Kwajong Pop

Kwajong Pop

 

(Law of Official Appanages), a land law inKorea, published in 1391. It restored the principle of supremestate ownership of land and with it the state’s right to collecttaxes on all lands. Within the framework of state ownershipvarious forms of feudal and peasant ownership of land wereprovided for. The principal category of feudal land ownershipconsisted of official appanages (kwajong), the sizes of whichdepended upon the rank (kwa) of their holders. The holders of these appanages did not have the right of complete ownership, but according to the Kwajong Pop they collected taxes for theirown benefit. The promulgation of the Kwajong Pop was advanta-geous to the middle and petty feudal lords connected with thestate service, and it abolished the land privileges of the higharistocracy.