North Korea Land and Property

Land Survey Records (Toji Gumsa Kirok)
These records are survey reports for various categories of royal, government, public, and private landholding, title deeds, land transfers and records of tenancy. They are useful for identifying members of the lower classes by name and place. Generational linkage is possible through property transfer records. Records begin about 1680.

Although land ownership is usually associated with the nobility, a great many commoners, especially farmers, also owned land. These land survey records are arranged by locality. Generally they contain names and relationships of owners and tenants, location and description of property; some give names of cultivators, monks, and enslaved persons; may also give the age of the property owner and name of his father. Most of the original records have been lost or destroyed. The remaining records are maintained under good conditions in the Kyujanggak collection, Seoul National University Library.