Daily Manuscript of Government Newsletter Jobo in the Era of King Gojong

Abstract

The jobo(朝報) is a daily manuscript of government newsletter published by Seungjeongwon, the royal secretariat during the Joseon Dynasty. In the early days of King Gojong, articles that shed light on the boy king’s character, sincerity, and the king’s study of practicing the ‘politics by Virtues(deokchi)’ were o¬ften published in the jobo. Such news would have pleased Confucian intellectuals across the country, but given that it was the regents, the Great Dowager Queen and Daewongun, the father of King Gojong, the jobo showed only the front of the stage of politics. The jobo presents the king’s orders or administrative documents “as they are”, but that is why it does not accurately show the events of Realpolitik or the relationship of power. The biggest flaw is that even if each copy was made from the same original, it was not the same. How many articles in what field appear in the jobo were determined by the interest of the subscriber. It is thought that it would have been difficult to form a modern and national public sphere if the subscribers were exposed to different information according to their respective interests. Even aft¬er the appearance of the printed Government Gazette(官報), the manuscript jobo was still produced, but its impact was not the same as before.