# Hoju

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"Hojeok" redirects here. For the musical instrument, see [Taepyeongso](/source/Taepyeongso).

***Hoju*** (lit. 'household head') or ***hojuje*** () is a [family register](/source/Family_register) system formerly employed in [Korea](/source/Korea). The register itself is referred to as the ***hojeok*** (MR: *hojŏk*). The system remained in effect in [North Korea](/source/North_Korea) until approximately 1955 and in [South Korea](/source/South_Korea) until 2008. It was similar to other family registries used in East Asia, such as the Chinese [hukou](/source/Hukou) and the Japanese [koseki](/source/Koseki). Although the *hoju* system with its specific focus on registering families under a head of household is no longer in use, both North and South Korea continue to maintain family registers.

The first iteration of the *hoju* system was the *minjeok* system of the late [Korean Empire](/source/Korean_Empire), adopted in 1909.[1] *Hojeok* came into use [under Japanese rule](/source/Korea_under_Japanese_rule) in 1922.[2] This system remained in force in South Korea until 1960, when it was replaced by the country's own *Hojeok* Act.[2]

The limited information on North Korean family registration law indicates that North Korea likely abolished this system in 1955 under the Regulation on Citizen Identity Registration (Korean: 공민의 신분등록에 관한 규정) adopted in that year.[3] By the 21st century, North Korean reference works used the terms *hojeok* and *hoju* only in a historical sense, and [North Korean refugees](/source/North_Koreans_in_South_Korea) reported that although births and changes in family relations were required to be reported to the government there was no comparable public registry.[4]

In the 21st century the *hoju* system came under criticism in South Korea. Opponents considered it innately patriarchal and a violation of the right to [gender equality](/source/Gender_equality). It was opposed by both feminists and by representatives of religious traditions including [Buddhism](/source/Buddhism) and [Christianity](/source/Christianity).[citation needed] Conservative groups led by the [National Action Campaign](/source/National_Action_Campaign) opposed abolishing the system, in part on the grounds that doing so would follow North Korea's example.[5] On 3 February 2005, the [Constitutional Court](/source/Constitutional_Court_of_Korea) held that the *hoju* system was incompatible with the guarantees of Article 36 Paragraph 1 of the [Constitution of South Korea](/source/Constitution_of_South_Korea).[6]

The *hoju* system was replaced by the modern [Family Relations Register](/source/Family_Relations_Register_(South_Korea)) through a reform of the [Civil Code of South Korea](/source/Civil_Code_of_South_Korea) in 2008.[7]

## Works cited

- "ko:북한의 신분등록․공민등록․주민등록제도 - 가족관계등록을 중심으로 -" [The Identity Registration, Citizen Registration, and Civil Registration Systems of North Korea ― With a focus on registration of family relations ―]. *안암법학*. '***(51): 185-229. 2016. [doi:10.22822/alr..51.201609.185](https://doi.org/10.22822/alr..51.201609.185)***

## References

1. Lee 2016, p. 188.

1. Lee 2016, p. 190.

1. Lee 2016, p. 189.

1. 정준영 (2005-01-16). ["ko:북한엔 호주제 없다"](https://www.yna.co.kr/view/AKR20050115002400014) [There is no *hoju* system in North Korea]. *Yonhap News*. Retrieved 2024-10-23.

1. 김남일 (2005-02-13). ["ko:호주제 폐지는 북한 따라하기? 보수단체 광고에 네티즌 ‘실소’"](https://www.hani.co.kr/arti/society/society_general/10442.html) [Is abolishing the *hoju* system imitating North Korea? Netizens 'LOL' at conservative group's ad]. *[The Hankyoreh](/source/The_Hankyoreh)*. Retrieved 2024-10-23.

1. Lee 2016, p. 190 n.20.

1. Koh, Eunkang (2008). "Gender issues and Confucian scriptures: Is Confucianism incompatible with gender equality in South Korea?". *Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London*. **71** (2): 345–362. [doi:10.1017/s0041977x08000578](https://doi.org/10.1017/s0041977x08000578). [JSTOR 40378774](https://www.jstor.org/stable/40378774)

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Hoju](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoju) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoju?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.