Joseon Government Research Articles

18세기 제주의 진상제(進上制)와 상품유통

As the political basis of the Joseon government was changed since the days of King Sukjong and it tried to bring Jeju into the range of its rule, the central government made efforts to the burden of the donation upon Jeju. In the first half of the 18th century, tangerines were less burdened. And it wanted to facilitate the supply of grain to Jeju by running a state-run commerce. However, due to the upsetting nature of state-run commerce, the results were not achievable. In the late 18th century, the governments policies changed. The government wanted to facilitate the supply of Jejus grain through private trade. It allowed partial freedom in commerce between Jeju and land. It also gave Jeju preferential treatment for its competitive products. Through these measures, Jejus commodity economy developed and profits derived from it increased. It was some of Jejus scents that were quick to cope with this situation. They made a large part of the commercial profits by organization of the petty officials of Jeju, called Sangchangye(相贊契). The king and the government wanted to return some of the surplus products of the royal family to the people as part of the paternal love policy, but they ended up belonging to the a local influential person and the petty officials of Jeju. This socio-economic situation is thought to have been behind the plotting treason accident of Jehae Yangp in 1812 and the peasant uprising in 1862.

18세기 말 정부의 ‘정감록 참위설’ 인식과 대응책

18세기 말 정부의 ‘정감록 참위설’ 인식과 대응책

The 'Japanese Old Custom Research Project' and its main characters

이 글은 일제가 조선을 식민지로 지배하기 위해 실시한 기초조사사업 가운데 ‘구관제도조사사업’에 참여한 인물들의 인적 계보를 고찰하여 그것의 내적 맥락을 밝히고자 한 것이다. 일제는 1906년 통감부를 설치한 이래 부동산법조사회 (1906.7∼1907.11), 법전조사국(1908.1∼1910.9)을, 1910년 조선을 병탄한 이후에는 조선총독부 취조국(1910.10∼1912.4), 참사관실(1912.3∼1914), 중추원(1915∼1937)을 통해 조선의 부동산, 관습, 역사, 문화 등을 조사하여 조선을 파악하고자 하였다. 첫째 1896년에 일제의 식민지 대만에서 관습조사에 참여했던 관료들이 1906년 이후 조선과 만주의 ‘구관제도조사사업’에 참여하기도 하였다. 일본제국주의의 대만을 비롯한 조선, 만주 등 동아시아 식민지배 정책의 인적 맥락으로 서로 연 결되어 있음을 확인하였다. 둘째 부동산법조사회를 주도하였던 梅謙次郞, 中山成太郞 등의 인물은 이 후 법전조사국에서 중요한 역할을 수행하였으며, 조선총독부 취조국에 참여한 小田幹治郞 등의 인물은 참사관실에서 중요 역할을 담당하기 도 하였다. 셋째 일제의 ‘구관제도조사사업’은 경험이 축적되면서 조직과 인원, 그리고 업무가 확대되면서 조사사업이 심화되었다. 일제는 이 사업의 결과물을 정리하여 식민사관이라는 식민통치의 이데올로기를 생산하였다.This article aims to examine the human genealogy of the people who participated in the ‘Old Custom Research Project among the basic research projects conducted by the Japanese colonial government to control the Joseon colonization, and to clarify its internal context. Since the establishment of the Resident-General in 1906, the Japanese government has been involved in the Research Society of Real Estate Law(1906.7-1907.11), Law Research Bureau(1908.1-1910.9), Joseon Government General Interrogation Bureau(1910.10-1912.4), Joseon Government General Secretary House(1912.3-1914), and Joseon Government General Central House(1915 ~ 1937) to understand the realities, customs, history, and culture of Joseon. Based on the research project, in 1938, the Joseon History Compilation Committee edited 37 volumes of Joseon History and established a colonial view of colonialism to permanently control Joseon. First, in 1896, the bureaucrats who participated in the customary survey in the Japanese colonial Taiwan participated in the ‘Old Custom Research Project’ of Joseon and Manchuria since 1906. It is confirmed that the Japanese imperialism is linked to the human context of East Asian colonization policy including Taiwan, Joseon and Manchuria. Secondly, Ume Genjiro and Nakayama Narutaro, who led the Research Society of Real Estate Law, played an important role in the Law Research Bureau. And Oda Mikijiro, who participated in the Joseon Government General Interrogation Bureau, played an important role in the Joseon Government General Secretary House. Third, as the experience accumulated in the ‘Old Custom Research Project’, the research project was deepened as the organization, personnel, and work expanded. The Japanese government produced the colonial view of colonialism by organizing the results of this project.

