태극학보의 ‘문명’ 인식에 관한 연구

Abstract

Taegeuk Journal is an academic journal published by the Taegeuk Society, an international student organization in Japan, in 1906. The goal of launching Taegeuk Journal was to promote Korea's civilization progress by growing their own academics. The core concept of Taegeuk Journal can be said to be "civilization," and civilization progress was regarded as a way to live in the era of national competition for survival of the fittest and as a way to escape the crisis of losing national sovereignty. Taegeuk Journal intensively introduced modern literature, especially science, based on scientific thinking, because it thought that civilization progress was closely related to the development of science and technology. They called science modern practical science and physics. The concept of "reason" or "Silhak[Realist School of Confucianism]" contained the modern value of scientific inquiry and practicality beyond the Confucian worldview. With the universal acceptance of modern scholarship and knowledge, the scriptures of Confucianism and the field of survival competition to become adults have been reduced to the study of unnecessary axiomatic theory and theory. It was judged that the light of civilization was a way to open the modern dawn of Korea and bring civilization progress to defend against the invasion of the powers. Although Taegeukhakbo is at an elementary level, this is why it focused on scientific inquiry and the academic system of science. However, accepting Western modern civilization as the only war criminal of life makes it difficult to critically reflect on the violent barbarism of the modern system, which resulted in being buried in European-centeredness or resulting in Easternism. In fact, intellectuals who were actively active in the Taegeuk Society took the pro-Japanese path.