The Principles behind the Concurrence and Creation of Collaboration : Practices in Everyday Life in Cheju-do, Korea(<Special Theme>De/re-construction of the Concept of Community)

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to consider the principles behind the creation of collaboration through observing the practice of cooperative customs in everyday life, called sunulum and che, in the village society in Cheju-do. The terms sunulum and che which are used in Cheju-do are more commonly knowm as pumashi and kie in the studies of Korean village society. The history of these studies shows us that pumashi is an equal exchange system of labor and kie is a traditional organization for the cooperation of money and requisites. Also, this paper concludes that such customs are remnants from the past and disappearing under social change. In the village society in Cheju-do where I have carried out my fieldwork since 1994, social change has affected the cooperative customs by making them more varied in styles. In the village the people have various explanations about the customs. People however, have not had the use of homogeneous definitions nor been equally concerned with the customs. Therefore, I can't reduce these explanations to a unitary model. I do know, however, that people have constructed various forms of collaboration and reconstructed previous ones according to their everyday needs. One can view these collaborations as a process in life in which people choose to reconstruct existent life styles to live their own lives. This same point of view is found in the history of village studies [Nakano 1966 ; Aruga 1968a, 1971 ; Torigoe (ed) 1989]. Their perspectives suggest that we recognize a certain autonomy in the practices of everyday life. In the studies of socioeconomic history the perspective of "Moral Economy" is also a useful viewpoint because it suggests we consider customs in a socioeconomic context which opens up discussions on economic factors and their relation to customs. [Tomobe 1990 ; Ukiha 1992]. The concept of "a livelihood sphere constructed by people" [Shinno 1983] also connects with the perspectives of "Moral Economy". On the basis of these points of view, this paper examines, explains and notes the behavior of the people of Cheju-do as they join in various reconstructed cooperative customs. Though everyday lives have been affected by social and economic change, various collaborative styles of che and sunulum have been not only a means to participation in capitalism but also in the fields to share a communal experience that reaches beyond the world of capitalism. People gathering for che or sunulum talk about their own everyday life, family, work, physical condition and so on. Through these cooperative customs people share not only the labor but also each other's reality. Among the various cooperative customs, "Che for sowing garlic" began in the 1990s. Garlic has been an important good in the capitalistic economy since the 1980s. "Che for sowing garlic" is not a sustained style but a reconstructed one. Before "che for sowing garlic" there was "che for weeding". Both che are different from the traditional model. Their cooperative styles are mixture of che and sunulum. "Che for weeding" differs from "che for sowing garlic", however, in its socioeconomic background and management. When people cooperated in "che for weeding", they weeded each member's field and collected millet for members who had to go through rituals. "Che for weeding" was a practice initiated to cope with a lack of grain. After that, in the realities of aging and urbanization, people have mixed up the different principles for collaboration to develop sowing garlic. They have to sow almost all garlic quickly within the month of September. "Che for sowing garlic" was implemented to guarantee enough hands for the job and to save labor expenses. When I carried out my fieldwork in 2003, I learned that some of "che for sowing garlic" collaborations

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