A New Approach to the Household Register of Lelang Commandery

Abstract

The household register of Lelang Commandery first revealed in North Korea in 2006 is comprised of wooden tablets that contain detailed information on the number of households of 25 counties in Lelang Commandery. By exploring the nature of kiho ( ), an item found at the end of the household register of Lelang Commandery, this study illustrates the fact that there were regional distinctions between the 18 counties of the central region and the seven counties of Yongdong. Kiho refers to the households in eighteen counties, of the total households in Lelang Commandery, excluding the seven counties of Yongdong. This demonstrates that the 18 counties in the central region had been under the direct control of the governor of Lelang, while the seven Yongong counties were under the jurisdiction of the commandant headquarters of the Eastern Section, an office that was established separately to govern the seven counties. At the same time, this article also notes that the number of households in all 25 counties of Lelang Commandery was recorded together on the document, as this meant that the administrative jurisdiction of the governor of Lelang included all 25 counties, including the seven Yongdong counties. Since the commandant headquarters of the Eastern Section were a military office under the command of the governor of Lelang Commandery, the seven Yongdong counties were also under the governor's administrative control. Therefore the seven Yongdong counties can be understood as a region governed indirectly by the governor of Lelang and directly by the commandant headquarters of the Eastern Section.