조선시대 공민왕 인식의 변화 과정

The Joseon government considered King Gongmin-wang (“Gongmin” from now on) of Goryeo (r.1352~1374) as the de-facto “last” leader of the late Goryeo government, and recorded the history of Goryeo - Joseon’s predecessor - with roughly the same sentiment.BR King Gongmin’s governance had a huge influence upon a group of Goryeo politicians who were instrumental in founding the Joseon dynasty later. One may say his reign inspired those officials’ reform policies in the 1380s and the ’90s. Even during the early years of Joseon people thought very highly of King Gongmin for several reasons, that he was well aware of [Joseon founder king Taejo] Yi Seong-gye’s abilities, appointed him to important seats in the government, and ‘served China well.’ Early Joseon kings even considered Gongmin’s reign as a model, and used to compare theirs with his.BR Yet such high evaluation of King Gongmin apparently began to change during the reigns of both Sejong and Sejo, and negative perception of Gongmin’s reign continued to increase during Seongjong and Jungjong’s reign as well, to the point of criticizing him as ‘king of a fallen dynasty.’ This change in Gongmin’s image was not only triggered by the passage of time. It was also being linked with the issue of ‘clarifying [rectifying] the founder king’s lineage[heritage].’ In order to resolve this issue, the Joseon government came to describe Gongmin more and more negatively. During King Hyeonjong’s reign, Gongmin even came to be compared with Gwang’hae-gun, who was an example of a dethroned king.

19세기 朝鮮 정부의 通商修交 거부논리와 그 의의

19세기 朝鮮 정부의 通商修交 거부논리와 그 의의

조선 · 청 외교문서의 교섭경로와 성경의 역할

There were many forms of negotiative dialogue using document exchanges that existed between Joseon and Qing governments, and examined in this article is the one that involved the Seong’ gyeong(盛京) capital, which began to be used only in the 18SUPth/SUP century. Previous studies did recognize the larger meaning of the usage of this particular channel of communication, but the real meaning of its operations is yet to be determined.BR Among all of Qing’s counterparts, Joseon was the closest one in geopolitical terms, as in geographic terms they were located right next to each other, while two warfares and a truce interconnected the fates of both parties together even stronger than ever. As a result, it became a general practice for the Six Ministries(六部) of the Qing government to send communiques and diplomatic documents directly to the Joseon government themselves.BR In the second half of the 17SUPth/SUP century, fashions of communication became much more refined as Qing finally set its roots down in China. In terms of its communication with Joseon, the task was placed under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Rites(Yebu). Then in the early 18SUPth/SUP century, the role of the Seong’gyeong capital (which was located between Peijing and Seoul[Han’yang]) started to expand. Whenever a Joseon-involved case took place in areas under Seong’ gyeong capital’s authority, Seong’ gyeong officials would send a diplomatic communique to the Joseon government themselves.BR It was only natural for the Peijing government and the Seong’ gyeong authorities to divide roles between themselves, considering the time and resources spent in long-distance communications. A hierarchical relationship represented by the so-called ‘Tributary-Appointment’ relationship was still there between Joseon and Qing, but issues which needed more practical, efficient resolutions were dealt with in different manners. The coexistence of these two facets in a premodern diplomatic relationship seems only reasonable.

