''Sadaejuui'' (lit. "thing-big-ism", meaning: "serving-the-Great ideology"; Hangul: 사대주의, Hanja: 事大主義, ) is a largely pejorative

Korean Korean may refer to: People and culture * Koreans, ethnic group originating in the Korean Peninsula * Korean cuisine * Korean culture * Korean language **Korean alphabet, known as Hangul or Chosŏn'gŭl **Korean dialects and the Jeju language ** ...

term which evolved in the mid-20th century from a more widely used historical concept.Armstrong, Charles K. (2007). The contemporary term ''sadaejuui'' was derived from the Chinese ''shi da'' (Korean, ''sadae'') as used by the philosopher,

Mencius Mencius ( ); born Mèng Kē (); or Mèngzǐ (; 372–289 BC) was a Chinese Confucian philosopher who has often been described as the "second Sage", that is, second to Confucius himself. He is part of Confucius' fourth generation of disciple ...

. * ''

Sadae ''Sadae'' (''lit.'' "serving-the-Great," Hangul: 사대 Hanja: ) is a Korean term which is used in pre-modern contexts.Armstrong, Charles K. (2007). ''Sadae'' is a Confucian concept, based on filial piety, that describes a reciprocal hierarchica ...

'' literally means "dealing with the great" or "serving the great"Pratt, Kieth L. ''et al.'' (1999). ''Korea: a historical and cultural dictionary,'' p. 384. and interpreted as "Loving and admiring the great and powerful". *''Juui'' means "ideology" and it is conventionally translated as "-ism." In other words, ''sadaejuui'' is a compound-word composed of ''sadae'' + ''juui.''

Etymology

The term "''sadaejuui''" was invented by early 20th century Korean nationalists. The antecedents of this modern term is the historic term "''sadae''" (), which comes from the word in

's () book, which means "service to the great by the small" or "a small kingdom accommodates a large." * *Mencius - Liang Hui Wang II

Overview

''Sadaejuui'' conflates an attitude of subservience with the

political realism Realism is one of the dominant schools of thought in international relations theory, theoretically formalising the Realpolitik statesmanship of early modern Europe. Although a highly diverse body of thought, it is unified by the belief that wo ...

which accompanies the prudent recognition of greater power. ''Sadae'' describes a foreign policy characterized by the various ways a weaker nation-state such as Korea acknowledges the strength of a greater power such as China. ''Sadae'' is made manifest in the actions of the weaker nation-state as it conveys goodwill and respect through its envoys. The utility of the ''sadae'' concept in Korea was recognized from the period of

Three Kingdoms of Korea Samhan or the Three Kingdoms of Korea () refers to the three kingdoms of Goguryeo (고구려, 高句麗), Baekje (백제, 百濟), and Silla (신라, 新羅). Goguryeo was later known as Goryeo (고려, 高麗), from which the modern name ''Kor ...

to 1897; and it is demonstrated in the relationship of mid-

Joseon Joseon (; ; Middle Korean: 됴ᇢ〯션〮 Dyǒw syéon or 됴ᇢ〯션〯 Dyǒw syěon), officially the Great Joseon (; ), was the last dynastic kingdom of Korea, lasting just over 500 years. It was founded by Yi Seong-gye in July 1392 and ...

Korea towards the

Ming dynasty The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last ort ...

of China. Joseon made every effort to maintain a friendly relationship with

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

for reasons having to do with both ''

realpolitik ''Realpolitik'' (; ) refers to enacting or engaging in diplomatic or political policies based primarily on considerations of given circumstances and factors, rather than strictly binding itself to explicit ideological notions or moral and ethical ...

'' and an idealized Confucian worldview in which China is perceived as the center of a

Confucian Confucianism, also known as Ruism or Ru classicism, is a system of thought and behavior originating in ancient China. Variously described as tradition, a philosophy, a religion, a humanistic or rationalistic religion, a way of governing, or ...

moral universe. The kingdom of Joseon accepted its place in a Sinocentristic world order. The Joseon foreign policy was organized around maintaining stable Joseon–Chinese relations in the period from 1392 through 1910. It contrasts with limited trade relationships or ''kyorin'' diplomacy (교린정책/交隣政策; ''lit.'' "neighborly relations") in regard to Joseon-Japanese relations in this period. The concept of ''sadaejuui'' was central in the writings of

polemicist Polemic () is contentious rhetoric intended to support a specific position by forthright claims and to undermine the opposing position. The practice of such argumentation is called ''polemics'', which are seen in arguments on controversial topics ...

Shin Chaeho Sin Chaeho, or Shin Chae-ho (; November 7, 1880 – February 21, 1936), was a Korean independence activist, historian, anarchist, nationalist, and a founder of Korean nationalist historiography (민족 사학, ''minjok sahak''; sometimes shortene ...

. His ideas and voice became prominent features of Korean nationalism. Sin is known for having argued that the ''sadaejuui'' inherent in Confucian historiography served * to devalue the ethnic origins of the Korean people and state Robinson, p. 129. * to subjugate Korean history within a Confucian interpretive framework His revisionist writings sought to deny the relevance of ''sadae'' as an important element of Korean history.Robinson, pp. 131-132.

Notes

References

* Alford, C. Fred. (1999). ''Think no evil: Korean values in the age of globalization.'' Ithaca: Cornell University Press.
OCLC 247000674
* Armstrong, Charles K. (2007). ''The Koreas.'' London: CRC Press. ;
OCLC 71808039
* Kang, Etsuko Hae-jin. (1997). ''Diplomacy and Ideology in Japanese-Korean Relations: from the Fifteenth to the Eighteenth Century.'' Basingstoke, Hampshire; Macmillan. ; * Levinson, David and Karen Christensen. (2002). ''Encyclopedia of Modern Asia. New York:

Charles Scribner's Sons Charles Scribner's Sons, or simply Scribner's or Scribner, is an American publisher based in New York City, known for publishing American authors including Henry James, Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Kurt Vonnegut, Marjorie Kinnan R ...

. ; * Mansourov, Alexandre Y
"Will Flowers Bloom without Fragrance? Korean-Chinese Relations,"
''Harvard Asia Quarterly'' (Spring 2009). * Pratt, Keith L.,

Richard Rutt Cecil Richard Rutt CBE (27 August 192527 July 2011) was an English Roman Catholic priest and a former Anglican bishop. Rutt spent almost 20 years of his life serving as an Anglican missionary in South Korea, a country for which he developed a d ...

, and James Hoare. (1999). ''Korea: a historical and cultural dictionary,'' Richmond: Curzon Press. ;
OCLC 245844259
* Robinson, Michael. (1984) "National Identity and the Thought of Sin Ch'ae-ho: Sadaejuüi and Chuch'e in History and Politics." ''Journal of Korean Studies'' 5: 121–142. * Robinson, Michael. (1988). ''Cultural Nationalism in Colonial Korea, 1920–1925.'' Seattle:

University of Washington Press The University of Washington Press is an American academic publishing house. The organization is a division of the University of Washington, based in Seattle. Although the division functions autonomously, they have worked to assist the universi ...

.
OCLC 18106164
{{authority control Political theories Korean philosophy Ideologies Korean Confucianism

Etymology

Overview

See also

Notes

References