19세기 중엽 서해안 성호포구를 무대로 거래에 참여한 이들은 서로 간에 負債를 지우고 청산하며 거래를 지속하였다. 재화를 매개로 이뤄지는 상거래에서는, 외상거래 관행이 부채를 유발하였다. 물건양도와 대금결제를 한 번에 딱 떨어지게 끝마치지 않는 사회에서, 거래란 일회성의 사건이 아니다. 한 번의 거래가 일시에 종결되지 않음에 따라 거래 쌍방의 관계 역시 지속되기 때문이다. 성호포구를 무대로 살아간 사람들은 끊임없이 상대방에게 “주어야 할 것”과 “받아야 할 것”을 생각하고 헤아리며 살아가야 했을 것이다. 즉 개별 사람 간 인간관계에 채권과 채무의 감각이 깃들게 되는 것이다. 이러한 채권-채무 감각을 부양한 또 다른 축은 금전 貸付였다.
금전의 대부와 상환 역시 각각 일대일로 대응하는 게 아니라, 누차에 걸쳐 복잡한 계산 속에서 지속적이고 연쇄적으로 이루어졌다. 대부금을 상환하지 않은 상태에서 추가 대부가 이뤄지기도 하고, 대부금을 여러 차례에 걸쳐 갚는, 분할상환이 이뤄지기도 하였다. 성호포구 인근 주민들은 채무의 연쇄로 인해 맺어진 부채의 사슬로 얽히고설켜 있었다. 사람들은 누군가에겐 채무자임과 동시에 또 다른 이에겐 채권자로 존재했다. 또한 빚을 상환하기 위해 또 다른 곳에서 빚을 얻어 쓰는 경우도 빈번했다.
성호포구에서 실제 상환된 이자율은 月利 2.1%, 年利 25.4%로 연 50% 이상의 고리대와는 거리가 멀었다. 대부 기간 역시 평균 3개월 남짓이었기 때문에, 금전을 빌려 쓴 사람의 상환 부담은 그리 크지 않은 수준이었다. 이처럼 낮은 이자율과 짧은 대부 기간은 채무자들이 금전대부를 적극적으로 활용할 수 있는 배경이 되었다. 성호리 김씨가를 중심으로 한 금전대부는 포구마을 성호리를 둘러싼 자금의 유동성을 견인하였다. 쉽게 말해 금전대부를 통해 포구에 돈이 돌게 되었으며, 이는 사람들의 경제활동을 위한 촉매제이자 윤활유로서 기능하였다.
성호포구 인근에서 주로 통용된 약정 이자율은 연리 36%가 가장 일반적이었던 것으로 보인다. 그런데 실제 상환 이자율은 평균적으로 그 수준에 미치지 못했다. 그 배경 중 하나는 원금과 이자가 온전히 상환되지 않은 미수금이 존재했다는 점이다. 김씨가는 특히 배를 타고 바다에 나가지 않는 내륙 사람들로부터 원금과 이자를 회수하는 데에 애를 먹고 있었다. 수개월 심지어 수십 년 묵은 빚을 받아내는 일은 쉽지 않았기 때문이다. 그 결과 김씨가의 부채를 상환하지 않았음에도 지속적으로 금전과 재화를 거래하는 사람들도 상당수 존재했으며, 이들이 동중의 구성원으로 향약 좌목에 이름을 올리는 데 문제가 없었다. 즉 김씨가를 둘러싼 성호포구 인근 사람들은 서로 부채를 주고받으며, 깔끔하게 청산되지 않은 상태를 유지한 채 일상을 살아가고 있었다.
In transactions that took place in Seong-ho Port, it was common for participants to engage in exchanges using debt as an intermediary. This was largely due to the prevailing practice of settling around 80% of significant wholesale transactions on credit. Kim, for instance, purchased goods in merchant ship and sold them to inland merchants. The settlement for both the selling and purchasing prices occurred after the transfer of goods, with payments being made at a later date.
Perhaps, in the 19th century, credit transactions could have been a commonplace and widespread practice among the people near Seong-ho Port Region. The notion that payment should be made simultaneously with the transfer of goods might have been relatively rare. Such credit transactions, while serving as a catalyst for transactions even in situations where cash was scarce, also had a precarious aspect. In case goods could not be sold entirely due to market conditions, it became challenging to fulfill the delivery value, leading to the potential for a cascading bankruptcy.
In a society where the transfer of goods and the settlement of payments do not neatly coincide, transactions are not isolated events but ongoing relationships due to the absence of immediate closure. Those who lived their lives in Seong-ho Port constantly had to contemplate and account for what they 'owed' and what they were 'owed,' as transactions did not conclude in a single instance. In other words, individuals in their interpersonal relationships in Seong-ho Port would have developed a sense of obligations and debts. Another pillar supporting this sense of obligation and debt was the practice of money lending.
The lending of money and its repayment were also not dealt with as singular transactions but occurred over time. Examining the practices in Seong-ho Port, it was observed that additional loans could be granted without fully repaying the existing ones. Furthermore, the repayment of loans often took place over multiple occasions, involving installment payments. In essence, the lending and repayment processes were continuous and occurred in a cascading manner.
In Seong-ho Port, the actual interest rates for repayments were a far cry from the exorbitant rates exceeding 50% annually, with a monthly rate of 2.1% and an annual rate of 25.4%. Additionally, given the relatively short loan periods averaging around three months, the repayment burden for those borrowing money was not overly significant. Moreover, for ultra-short-term loans of less than one month, no interest was applied. The combination of low interest rates and short loan durations created a conducive environment for debtors to actively utilize money lending services.
Inland merchants without a solid financial base were able to borrow money from Kim, purchase goods entering the port, sell them in the market, and repay the loan without significant interest burdens. Merchants or fishermen in immediate need of payment could also borrow funds from Kim, and upon securing their balance, repay without interest. Even peasants, primarily engaged in agriculture, could actively utilize money lending to overcome lean seasons and crop failures. In essence, the money lending, centered around Kim, facilitated the liquidity of funds surrounding the port. In simpler terms, money circulated in the port, serving as a lubricant for people's economic activities.
Furthermore, the active financial transactions did not merely create simple one-to-one relationships between creditors and debtors. The residents of Seong-ho-ri and its vicinity were intricately entwined through the mediation of debt. They could be creditors to some while simultaneously debtors to others. In other words, those who operated in Seong-ho Port were interconnected within a chain of transactions mediated by debt.
In this manner, the generation of debt often triggered and spawned various transactions. It also possessed a social attribute, restructuring the relationships between transacting parties into creditor-debtor relationships, thus forming a hierarchy of relationships. Despite not repaying Kim's debt, a considerable number of individuals continued to engage in transactions involving money and goods with him. In other words, the diverse individuals surrounding Kim exchanged debts among themselves, maintaining an unsettled state while going about their daily lives.