[KS] punishment of women in Choson

[DeberniereTorrey]

Dear Members:I'm trying to track down an authoritative reference for a claim that I've come across in several scholarly sources (both English and Korean), none of which gives a citation for this information: that the Choson state was more lenient toward women as criminals, since they were considered subject to and therefore less responsible than men. The statement fits my understanding of Choson values and legislation, but I have yet to find a specific reference. Deuchler's Confucian Transformation briefly mentions cases of leniency toward yangban women, but goes no further. I've read that the Ming code was somewhat lenient toward female criminals, placing them in the custody of family members rather than in jail, and I understand the Choson criminal code was based on the Ming code. I've also checked Women and Confucianism in Choson by Pettid and Kim, as well as the recent Wrongful Deaths by Sunjoo Kim, but haven't found specific reference to the above topic in these sources. Any help would be appreciated. Thank you,
Deberniere Torrey

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