고려 후기 전민변정과 조선 초기 노비 정책의 의의와 한계

In the late Goryeo period, there were the problems on the land and labor power. To solve the problem, the rectification of the Problems on Land-People was suggested in the late Late Goryeo. In the respect, the Nobi legislation of the early Joseon period was a result of the rectification of the Problems on Land-People of Goryeo. Of course, the form and contents of the entire Field-people Recti_cation were not inherited. The rectification of the Problems on Land-People of Goryeo was aimed to solve the problem by transforming the land and the people together, but the radical new scholastic nobles tried to solve it in separating the problems of land and people. As a result, the land problem came to the revolution of private felds, totally abolishing the land ownership based on the crops taxation right and redistributing the lands. BR The Joseon government officials tried to solve the problems of saminwha(ordinary people get ruled by private nobles) in the late Goryeo period and the fierce conflicts between the ruling classes over securing the labor forces, setting out the measures to prevent the recurrence. The task to recover the status of privatized people and secure them as the burdeners of national duties through the rectification had certain achievements but fairly limited. On the other hand, more rational and finely detailed rules were made, but the core elements of the former Goryeo Nobi law that had allowed the owner to steadily possess, rule, and inherit the slave were inherited. As the Joseon government inherited the principle of the Nobi inheritance and the principle of the parent-nobi-child-nobi law that guarantees the possession and expansion of the Nobis by the ruling class as it was, there came to be the possibility that the possession of the Nobis would be expanded and the ordinary people would get to be slaves at any time.

선조대 경인통신사의 사행과 조정의 대응방식

Until now it is recognized as the critical cause of Joseon’s defeat in the early stage of the Imjin Japanese Invasion that the foreign reports between the chief-envoy and the vice-envoy differed oppositely about the Japanese situation, which was caused by the deep antagonism between the political factions.BR The government had focused her sight on the Japanese situation until the 23rd year of King Seonjo(1590) and decided to send the diplomatic envoys to Japan to get the information for the first time after the year of 1443. After the trip the cabinet discussed the possibility of Japanese invasion and decided even to send the related notice to the Ming Dynasty.BR Next year the cabinet wanted to detect sincerely the possibility of the invasion. Eokryeon Oh, a bureaucrat belonging to the Cultural Office was moved to an other office immediately because he delivered up the bellicose information to his higher officer on the base of what he had heard from the Japanese diplomats. The cabinet could find out the possibility of making a warBRalthough there were some discrepancy in the informations gathered form the Japanese diplomats.BR In reality, Joseon government tried to defend the Japanese invasion both in selecting the proper persons into the military position and in building the defensive wall, strengthening vigilance. But we must remind that military power of defence was the one and uniformity of envoys’ opinion about the Japanese invasion was the other.

아편전쟁을 바라보는 조선의 다중 시선 -19세기 중후반 조선 조정, 지식층, 서민층의 대청인식 연구-

아편전쟁을 바라보는 조선의 다중 시선 -19세기 중후반 조선 조정, 지식층, 서민층의 대청인식 연구-

병자호란에 대한 기억의 왜곡과 그 현재적 의미

Examined in this article are some distorted recollections or improper understanding of facts related to the “Byeongja Horan” war with the Manchurian troops, which we can find from the Joseon people’s own records such as the Royal edict of “Boycotting peace negotiations,” and memories of the “Three scholar-officials.”BR This royal edict, issued in March of the 14SUPth/SUP year of king Injo’s reign(1636), was in fact not an elucidation that the Joseon government would sever all diplomatic relationships with Hu-Geum, nor a declaration of an impending retaliatory strike against it. It was an order clarifying why the Joseon government refused to receive the diplomatic communique from Hu-Guem, while also urging the society to prepare itself for a war, that may or may not break. BR Similarly misunderstood were the circumstances surrounding the Three scholar-officials. Considering the fact that they were handed over to the enemy by their own government, the atmosphere of honoring them should be understandable, but a blind commemoration of them, based upon a black or white perspective that usually lacks sufficient appreciation of all the nuances and subtle details, will not only lead us to microscopic distortion of facts, but also lead us away from an objective and comprehensive review of the war itself.BR The history of the time should be reviewed with all the exaggerations and distortions filtered out, and examined with the Joseon society’s own internal situations in mind. Only by doing so the 500 years worth of peace and warfare of Joseon could be objectively reviewed and appropriately analyzed.

