Slavery in Korea existed in various forms from its origins in antiquity over 2,000 years ago to its gradual abolition in the late Joseon period, beginning in the 18th century and culminating in 1894.
[1] The Joseon dynasty was a stratified society mainly ruled by the yangban class, in which wealth was measured by ownership of land and nobi.
[6] The nobi system was a major institution during the Joseon period and an important part of the economy.
[16][17][18] According to the Global Slavery Index, an estimated 10.4% of the North Korean population is effectively enslaved as of 2018.
[20] However, it is debated what translation is most appropriate due to historical facts and because existing English words are loaded with Western connotations that come with implications for comparative history.
According to Korean Studies scholar Mark A. Peterson of Brigham Young University, Korea has the longest unbroken chain of indentured servitude or slavery of any society in history (spanning about 1,500 years) in part due to the fact that the social structure was one of the most stable in world history with a single polity existing from the time of Silla to Joseon.
[30] Peterson cites this as "[a] proof that Korean history has been remarkably peaceful and stable until the 20th century".
[4] According to Bok Rae Kim: "In summary, on the economic, judicial and socio-cultural levels, it is evident that the nobis of the [Joseon] era were not 'socially dead' and that the nobi system at its zenith between the fifteenth and seventeenth centuries may be defined as 'a serfdom developed under slavery'.
"[35] Household nobi served as personal retainers and domestic servants, and most received a monthly salary that could be supplemented by earnings gained outside regular working hours.
In order to gain freedom, nobi could purchase it, earn it through military service, or receive it as a favor from the government.
[39] Nobi were considered an extension of the master's own body, and an ideology based on patronage and mutual obligation developed.
[49] Korea sent five diplomatic missions (Joseon Tongsinsa) to Japan, during which they asked to retrieve slaves.
[58] Other slaves were sent to Manila in the Spanish Philippines,[59] at least one to Goa,[60] an António Corea was taken to Florence and Rome,[59] and likely one to Ambon Island, where he was killed in the 1623 Amboyna massacre.
[63] The international trade of Korean slaves declined shortly after the end of the Japanese invasions due to a number of factors.
On January 26, 1607, King Philip II finally succeeded in compelling Goa to abide by restrictions on the slave trade.
[65] Since the outset of the Joseon dynasty and especially beginning in the 17th century, there was harsh criticism among prominent thinkers in Korea about the nobi system.
[19][71] North Korea is the only country in the world that has not explicitly criminalized any form of modern slavery.
[72] A United Nations report listed slavery among the crimes against humanity occurring in North Korea.
[17] Revenues derived from North Korean slave labor also are diverted to fund and develop the country's nuclear weapons program.
[73][better source needed] In media reports from 2015, the abuse and exploitation of people with disabilities on rural island salt farms in Sinan County has been described as slavery.