西洋의 中世 後期 近代意識 성립과 朝鮮 後期 實學思想 成立의 時代的 背景에 관한 比較 硏究

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to attempt a review of the problem of the “sprouts” of Korean capitalism, shifting from the old micro-perspective to the new macro-perspective. Until now, Korea was viewed as having had no spontaneous internal motive or inclination towards capitalism, and that it entered into capitalism via the historical development of Japan’s forced plundering (from the micro, near-sighted view), because of the historical fact that forced opening of the ports by Japan paved the way of Korean modernization. But from the larger perspective of worldwide trends, since the capitalist system was first imported from the West, all countries of the world were sooner or later gradually advancing towards capitalism as a whole. My view is that in contrast to Japan which responded rapidly and actively to change, Korea merely responded late. This article investigates the process of socio-intellectual change process as the internal motive aimed at the capitalism, appeared in the breakdown of feudal society in the West, and see what relationship this socio-intellectual change had with the development of capitalism. Then it takes a concrete look at what sort of social thought in the Joseon period in an attempt to see the path(s) through which that social thought broke down. In other words, the research wants to see whether Joseon was germinated with an intellectual background which can receive capitalism while the social thought dominating the Joseon period was being broken down. It also observes Japan’s response within the large world-historical context of the movement towards capitalism, and analyzes in detail the path(s) which Joseon took. In so doing, it seeks to rearrange the relation between Japan and Korea, to observe that issue from the greater context of world history moving towards capitalism, by escaping from the partial and minor relationship between Korea’s capitalist “sprouts” issue and Japan.