In Search of Lost Time in the History of Colonial Urban Planning : A reexamination of the discussion of urban planning in colonial Joseon during the 1920’s and the “1930 Joseon Government General Urban Plan”

In Search of Lost Time in the History of Colonial Urban Planning : A reexamination of the discussion of urban planning in colonial Joseon during the 1920’s and the “1930 Joseon Government General Urban Plan”

조선시대 赤潮의 발생과 대응

Red tide is natural calamity that has constantly occurred in the past. When 『The True Record of the Joseon Dynasty』 and the like were examined, the frequency of occurrence was lower than that of other natural calamities, but red tide was classified as natural calamity that the state should pay attention to. Red tide was understood as reprimand that God gave to the king, based on traditional theory of a Natural Disaster.BR The biggest damage of red tide was the death of fish and shellfish like the present. And there occurred a case people were poisoned or died because they ate fish and shellfish which had died due to the toxic substance of red tide. Therefore, if red tide occurred in the seas where seafood to be offered to the king was collected, the collection and offer of seafood was prohibited. When red tide occurred, the emitted fishy smell sometimes caused problem with the production of salt.BR When red tide occurred, the first measure taken by the Joseon government was Haegoe ritual. Red tide was regarded as strange natural calamity that god allowed. So, ancestral rites to resolve this was performed. And king

15~19세기 한반도 산림의 민간 개방과 숲의 변화

Essentially examined in this article are probable changes that would have been brought upon the forests, when the Joseon government newly designated forests as public lands and therefore allowed people to have access to most forests as well as resources inside them. In earlier times, all the forests were considered as private property of the king and therefore inaccessible. But the Joseon government (while excluding some areas as limited exceptions) opened forests to the public, and permitted them to freely take advantage of them. As a result, since the 15th century through the 19th, the primeval forest of the Korean peninsula, which had been kept intact till the end of the Goryeo dynasty, was severely reduced in its mass and depleted in its resources. Forests literally became mere ‘green lands.’BR Of course, there were other reasons which supposedly reduced the forests’ mass in the Joseon period. Large-scale constructions of palaces, offices and ships, production of salt (by boiling sea water), expansion in usages of a certain heating system(“Ondol”) in civilian residences, increase in iron refinery operations and even escalating usage of porcelain and earthenware (which required operation of kilns), all contributed to the increase in usage of wood and therefore would have been detrimental to forest preservation. But an overall analysis of the amount of wood that would have probably been used in each of the above-mentioned areas show that any one of them would not have been severe enough to compromise the forests’ ultimate regenerative power. They could have temporarily damaged the forests from time to time to be sure, but would not have brought them to a point beyond recovery.BR Examination of written records suggest that the most irrefutable cause for the forests’ ultimate reduction was a steady increase in reclamation projects aiming for the enlargement of usable agricultural lands, and the expansion of human habitats and villages. Forests were irrevocably damaged in regions where lands were newly upgraded and people started to gather in a concentrated fashion. Also, forests which were close to villages were placed under constant logging, and in many cases slowly turned into pine tree-based pure forests. These places were relatively more fertile that others, and therefore were developed more quickly (than other areas) as slash-and-burn lands, and large pine tree forests close to such lands were oftentimes sacrificed by open fire.

