The Origin of Jangxi

Mr. Kim lives in 15th-century Naju, South Jeolla Province. As his mother gets older, he wants to serve her while they still have time together. For her 60th birthday he decides to buy her ginseng, an expensive herb that will replenish her energy. But where can he buy ginseng? It is produced in a town called Gaesong in the northern part of the country, far from where Mr. Kim lives. It will take at least a month just to get there. He tries the local market but finds no ginseng there. Depressed, he walks back to his home. On the way, he hears people talking about jangxi, and he finds hope again.

“Jangxi” is a five-day market that brings in products from other regions. The first jangxi was called jang-mun and took place in 15th-century Naju and Muan. The Jeolla area started holding jangxi before other regions. One reason for this was the famine that hit the region, but it was mainly because Jeolla had a rich supply of local products. The first jangxi lasted 15 to 30 days, during which farmers exchanged different commodities produced inside and outside of the province. As time passed, jangxi became a five-day market and extended its influence even to the peripheral countryside areas. By the 18th century, there were more than a thousand jangxi in the nation. Local economies prospered, and merchants had to adopt different strategies to sell their products.

But problems followed the appearance of this new opportunity. With their enormous funds and connections, big merchants monopolized particular products and made it extremely hard for small merchants to compete. Political problems arose as well. Because high market taxes amounted to a lot of money, governmental officers and wealthy politicians engaged in conflicts to take control of this money supply. Some stores also engaged in illegal activities. Some sold alcohol and beef, which was banned at the time, and others dealt in illegal services like gambling and prostitution.

Today jangxi is called jang. The appearance of modern department stores and supermarkets greatly decreased the influence of these sprawling markets, but many Koreans still use jang because they often have fresher, cheaper foods than modern stores. In addition, the local street foods continue to bring in hungry customers.