조선후기 문위행(問慰行)의 사행 활동 실태

Abstract

"Munwihaeng" (問慰行) refers to envoys in late Joseon who were dispatched to the Tsushima government on missions that were headed by Joseon interpreters of the Japanese language. For about ten years during the 1990s, many studies were published on the origin and makeup of the munwihaeng and negotiations in which the munwihaeng had been involved. However, research over the next ten years remained stagnant and showed no further progress. The failure to suggest new points of discussion as follow-ups to the basic research that was previously conducted can largely be attributed to not making more active use of historical sources that contain records of each mission in which the munwihaeng participated. Records left by the So descent group are the only remaining sources that offer a comprehensive overview of the reality of the munwihaeng, such as details regarding their customary practices or negotiations and the activities in which they were involved in Tsushima. Yet, studies based upon analyzing those records in depth have only again begun to appear since 2010. This study is therefore based on an analysis of records the So descent group kept regarding the munwihaeng, and is aimed at identifying the reality of the munwihaeng's involvement in the exchange of information on international affairs and economic activities (including the So descent group's economic aid and all forms of illegal activities). Since the eighteenth century, munwihaeng were sent on "missions related to the shogun's family occasions." As such, the Edo bakufu would cover the cost of accommodating munwihaeng on behalf of the So descent group and reports would be sent to the Edo bakufu regarding diplomatic documents issued by the Joseon government that envoys brought along with them to Tsushima. This gives reason to reconsider the presumption that, compared to the larger, formal diplomatic delegations called Tongshinsa (通信使), munwihaeng had been sent on missions to the So descent group of Tsushima domain, whose leader was a low-ranking daimyo in Japan. What does set munwihaeng apart from Tongsinsa are the facts that the destination of the munwihaeng had been Fuchu (府中) in Tsushima instead of Edo, that missions were led not by high-ranking government officials, but by Japanese language interpreters, and that such missions subtly entailed various forms of cooperation, support, customary practices, collusion, and condoning of illegalities between Joseon interpreters and the So descent group. In that sense, although munwihaeng envoys were sent on missions by the Joseon government, they were unique in that many matters were settled at the discretion of interpreters instead of the government. Therefore, munwihaeng possessed a dual nature of being sent by the Joseon government on missions related to the shogun's family occasions and, at the same time, dealing with matters in a customary, closed manner between Joseon interpreters and the So descent group in Tsushima.