The Revision of Sajik Ritual System during the early Ming Dynasty and the Debates about National Sajik Altar Alteration during the early Joseon Dynasty

Sajik, the altar of land and grain was treated as one of the most important national ritual facilities by the Joseon dynasty and the Ming dynasty because it symbolized the legitimacy of a dynasty, and its architectural ordonnance was arranged strictly by the government. But when the Joseon government considered to reconstruct its national Sajik altar in Hanyang during the Sejong period, they found the new architectural ordonnance for local Sajik altars recorded in Hongwulizhi(洪武禮制) had been published by the Ming government was hard to adopt, because it was too narrow and totally different from the traditional style. Above all things, they doubt of there was other architectural ordonnance for kingdoms, not for local governments. King Sejong ordered to investigate the origin form and former examples, and tried to get other ritual documents of authority published by the Ming government such as Damingjili(大明集禮). After several academic researches and intense debates, they decided to create a new architectural ordonnance for their national Sajik altar, its form was in accord with the traditional style and its size was in accord with the new ordonnance. But they did not know there had already been the architectural ordonnance for the kingdom in the Ming dynasty. Because the first emperor of the Ming dynasty had changed its Sajik ritual system several times, even the whole country of the Ming dynasty also had gone through chaos on this issue even after his death. Consequentially, the official documentation works had been made partially, there was no a complete document on this issue even in the Ming government.

The household register and governance system of the Joseon dynasty

The household registers of the Joseon dynasty were compiled to levy taxation and to requisition for corvee labor and military service. Since the founding, Joseon government composed a household on household registers for a family members in principle. However household register recorded selective population rather than entirety by government policy and correspondence of resident. Indeed, the central government allocated population to counties as needed. So the field survey was implemented autonomously by residents at the local level.BR The number of household of whole country were settled because of the central government fixed the total amount of financial affairs and military service in the 18th century. The local government collected the expenditure and allocated the rates to subordinate district on the basis of the administrative adjusted household register. In this vein, people who want to raise the identification payed the local government for using the title of the Yangban elite, the high class of the Joseon dynasty. The tendency to standardize the formula of the household register means that the dynasty keep try monistic understanding on official document. BR The central government could achieve centralization power because of they guaranteed local autonomy on making and managing the household register. The Joseon dynasty hadBRprogressed their system to absolutistic centralization. However the direction of centralization did not contradicted local autonomy. Rather, the both had a relationship as mutual aid in the Joseon dynasty.

The Taking of Koreans by Japanese to Tottori Domain in 1693 and Tsushima Domain

This paper examines a set of diplomatic measures taken by Tsushima Domain(對馬藩) regarding relations between Joseon(朝鮮) and Japan, and focuses on the Koreans who were captured and taken to Tottori Domain(鳥取藩) in 1693. This paper seeks to identify the intention and the diplomatic position of Tsushima Domain, which was deeply involved in the repatriation of these Koreans.<BR> In 1407, the governor of Tsushima, S? Sadashige(宗貞茂), expressed to Joseon that he wanted to move to Ulleungdo(鬱陵島). Further, Tsushima several times gained the repatriation of Japanese fishermen who had sailed to Ulleungdo and reached the eastern coast of Joseon. Through such experiences, Tsushima Domain learned that fishermen from Tottori Domain had been sailing to Ulleungdo. However, there is no record that Tottori Domain ever informed the Joseon government of this fact.<BR> The Edo government(江戶幕府) ordered Tsushima Domain to repatriate the Koreans taken to Japan by Tottori Domain fishermen in 1693. Tsushima Domain independently investigated Ulleungdo and reaffirmed that Takeshima(竹嶋) is Ulleungdo. Tsushima Domain, however, negotiated with Joseon without reporting the results of this investigation to the Edo government. Further, Tsushima Domain sent Joseon a diplomatic document in which was written “Japan’s Takeshima,” while the original order from the Edo government was to “request the Joseon government to prohibit its people from sailing to Takeshima,” that is Ulleungdo.<BR> Joseon and Japan argued over expressions included in the Joseon government’s reply from the eleventh month of 1693 to mid-1695. During this period, Tsushima Domain continuously attempted to include Takeshima into Japanese territory. Such attempts could stem from Tsushima Domain’s territorial ambitions over Ulleungdo. However, Tsushima Domain was not able to achieve its goal as the Joseon government started to adopt hard-line policies to address this issue in the late stages of its diplomatic negotiations with Japan. In the end, the Edo government confirmed the facts about the ownership of Ulleungdo and provided Joseon with a reply that it will ban Japanese from sailing to Ulleungdo.

