Guest Editor’s Introduction: The Current State of Research on Yu Kilchun and the Search for Methodologies
Journal Title: International Journal of Korean History - Year 2016, Vol 21, Issue 2
Abstract
Yu Kilchun (1856-1914) was the first Korean to study modern Western civilization in Japan (1881) and the United States (1883). Yu headed to Japan as a member of the Korean Courtiers’ Observation Mission (Chosa Shich’aldan) as a result of the momentum from Chosŏn Korea’s signing of the Japan-Korea Treaty of 1876 and the subsequent pursuit of modern reforms. Afterwards, he stayed in Japan to further his studies at Keio Gijuku. He returned to Korea after a year and took charge of publishing a newspaper to enlighten the general public on the modernization policies the Chosŏn government was pursuing at the time. He also proposed policies in various areas, such as tax reform and land reform. Afterwards, Yu Acknowledgments: This study was supported by Korea University Grant (2014) ** This paper does not provide detailed research achievements of the Korean academia on Yu Kilchun since it targets readers outside of Korea. For bibliographical information on research and texts on Yu Kilchun, refer to Choi Deoksoo, 2015 “Haebang hu Yu Kilchun yŏn’gu ŭi sŏnggwa wa kwaje” (Achievements and challenges of research on Yu Kilchun after Korean liberation from Japanese rule). Kŭndae Han’guk ŭi kaehyŏk kusang kwa Yu Kilchun (Reform ideas in modern Korea and Yu Kilchun). Koryŏ Taehakkyo Ch’ulp’an Munhwawŏn.
Authors and Affiliations
Deok-Soo Choi
Keywords
Related Articles
- EP ID EP26435
- DOI https://doi.org/10.22372/ijkh.2016.08.21.2.1
- Views 295
- Downloads 10
King Yŏngjo’s T'angp'yŏng Policy and its Orientation : The trio of the king, state, and people
From the 17th century onwards, Chosŏn searched for various reform measures to overcome factionalism and mitigate the damage caused by the Hideyoshi and Manchu Invasions. However, no political faction was allotted enough...
The Development of Rice Farming, Regional Development, and Changes in the Economic Views of Local Elites in Chosǒn Dynasty Korea (1392~1910)
The agricultural structure of modern Korean society is based on the cultivation of rice. However, the climatic and natural conditions of Korea were significantly different from those of Jiangnan, China or Kansai, Japan,...
Women’s Life during the Chosŏn Dynasty
The Chosŏn society was one in which the yangban (aristocracy) wielded tremendous power. The role of women in this society was influenced greatly by the yangban class’ attempts to establish a patriarchal family order a...
The Endeavour to Revise Unequal Treaties in East Asia in the Early 1880s
This article aims to identify possible changes in the East Asian unequal treaty system in the early 1880s. In 1880, Korea confirmed that China and Japan had suffered from economic damage due to the loss of 5 percent impo...
“My Turn to Speak”: Criticism Culture and the Multiple Uses of Class in Postwar North Korea
This paper examines the vexed and complex relationship between class, ideology and criticism in 1950s North Korea after the end of the Korean War. Although the KWP presented class as an unitary category, there were in fa...