개성상인의 상관습과 개성부기

Little research exist on the relationship between Kaeseong Bookkeeping (referred to as K-bookkeeping in this article) and the business ethics and practices of Kaeseong merchants. Relying on historical literatures and records, our study is the first effort exploring this relationship. K-bookkeeping, also known as Sagae-Songdo-Chibubeob, is a unique double entry method developed and used by merchants of Kaeseong in Korea. While it is unclear exactly when they began to use the bookkeeping method, circumstantial evidence suggests that it was the era of Goryeo Dynasty. Sadly, today, there exist no original books or records of K-bookkeeping. K-bookkeeping is believed to be a product of the merchants’ business ethics and practices. they are known to have had a highly rational way of thinking about commerce and trade and acted accordingly. Such rational mindset of the merchants became the basis for their high standard of business ethics and practices. Without such mindset and business practices, the development of Sagae-Songdo-Chibubeob and other related business and financial systems such as Sibyeon and Chain would not be possible. In K-bookkeeping, transactions are recorded based on two basic features: the duality of individual transactions and the balancing of their monetary measures between debit and credit, similar to the features of modern double entry accounting.