Postwar Pines: The Military and the Expansion of State Forests in Post-Imjin Korea, 1598–1684

Lee, John S.

Abstract

This article explains why the Chosŏn government and the military in particular expanded state control over forests in the seventeenth century and analyzes the implications of forest administration in a preindustrial polity. From 1592 to 1598, the Chosŏn dynasty suffered invasions from Japan that displaced much of the Korean population and devastated the economy and environment. The crucial role of the navy during the war, along with a dire postwar situation, heightened government anxieties about deforestation and timber scarcity. Thus, in the seventeenth century, the Chosŏn government expanded administration over forests, particularly pine forests, across the coasts and islands of southwestern Korea. The key vehicle for the expansion was the military. Due to wartime and postwar exigencies, the military became the late Chosŏn state's primary organ for management of wood resources for state purposes. Furthermore, the growth of pine-centric state forests and shifts in military priorities would significantly reshape Korean ecologies.

Citation

Lee, J. S. (2018). Postwar Pines: The Military and the Expansion of State Forests in Post-Imjin Korea, 1598–1684. The Journal of Asian Studies, 77(2), 319-332. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0021911817001322

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Online Publication Date: Mar 25, 2018
• Publication Date: 2018-05
• Deposit Date: Sep 19, 2019
• Publicly Available Date: Nov 8, 2021
• Journal: The Journal of Asian Studies
• Print ISSN: 0021-9118
• Electronic ISSN: 1752-0401
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 77
• Issue: 2
• Pages: 319-332
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/s0021911817001322
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1291155
• Related Public URLs: https://www.research.manchester.ac.uk/portal/en/publications/postwar-pines-the-military-and-the-expansion-of-state-forests-in-postimjin-korea-15981684(eb587adb-ba37-46a5-9d59-540d9efe4101).html