Pumasi
Pumasi (Korean: 품앗이) is a combination of the words ‘pum’ means working and ‘asi’ means repay. [1] Pumasi is agricultural cooperative custom by exchanging each other’s labor in Korea traditional agriculture society. [2] Pumasi is based on trust and kindness to community. [3]
Fundamental values
editPumasi is not calculating other’s labor ability unlike ‘Dure’or ‘saegyung’ of farmhand. [3] Pumasi's premise is the high trust in each other. [2] Instead of calculating the actual value of the individual work, it is based on consideration of what is best for the community. [3] People provide labor for each other on the assumption that all human labor is comparable in principle. [3] Labor of men and cattle, male and female, adults and children are equally regarded. [2] The assumption is the fundamental value that can be established. [2]
Prerequisite
editPumasi made based on the mental attitude that Such trust relationship is a prerequisite for the Pumasi. [2] So Pumasi has no compulsion and purpose of mutual help. [1] Pumasi is mainly done in the community called village. [4] Pumasi is usually done in the following situations: farmers who grow the same crops, ② farmhouse with a similar acreage, ③ who knows the family history with neighboring farmers, ④ farmhouse between relatives. [4] Thus, there is a tendency Pumasi is made between 'similar situation with each other’ because in this situation, formation of trust relationship that prerequisite for the Pumasi is easy. [4] On the assumption that in return for the ‘pum’, but in many cases, don’t need to pay off necessarily. [4]
Organization
editPumasi was organized regardless of time, seasons, and the kind of work when a labor shortage in farmhouse. [3] This mainly consisted of a combination of tenant farmer and farmhand. [3] Pumasi is sometimes consisting of only women but also men. [4]
Utilization
editPumasi is a collaborative working that consisting in the whole process of farming throughout the year. [2] It had a very important role in not only rice paddy farming, but also in most of the fields farming. [2] Pumasi also includes work of women that prepare food for big events or make clothes for sale. [2]
Comparasion with dure
editTypical agricultural cooperative custom of traditional Korea society, there are Dure and Pumasi. [3] Dure is used for the busiest time (rice planting time) in agriculture. [3] Dure limited to adult men who have labor, and they mandatory took part. Dure is consists of every member of village. [3] On the other hand, Pumasi consists of 3-6 people in village with a personal acquaintance. [3] Pumasi is used for all type of work required by the farmers. And Pumasi don’t have any limit when organized. [3]
Histoy
editPumasi is the oldest collective laboring custom in Korea. [1] Occurred in the early class society with Monogamous family became the economic unit of society. [1] Because the monogamous family is the basic unit of Pumasi that ask borrows the labor of other family members in order to solve the shortage of labor in the family. [1]
Pumasi of today
editThroughout the Korea's industrialization, agricultural population was less generalized wage labor. [1] Until recently, It organization some in rural, but that aspect has changed a lot. [1] [3] Because of modernization in rural communities, such as the spread of chemical and mechanic Farming Products, the idea that everything can change cash is emerging. [3] So, equality for workers that basis of Pumasi is vanish and labor value of each workers is under the reasonable calculating. [3] However, we can still find the remnants of Pumasi in custom that helping each other when weddings or funerals. [1]