18세기 연행사의 정보수집활동

This paper analyzed the activities that Yeonahngsa(Envoy) had collected information on Ching(淸) in 18th century. At this times, Joseon had maintained the relationship with Ching. Joseon government tried to collect information oversea, had had much concern continuously, according to the increase the necessity of that they had to strengthen their military power with reducing their anxiety of frontier issues because of crisis of relationship with Ching, and the activation of cultural exchange with Ching. Therefore, to encourage to collect the information all the way of going to Ching, Joseon government made to use the reward system, on the other they expanded to take action to the who was to report the documents. Their activities was at the Hoydongkwan(會同館) of Beijing, was done by the official interpreters who were good at foreign langage. The role of interpreters was stipulated to do with doing as a diplomat, sometime it was stipulated as a special job too. Collecting the information of Yeonhangsa was made by investigating and gathering documents. The subjects were not Chinese officerst, but were limited to the desendent of Joseon or interperters. Sometime it resulted in arousing the criticism to reliability of information collected by Yeonhangsa. So, to overcome these limitation, they collected bibliographic data through the official report by Chinese government, including the government’s document, bulletin board, book, etc. The information collected was reported to Joseon government, was reported to as a oral report when being received in audience by the king after homecoming. Report was collected as Sasinbeoldan(使臣別單) at the 『Dongmunhuygo(同文彙考)』. According to this book, a group of these diploma had focused on grasping the situation of Chinese imperial family and government. The death of imperial, the accession of new imperial, the diverse conflicts and feuds around the succession of imperial, and the situation of vassal that were gained favor by the imperial were recorded. Countries which they had colledted the information were the East-south Asian countries and the Western countries like Holland, England. And they had collected the information which were calendar, music, wagan system, the military architecture. With the activities of information by Yeonhangsa, there were coming lots of information to the Joseon government, but there were also coming out the limitations. First of all, the activities focused on Yeonhangsa had to depend on the irregular envoys. Also they had to compliment the diverse method of collecting information like collecting the documents because of low reliability of investing information. Although the situation of the imperial family and their inner circle had been done in detail, the range of collecting information did not expand until to the other countires like the east-south Asia. Moreover, there were difficult to find to concern of the western culture and countries which tried to contact with Estern countries newly, and also it was little concern of practical information like wagon system, military architecture.

조선시대 서해 북단 해역의 경계와 島嶼 문제 : 海浪島와 薪島를 중심으로

In the late Ming Dynasty period, when the perception of maritime border was indistinct, there were four viewpoints on the starting point of the north-western border between the Ming Dynasty and the Joseon Dynasty; the Nokdo Island at the Yalu River estuary which is located in the coast of Liaodong, the Jangjado Island located in between the Nokdo Island and the Geowoodo Island which belongs to Cheolsan-bu, the Sindo Island located at the strategically significant place for the maritime defense in the mouth of the Yalu River, and the Geowoodo Island located sixteen kilometers away westward from Cheolsan-bu. As a conclusion, the Sindo Island was the starting point of the border of the north-western border. The reason that the Joseon envoys did not recognize the Sindo Island or Geowoodo Island as the territory of the Joseon Dynasty was that lots of people from Liaodong moved to the area and settled down there after the Japanese invasion of 1592. And since Mao Wen-lung, who was expelled from Liaodong area when Nurhaci of Jianzhou Jurchen occupied Liaoning area, established his military post at the Gado Island located within the territory of the Joseon Dynasty and took the offshore control. Therefore the Joseon government could not take this area under her control and had to abandon it temporarily. The Hongzhi Emperor of Ming Dynasty expressed his doubt about the location of Haerang Island and since the era of the King Seongjong of the Joseon Dynasty, it became the direct cause of a diplomatic dispute between the Ming Dynasty and the Joseon Dynasty. People from the Joseon Dynasty traveled to the island or lived there to avoid drafted labor from the government and for a purpose of doing commercial activities or fisheries. The Joseon government, which was deeply concerned about this issue, brought those people back to Joseon and punished them. However, many of Chinese people moved to the Sindo Island located in the territory of Joseon, and settled down there to avoid drafted labor from their government. This could casue a serious problem to the Joseon government thus the government requested Liaodongdusi (the military commander of Liadong area) to prohibit those people from moving to the island. But Liaodongdusi did not properly react to the request. Therefore, the Joseon government tried to put political pressure on Liaodongdusi by notifying him that they would send envoys directly to Beijing in case he did not grant their request. In this way, the Joseon government could solve the problem. The reason that the Joseon government tried to solve the Haerangdo Island and the Sindo Island problem in advance so that it would not develop any bigger problem has an important significance. The Joseon government was concerned that the issue might cause damage on their spirit of toadyism toward the Ming Dynasty. And they saw possibilities of a border dispute between them and the Ming Dynasty which could get caused by a small problem in the borderland.

