 점이 밝혀졌다. 끝으로 이러한 연구 결과를 통해 조선후기 무과가 형식적인 시험이었다는 인식이바로잡는 계기가 될 수 있기를 바란다.

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

Examined in this study, are the native backgrounds and the entrance-patterns to the offices of the examination-passers of the national Mu-kwa examinations held during the latter half of the Chosun dynasty period(which would be since the reign of King Gwanghae-gun and until the reign of King Gojong). Exactly what kind of persons passed the Mu-kwa examinations, and how many of them were able to or offered to enter certain offices with their Hongpae(紅牌) pieces(certificates for passing the examinations), are the primary subjects of this research. The results of this research will show us that although the Mu-kwa examinations did slightly deviate from their original nature of being a test to select talented officials, they maintained their original purpose and were still serving as an entrance to the Seoban(西班)-based positions and offices.

Previous researches rather heavily focused on the abusive practices related to the national Mu-kwa examinations which were going on at the time, and also hypothesized that entering the latter half of the dynasty the Mu-kwa examinations began to serve as a virtual channel which would absorb the ever-increasing requirements of the newly arising societal classes, and ultimately became one of the contributing factors to the society-wide class changes. But this kind of hypothesis has demonstrated several problems over the years. First, the status of the examination-passers and their societal classes were not closely examined nor identified. As a result, in previous studies they were just named as 'lower class citizens', or just 'arising ones'. Secondly, the courses these supposedly 'lower class citizens' took in working their ways up inside the offices or in uplifting their social status, were not traced or confirmed in any way. And thirdly, in the end emphasizing the admittedly 'abusive practices', unfortunately and inadvertently created a false image of the Mu-kwa examinations held during that time period.

So, undoubtedly there has been a need for a new approach to the subject. In this study, several perspectives were utilized in order to address the matter adequately, and three major aspects of the subject were explored. First, the special characteristics of the national Mu-kwa examinations of the latter half of the Chosun dynasty, compared to the examinations held during the early half, were properly examined. Secondly, the native backgrounds, the living areas, their last names and the Houses they were from, of all the 16,643 examination passers recorded in total of 102 entries of the Mu-kwa Bangmok(武 科榜目) records which is still remaining, were closely examined. And thirdly, whether the passers were able to enter any office or not, or what kind of offices they were offered to enter, were carefully examined. These aspects were all explored to find an answer to the basic question, about who passed the examinations, and what were their paths afterward. And the basic conclusions this research have drawn from the research, show the important characteristics of the practices involving the Mu-kwa examinations during that time period.

First of all, the number of selected personnels greatly increased. The accumulated number of examination passers during the time-period of 1393-1591 were 7,785, but the number jumped to nearly 120 thousands during the time-period of 1608-1894, which was almost 15 times of the figure from the early half of the dynasty. It was indeed an explosive and fierce increase.

Another important aspect of the Mu-kwa examinations at the time was that the range of applicants to the examinations became considerably various compared to the early periods, and even a ban discouraging the lowest class members of the society from applying to the examinations have been ordered to be set in place, since the reign of King Injo. Added to these changes, a new administration involving the Mu-kwa examinations were put into effect. This administrative practice was called the Jikbu-Jeonshi(直赴殿試), which literally meant 'a direct pass to the final round of the examination). This practice became quite popular, as it was designed to grant certain number of named applicants a special qualification which would require the applicants to only attend the test's final round(殿試‧Jeonshi), instead of having to attend all three rounds(including the first round, the Choshi‧初試, and the second round, the Bokshi‧覆試), virtually granting the applicant a successful and final pass in the examination. Since the latter half of the 17th century, over 50% of the entire group of examination passers managed to pass the exams in this fashion, which meant that passing the national Mu-kwa examinations became considerably easier.

Also, the records(the 102 entries of the Mu-kwa Bangmok records said earlier) clearly show that 16,643 passers of the examinations included not only the Yangban figures but also non-Yangban figures, and that there was a considerable increase in the number of passers from the Hanryang figures' group and the group of personnels who had been possessing military positions. This shows that the social range of the passers were continually being expanded. 34.1%(5,650 passers) of them were the Hanryang figures, 33.3% of them(5,528) were possessing military positions, 13.6% of them(2,255) were assuming ordinary office responsibilities, and 8.5% of them(1,409) were responsible for other tasks or requirements.

