In the history of Korea Hyang’yak was a contractual arrangement that allowed for a degree of local government.

During the rule of Chungjong (1506-1544), the Legalist School in Korea emerged and began the introduction of local government. To formalize government procedure in local rule, Cho Kwang-jo, lead minister, introduced the hyang'yak, or village contract. This contract was based on the basic Confucian ideas of the five elements or precepts; benevolence (in), righteousness (i), propriety (li), wisdom (chi), and sin (hsin) or earth (song). These are based on relationships of parents and children, master and servant, husband and wife, and good faith between friends. This contract was enforced by the local level officials; specific details were circulated in text and operated as an informal common law. The hyang’yak became the core of Korea's social law and the vehicle of a degree of local autonomy for its villages.

This was a stepping stone for the Joseon Dynasty in implementing government at the local level. Local yangban, or Korean scholar-officials were lifted in importance because of the role they played. The implementation of the hyang'yak opened the way for schools and shrines and tied the yangban to the community as instrumental in strengthening the government at all levels.

[edit] References

• Key P. Yang; Gregory Henderson.

Stable URL: "[1]",

• An Outline History of Korean Confucianism: Part II: The Schools of Yi Confucianism,
• The Journal of Asian Studies, Vol. 18, No. 2. (Feb., 1959), pp. 259-276. Retrieved on August 3, 2005