This article presents a general historical outline of medieval Korea legal system formation in the period of 1392–1484: from the Chosŏn Dynasty foundation to the approval and publication of the most important source on the matter — the Great Code of State Administration, the “Kyŏngguk Taejŏn” of the year Ŭlsa. The unified code of laws was intended to become the basis for the design of a new socio-political system, the fundamentals of which were determined by the tasks of overcoming regional autonomy, centralization, and unification of government as well as concentration of economic resources under state control. The publication briefly outlines the main stages of the legislative codification and reflects on the main aspects of the domestic political development of the country that influenced this process. The main sources for the writing are, in addition to the Great Code itself, the True Records of the Joseon Dynasty — the main annals of Korea in the 14th–19th centuries.
Keywords:
History of Korea; Chosŏn; “Kyŏngguk Taejŏn”; history of law; sadaebu; hungup’a