Flourishing Yin and the Decline of the Universe: Qishu Theory and Cosmological Interpretation on the Rise of ‘Barbarian Power’ in the Late Joseon Period

The term qishu that had a theoretical foundation in Neo-Confucian philosophy, especially the cosmological chronology, had been used in much Confucian literature starting from the early Joseon period. Until the middle of the seventeenth century, the term qishu and qishu theory sometimes faced strong rejection and criticism by court Confucians because of the fatalistic implications of qishu theory. However, beginning in the middle of the seventeenth century, the situation became more generous toward using the term qishu in court discussions or in the writings of Confucians, and the Joseon Confucians easily proposed qishu theory in order to interpret many incidents or occurrences such as portents or war. This change toward accepting qishu theory originated first from the publication and circulation of the cosmological chronology text complemented with Korean history by Joseon Confucians, and, secondly, from the invasion of Manchurian Qing army in 1667 and the humiliating defeat of the Joseon government. Using qishu theory, Joseon Confucians began to interpret the victories of “the barbarian Qing” and the fall of the Ming as the decline of zhonghua symbolizing human civilization with qishu. With qishu theory, those misfortunes that occurred in spite of human efforts were interpreted as reflecting a change in qishu, from a phase of yang qi domination to a phase of yin qi domination. Joseon Confucians thought that the rise of barbarian power and the gradual decline of civilization reflected a new phase of the great universal cycle entering into a decadent phase of yin qi. As an extension of this logic, the Joseon Confucians of the nineteenth century interpreted their contemporary situation of a world facing rising Western power and a declining East in terms of qishu theory and the cosmological chronology like their predecessors.

Korean Embassy Trips Around the World and an Understanding of Global Civilization During the Enlightenment Period (1894-1910): Haecheon chubeom, Sagu sokcho and Seosarok

This paper surveys the experiences of and attitudes about Western civilization by analyzing the travel records of the Korean embassies dispatched to Western Europe from 1896 to 1902. Since these were important diplomatic missions of the Joseon government, personal expression of emotions was restrained in the travel records and the objective fact-centered description was given a great deal of weight. Nevertheless, there appear some differences in the travel records based upon the writer’s intention of consciousness and descriptive attitude. In Min Yeong-hwan’s Haecheon chubeom (1896), the so-called first record of a round-the-world trip, his admiration and praise of Western urban culture and scientific civilization appear openly. It shows an aspect of Occidentalism because it projected and was selectively composed of the standard of civilization that he had imagined and desired, one which uncivilized Joseon should strive for in the future. In Sagu sokcho (1897), recorded the next year, Min Yeong-hwan shows an interest in the lifestyle of various peoples in the world, the cultural climate, and natural environment using a rather objective viewpoint, but there still exists a dichotomy between civilization and barbarism. Lee Jong-eung’s Seosarok (1902) is a bit freer from such prejudices because it interprets Western civilization based on the classics of the East.