The Nuptiality Trends after the Japanese Invasions of Korea in 1592–1598

Sangwoo Han, Ajou University
Jongsik Kim, Ajou University
Byungho Lee, Ajou University

The Japanese invasions of Korea in 1592–1598 (Imjin War) were massive international conflicts between Korea, Japan, and China. As the biggest war in the 16th century, this 7-years war caused great demographic disasters and changes to Korea; however, their exact extent has been largely unknown. Fortunately, the extant county-level household registers scattered around southeastern region recorded in the early 17th century provide valuable demographic information about the postwar composition of couples and families. This study focuses on the patterns of spousal age gap, using the household registers, to figure out the postbellum demographic structure of the Imjin War. It further estimates the impact of war on family formation through investigating the marked shift in age homogamy.

No extended abstract or paper available

 Presented in Session 233. The Historical Life Course Trends of the Pre-Modern Korean Elite Families in the Long Run: Lessons and Implication from Chinese and European Studies