對馬島 易地通信과 譯官, 그 ‘의례적’ 관계와 ‘은밀한’ 교류의 간극

Abstract

Tongshinsa was a keyword that stood for diplomacy, exchange, and peace between Joseon and Japan after the Japanese invasion of Joeson in 1592. Since a tongshinsa, a special envoy of the King of Joseon, involved a delegation to Japan, the expense Joseon and Japan had to cope with was considerable whenever a tongshinsa was dispatched. However, entering the late 18th century, the perception of dispatching a tongshinsa changed for both countries. In order to cope with difficult political, economical, and social situations, both countries required the dispatch of a tongshinsa different from previous ones. In 1811, Translocation Envoy was formed after considering the practical interest of both countries. Maintaining the intent of dispatching an envoy to Japan, the dispatch location changed from Tokyo to Tsushima. Translocation Envoy was first proposed by Japan, but Joseon was unable to go against precedents despite its difficult economic situation. The official position of the Joseon administration was against the idea of translocation envoy, but there were a group of people among Joseon officials who were seeking the possibility of realizing translocation envoy. These officials sought ways for translocation envoy through official interpreters of Joseon, who were in charge of communication between the two countries. Joseon, as a nation, was ostensibly against the idea of translocation envoy, but was internally promoting the plan. This paper focuses on the official interpreters of Joseon who secretly carried forward translocation envoy. Under the circumstances where translocation envoy was not officially recognized, it was personally very dangerous for them to change the precedents of tongshinsa(royal envoy) that involved grave diplomatic consequences. yet, their attempts were possible because of their field of action. The official interpreters of Joseon frequently went to locations where they met Japanese interpreters on business. Besides, the come and go between Joseon interpreters and Japanese interpreters was rather free, because Waegwan (residential area of Japanese interpreters) was in close distance to the official residence of Joseon interpreters. It was easy for them to have interactions escaping the vigilance of superior authorities. Their relationship developed into building personal connections and promoting dangerous matters like translocation envoy. In order to carry out this mission in secret, the position of communicating with Japanese interpreters was given to specific people. However, the secret activity of translocation envoy was exposed in 1805. The interpreters who were involved in the secret mission received harsh punishment. After going through this turbulent period, Joseon finally adopted translocation envoy in 1811. Existing studies following a national viewpoint discuss that Joseon interpreters were lured by Japanese people and carried forward the idea of translocation envoy to satisfy their selfish interests and desires. The hangeul letters written by Joseon interpreters, however, reveal stories different from such a national viewpoint.