Pak Kyusu (; 1807–1877) was a

scholar-bureaucrat The scholar-officials, also known as literati, scholar-gentlemen or scholar-bureaucrats (), were government officials and prestigious scholars in Chinese society, forming a distinct social class. Scholar-officials were politicians and governmen ...

, teacher, politician, and a diplomat of the

Joseon Joseon ( ; ; also romanized as ''Chosun''), officially Great Joseon (), was a dynastic kingdom of Korea that existed for 505 years. It was founded by Taejo of Joseon in July 1392 and replaced by the Korean Empire in October 1897. The kingdom w ...

period. He was known as a pioneer of the enlightenment group. Pak Kyusu was the grandson of Pak Chiwŏn, the great

Silhak ''Silhak'' () was a Korean Confucian social reform movement in the late Joseon Dynasty. ''Sil'' means "actual" or "practical", and ''hak'' means "studies" or "learning". It developed in response to the increasingly metaphysical nature of Neo-C ...

scholar. He was also known by the names of Hwanjae (), Hwanjae (), Hŏnjae (), and Hwanjaegŏsa ().

Biography

In 1827, Pak Kyusu met

Crown Prince Hyomyeong Crown Prince Hyomyeong (18 September 1809 – 25 June 1830), personal name Yi Yeong, and posthumously honored as King Munjo, was a member of the Joseon dynasty. Life and death The prince was the eldest son of King Sunjo, husband of Queen Sin ...

who quickly became a trusted friend. The Crown Prince would often ask Pak for his thoughts on delicate political and social issues. When the Crown Prince died three years later at the age of 20, Pak fell into a deep state of mourning. Due to this, Pak isolated himself from the outside world for twenty years. In 1848, he successfully passed the

Gwageo The () or ''kwagŏ'' were the national civil service examinations under the Goryeo (918–1392) and Joseon (1392–1897) periods of Korea. Typically quite demanding, these tests measured candidates' ability of writing composition and knowledge ...

civil service exam, a test required for government work. Doing well on this test allowed Pak Kyusu to acquire a well-paid job early on. Later in his life, Pak became a mentor for a Korean politician

Pak Yŏnghyo Pak Yŏnghyo (; 12 June 1861 – 21 September 1939) was a Korean politician from the Joseon period, an enlightenment activist, diplomat, and Korean collaborators with Imperial Japan, pro-Japanese collaborator. He was one of the organizers o ...

during the mid-1870s. Pak Kyusu decided to instruct Pak Yŏnghyo in his ways of enlightened thinking after he took initiative and sought the politician out. Pak Kyusu's ideas influenced many throughout Korea, the most notable being the Korean reformist

Kim Okgyun Kim Okkyun (; February 23, 1851 – March 28, 1894) was a Korean scholar-bureaucrat of the late Joseon period. He was a member of the reformist Gaehwa Party. He served under King Gojong of Joseon, Gojong, and actively participated to advance W ...

, who went on to incorporate foreign sciences and technologies into Korea in an attempt to strengthen it against further military advances by the rapidly technologically developing

Meiji Japan The was an era of Japanese history that extended from October 23, 1868, to July 30, 1912. The Meiji era was the first half of the Empire of Japan, when the Japanese people moved from being an isolated feudal society at risk of colonizatio ...

. During the period of King Gojong's reign, the Queen actively supported him.

Queen Sinjeong Queen Sinjeong (; 9 January 1809 – 23 May 1890), of the Pungyang Jo clan, was the only wife of Crown Prince Hyomyeong and mother of Heonjong of Joseon. She was never formally a Queen but was known as Queen Dowager Jo () during the reign of her ...

had been the wife of Crown Prince Hyomyeong, who was posthumously named King Munjo. Pak Kyusu was the governor of

Pyongan Pyongan Province (; ) was one of Eight Provinces of Korea during the Joseon dynasty. Pyongan was located in the northwest of Korea. The provincial capital was Pyongyang. History Pyongan Province was formed in 1413. Its name derived from the name ...

province when the ''General Sherman'' incident occurred, an event commonly cited as a factor important to the end of Korean isolationism in the 19th century. On the 9th of July 1866, the ''General Sherman'' entered the Keupsa Gate without permission. Pak gave the ''General Sherman'''s crew a warning to depart from Joseon. The ship's crew ignored his warning and captured the messenger adjutant-general Yi Hyon-Ik, a subordinate of Pak Kyusu. Pak was present during the rescue of Yi and the destruction of the ''General Sherman'' on the 24th of July 1866. In 1872 Pak Kyusu was made the Joseon Chief Envoy to the court of the

Tongzhi Emperor The Tongzhi Emperor (27 April 1856 – 12 January 1875), also known by his temple name Emperor Muzong of Qing, personal name Zaichun, was the ninth emperor of the Qing dynasty, and the eighth Qing emperor to rule over China proper. His reign, w ...

.Kang, Jae-eun, and Suzanne Lee. (2006)
''The Land of Scholars: Two Thousand Years of Korean Confucianism,'' p. 445
/ref>

Known works

* Hwanjaejip(환재집 瓛齋集) * Hwanjaejikgye(환재직계 瓛齋織啓) * Hwanjaesyugye(환재수계 瓛齋繡啓) * Geogajapbokgo(거가잡복고 居家雜服攷) * Sanggodohoimunuirye(상고도회문의례 尙古圖會文儀例) * Jangammungo(장암문고 莊菴文稿) * Hwanjaeyugo(환재유고 瓛齋遺稿)

Notes

References

* Daehwan, Noh

''Korea Journal'' (Winter 2003). * Kang, Jae-eun and Suzanne Lee. (2006). ''The Land of Scholars: Two Thousand Years of Korean Confucianism.'' Paramus, New Jersey: Homa & Sekey Books.
OCLC 60931394

External links

Pak Kyusu

"서양 오랑캐가 중국 문명에 감화될 것이니…"
프레시안 2010.04.09

문화일보 2011.03.10
이 남자, 네 가지로 모든 걸 해결했다
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pak, Kyusu 1807 births 1877 deaths Joseon scholar-officials Korean scholars Korean Confucianists 19th-century Korean philosophers Neo-Confucian scholars Korean educators 19th-century Korean poets Korean politicians 19th-century Korean diplomats People from Seoul