"Seongho" Yi Ik (1681–1763) was a

Korea Korea is a peninsular region in East Asia consisting of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and smaller islands. Since the end of World War II in 1945, it has been politically Division of Korea, divided at or near the 38th parallel north, 3 ...

Neo-Confucian Neo-Confucianism (, often shortened to ''lǐxué'' 理學, literally "School of Principle") is a Morality, moral, Ethics, ethical, and metaphysics, metaphysical Chinese philosophy influenced by Confucianism, which originated with Han Yu (768� ...

scholar, early

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 ...

philosopher and social critic. He was born to a

yangban The ''yangban'' () were part of the traditional ruling class or gentry of dynastic Korea during the Joseon period. The ''yangban'' were mainly composed of highly educated civil officials and military officers—landed or unlanded aristocrats wh ...

family of the

Yeoju Yeoju (; ) is a Administrative divisions of South Korea, city in Gyeonggi Province, South Korea. Yeoju was a county but was raised to the status of a city in September 2013. Together with the neighboring city of Icheon, it is known as a major ce ...

Yi clan. Like most people in his position, he studied for 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 ...

'' in order to gain a position of rank; but failed in his first attempt in 1705. Shortly thereafter, his elder brother Yi Jam was beaten to death as part of the Lady Jang incident, and Yi lost interest in government service. Yi Ik followed in

Yu Hyeong-won Yu Hyeong-won (; 1622–1673), also spelled as Yoo Hyung-Won, was a Korean philosopher. His art name was Ban'gye (磻溪). He was a Neo-Confucianist and science scholar of the Korean Joseon Dynasty. He was a Korean pioneer of the early silhak ...

line of thought extending in this work Seongho Saseol, which covers subjects as government, economy, and the family, and makes detailed proposals for reordering each aspect of

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 ...

society. His most famous work was ''Record of Concern for the Underprivileged'' which lays down the cardinal principles of reform ideas. As Yi attracted many disciples,

gradually emerged as

dynasty's dominant school of thought. He was born in

Ansan Ansan (, ) is a city in Gyeonggi Province, South Korea. It lies southwest of Seoul and is part of the Seoul Metropolitan Area. It is connected to Seoul by rail via Seoul Subway Line 4. It is situated on the Yellow Sea coast and some islands lie ...

in 1681. In 1967 a monument to him, "Tomb of Yi Ik" was erect there, next to a museum celebrating his life and works.

Work book

* Seonghosaseol (성호사설, 星湖僿說) * SeonghoMunjip (성호문집, 星湖文集) * Yijasueo (이자수어, 李子粹語) * Seonghojilseo (성호질서, 星湖疾書) * Kwakwurock (곽우록, 藿憂錄)

External links

Bibliography
1681 births 1763 deaths 18th-century Korean philosophers Korean Confucianists 18th-century Korean poets Neo-Confucian scholars 18th-century agronomists People from Ansan {{korea-bio-stub

Work book

See also

External links