This study focuses on the phenomenon of gaeban(changing officials, 改班) after the military coup, in which the civilian officials changed their class into the military, and the military officials into the civilian class, and reflects on its aspects,...
This study focuses on the phenomenon of gaeban(changing officials, 改班) after the military coup, in which the civilian officials changed their class into the military, and the military officials into the civilian class, and reflects on its aspects, causes and operation.
During the maintenance of the yangban(兩班) system, a phenomenon emerged among the military and civilian officials to convert their classes after the military coup. The reason for gaeban for the civilian officials was to keep their lives and status, and for the kings to protect their favorite civilian officials, as the military officials took power from the coup. However, gaeban was contrary to the consciousness of the people of Goryeo who revered the civilian officials. Therefore, if someone decided on gaeban, he was given a high office to reduce the sense of repulse to converting to the military class. Meanwhile, the military officials did not convert to the civilian class during the military regime.
During the Yuan intervention period, gaeban was more active than during the military regime for the following reasons. First, gaeban was taken as a means to reinforce the numbers of military officials by converting the civilian officials to the military ones, after many military officials died from the war against the Mongol. Second, as the kings initiated politics by their close personal attendants, gaeban was exploited for its nature that enabled faster promotion than custom in order to prefer and nurture their personal attendants. Third, as the adoption of Neo-Confucianism established the mood for learning for intellectual righteousness, gaeban was attempted from the military class to the civilian class. As a result, mutual gaeban became active between both classes. However, whereas gaeban from the civilian to the military class required no condition whatsoever, gaeban from the military to the civilian class was possible only by passing state examination or some form of recognition of intellectual capacity. Also, while geaban from the civilian to the military class led to a higher office than before, gaeban from the military to the civilian class resulted in no difference in office rank before and after the change. Therefore, even during the Yuan intervention period, gaeban from the civilian to the military class was more frequent than geaban from the military to the civilian class.
In the later period of Goryeo, holding a second office in the civilian and military classes was as active as gaeban. They were applied to different subjects:the high officials, who were able to promote their opinions on state affairs, were allowed to hold a second office in the civilian or military class, and the low officials, who could not offer their views on state affairs, were not allowed to do so. If a high civilian official seeks to be in charge of a military duty, or a high military official attempts to be in charge of a civilian duty, they were encouraged to gaeban. The reason for not allowing the officials below the seventh poom-rank to hold a second office in the civilian or military class was to keep in line with the purpose of the yangban system to focus on one’s own duties and class. In other words, gaeban was implemented for the purpose of applying the division of yangban and separation of the responsibilities minimally on the class in charge of administrative affairs.