한국 전근대 과학기술사 연구의 현황과 과제

Abstract

The Korean History of Science Society (KHSS), founded in 1960, celebrates the 60th anniversary in 2020. During the past 60 years, the history of science in premodern Korea has achieved great success in various fields. Now it is the time to ponder on the future of the field on the basis of the previous accomplishments. This paper discusses the problems and issues that should be considered in the future study of the history of science in premodern Korea. First task is to establish a system of disciplines in the history of science of Premodern Korea. To achieve this, each scholar in the fields, such as the history of astronomy and calendrical science, the history of mathematics, the history of geography, and the history of medicine, are required to consider the ways of diachronic organization consistent to one’s own thesis. Secondly, regarding the “China Problem,” it is urgent to analyze the recent trends and works in the history of science in China. A close academic review is especially necessary for A History of Science and Technology in China, which was directed and compiled by the Institute for the History of Natural Science of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Thirdly, the environmental aspects of human living, including natural disasters and diseases, need more attention for expanding the areas of research. The study of environmental history has grown quantitatively since the late 1990s. The interactions between human history and the environments and people’s thoughts and actions on environments should be incorporated into the research of the history of science. The fourth issue is related to survey of the cultural heritages related to science and technology. The KHSS has carried out some projects since the early 1980s and seen remarkable achievements: enhancement of public understanding of the cultural heritages of science and increase in research and restoration works. Now the KHSS needs to pursue critical reevaluations of the previous achievements, as well as the further application of scientific heritage for research and education. Lastly, the systematic assessments of the primary sources of the history of science in premodern Korea is essential. It is required to collect, organize, and annotate, as well as to question the problems of translation of, the bibliographic sources such as historical books, the books on science, and Han-yi-xi-xue-shu(漢譯西學書, the different kinds of books which were written in Chinese characters about western books of Catholicism, science and technology).