Joseon Hopae Identity Tag System

Timeline

1. 1413–1415Hanseong · JoseonTaejong adopted Huang Shihou's proposal and issued the Hopae Samok, ordering all males over sixteen—from royal clansmen and officials down to commoners and slaves—to wear tags. Materials and inscriptions varied by status: high officials used ivory or horn, commoners and low-status persons used boxwood and birch, recording office, duty, and residence, with slaves also recorded with master, age, and physical features. The purpose was to verify household registration, determine state obligations, and prevent vagrancy.
2. 1459–1470Eight provinces of Joseon · Korean PeninsulaSejo reintroduced the hopae in his fifth year, and it was suspended in the twelfth month of Seongjong's first year. Records show that both the proportion of tag holders and of commoners actually bearing state obligations were low, with evasion, lending, and hidden dependents widespread. While reinforcing status boundaries among yangban, commoners, and slaves, the system proved hard to sustain due to popular burden and clerical corruption.
3. 1501–1550Hanseong and local prefectures and counties · JoseonNo nationwide hopae law revival is recorded during 1501–1550; household and military registration continued to operate through household registers, myeon-ri organization, and local magistrates' inspections. Retained in administrative memory and legal discussion as a tool that could be restarted at any time, the hopae remained tied to issues of yangban status, slave flight, and military service evasion. Understanding this period as 'the institution remained, compulsory wearing suspended' is more accurate than 'continuous use.'