327 regional areas were identified to have been either birthplaces or residences for the Mu-kwa examination passers. 34.7% of the passers(5,745) were from the Seoul area. And 14.9%, 13.8% and 13% of the passers were respectively from the Gyeonggi area, the Pyeongan-do province and the Hwanghae-do province. Provinces like Jeonra-do, Chungcheong-do, Gyeongsang-do and Hamgyeong-do only showed 5 or 6% respectively, and the Gangweon-do province marked the lowest figure, only 2.1% of the passers. Areas like Seoul, the Gyeonggi area, the Pyeongan-do and Hwanghae-do provinces, where most of the examination passers were from, were all closely related to military operations. Seoul and the Gyeonggi area was where the 5 Military Camps(五軍營) were located, while the Pyeongan-do and Hwanghae-do provinces were where the special military installations like the Chingi-wi(親騎衛) and Byeolmu-sa(別武士) units were stationed. Applicants from these regions were heavily passing the Mu-kwa examinations, partly because of the Jikbu-Jeonshi practices sustained through Do-shi(都試) occasions.

To identify the paths of the examination passers which they would have taken after they passed the examinations, the Seoncheon(宣薦) practice was examined in this research. The practice was designed to recommend personnels in advance who would be later named the Seonjeon-gwan(宣傳官) official, which was a very esteemed position of the Muban(武班) officials. It was an important practice which would decide the entire career of an exam-passer. This practice was also nicknamed as Bun-gwan(分館), and twice a year youths from the so-called 'Munbeol'(門閥) Houses who were also Hanryang figures or had been possessing military positions, were selected through this Seoncheon practice. Yet personnels from the Pyeongan-do and Hamgyeong-do provinces and Seo-eol(庶孼/a term which generally referred to the offsprings of a concubine) figures were not included in the consideration. Personnels selected through this practice were granted special treatments which allowed them to assume important military positions including the Seonjeon-gwan, Mu-gyeom(武兼), Cham-gun(參軍), Gyeon-gwan(權管), Byeol-jang(部將) and Sumun-jang(守門將) posts, much faster than other personnels selected through other routes. This practice was also a crucial course for an applicant to reach a high-ranking Muban status.

To the first place winner the 6th-Pum position of the Dongban line(東班 6品職) was given. But receiving the finest score in the examination, though it was an obvious merit, was not the only factor which defined the exam-passer's entire career. The House the passer came from, and his other social relationships were very important, and heavily considered.

Some of the ordinary examination passers managed to continue a successful career assuming various military positions, but some of them only had to satisfy themselves with a mere Hongpae piece. This means even someone has passed the examination, a successful career was not a guaranteed one, because the name of its House or the influences it had was a very important factor at the time. Though the Mu-kwa examinations were designed to select applicants with required talents, one's career was still being decided and defined by its societal status, and the Mu-kwa examinations were also partly contributing to solidifying the existing acquired rights of the Yangban figures.

They had opportunities to be assigned to other military offices(軍門), or Gamyeong(監營) and Byeongyeong(兵營) military camps, where they were also able to earn a preferred transfer or even a promotion after delivering proper duty performances for a reasonable term. But being assigned to such military camps were also considered to some extent as a degrade, so it was not that much of a charming path for a would-be officer to take.

Based on the research of this study, we can say that aside of the Yangban figures, the Hanryang figures with experiences of military service and personnels with actual military positions were all included in the Mu-kwa examination passers' group, of which the range was continuously expanding. And as the examinations were being held more frequently and the entire number of personnels selected became much larger, the Mu-kwa examinations began to lose the unique status of being the most prominent way for the applicants which were desiring military office positions. Yet the examination was still operating as one of the most important gateways for the Seoban-based positions. Another confirmed fact was that passing the Mu-kwa examination was not a guarantee for a successful career, as other factors not related to the examination itself were crucial for someone's success in its career.

Hopefully this research will encourage others to reconsider their preconceptions they had about the substantiality which the Mu-kwa examinations were still showing at the time.