James Palis is the foremonst historian of Korea in North America. His Politics and Policy in Traditional Korea and Confucian Statecraft and Korean Institutions are required readings for scholars of the Choson dynasty both in and outside of Korea. Moreover, those of us teaching traditional Korean history at Harvard, UCLA, Indiana University, and UBC proudly call ourselves his disciples.

Professor Palais has made his mark by challenging traditional interpretations of Korean history. His first book changed the way we understand the relationship between the king of Korea and those officials who served under him. His second book is a direct challenge to the assertion that, as early as the 17th century, some Choson dynasty scholars entertained modern ideas and proposed government policies which, if they had been adopted, would have put Korea on the road to modernity. In his most recent work, he undermines the hegemonic view of traditional Korean society by insisting that, as recently as the 17th century, as much as 30% of the Korean population were slaves. This, Palais argues, makes Korea unique in late traditional East Asia and justifies calling Choson a slave society.

In his talk, he will discuss the role slavery played in traditional Korean society, paying special attention to the relationship of slavery to the hereditary yangban ruling elite of Koryo and Choson. He will also talk about how slaves and land ownership provided the economic basis of yangban wealth. He will end his talk with a look at the reaction of most Korean scholars to his argument. He argues that their criticism, which he rejects, is tantamount to denial of not only the idea of a slave society, but even of the existence of slavery itself in late traditional Korea.