한국 고문서학의 전개과정

Abstract

The Korean age-old documents we have today are mostly originated from governmental offices, and the ones from periods before the 17th century are mostly missing, due to wars and other reasons. Many of the documents from periods after the wars are also missing, and the ones that remain are in most cases the ones generated by central offices. The age-old documents that are now newly discovered or found are mostly reported from individuals or houses or governmental bodies, who or which had managed to keep them in their custody for a long time. The old documents that were kept by individuals are in some cases produced by either the king, the royal family or the governmental offices, but are mostly private documents which were produced by other individuals. They usually cover a variety of topics such as religion, or even the plans of establishing secret alliances. Studies of Korean age-old documents began in the 1960s, and in the 1970s the effort to compile all those original materials of such age-old documents into manuals and books first emerged. In the 1980s the contents which had been written in the so-called grass-style writing were interpreted and rewritten(reprinted) in standard writing style, and then they were published in the form of material books. The Seoul National university library(Kyujanggak), the Academy of Korean studies(Jangseo-gak), Yeongnam university played the leading role in such publication projects, and following such initiatives other universities as well and the National Museum of Korea, the National Library of Korea, other self-governing local bodies, traditional Seoweon and Hyanggyo schools, and private houses and individuals, all continued such efforts of compiling and publishing age-old document books. Attempts of using such age-old documents in academic studies are continuing in the area of historical studies, studies of the Korean language, studies of socio-economic history, and the study of legal codes, etc. Yet in order to efficiently and effectively utilize such material, several conditions should be in place: the ability to examine and interpret contents written in either grass-style writing or Haengseo standard style, the ability to examine and interpret contents written in cursive letters, and also the ability to examine and interpret sentences written in Chinese letters yet composed in a 'Korean' style(using Idu) or Chinese sentences using Chinese letters which were fashioned specifically by the Koreans, should be secured beforehand. Many scholars devoted a considerable amount of their time and efforts into establishing a categorization system for the age-old documents. And the most important task that had to be done before all else was establishing the 'definition' of age-old documents. Such definition had to reflect all the characteristics of the age-old documents, and also take all the basic components of such documents into consideration. Currently the age-old documents from the past are categorized by who generated such document, and are assorted into categories such as the kings' documents, the royal family's documents, governmental offices' documents, private individuals' documents, religious bodies' documents, Seoweon schools' documents, Dogwan office's documents, Allied organizations' documents, and Bong-shin'bul documents. The diplomatic documents are categorized, by the counterpart countries of Korea such as China and Japan, yet studies that directly dealt with such diplomatic documents are yet to be announced. Also, aside of this categorization, in some cases a wider definition of the age-old documents is also employed. In the 2000s, the categorization system was once again discussed, yet instead of trying to make some hasty modifications to the current system, we should try to heighten the level and quality of age-old document studies in general and then try to renovate the categorization system based upon such results. It is not an easy job to ascertain the exact figure of remaining Korean age-old documents, yet it is estimated that approximately 1,500,000 pieces are known to be existing today. Yet the methods we use to preserve them, and the status of preservation facilities, still leave many things to be desired. Age-old documents feature a variety of materials in composition, so preservation facilities should be able to address them all, case by case. And the issue of preservation is directly linked to the issue of what would be the extent of allowance for the public's inspection of those materials, so both issues would have to be contemplated upon together. There is only one society of researchers for age-old document studies in Korea, and it is the Society of Korean Historical manuscripts, and for survey and research institutes there are related departments established inside the Academy of Korean studies. And the National Institute of Korean history and the Seoul National university's Kyujanggak Institute of Korean studies are providing educative classes with topics involving age-old documents. Researches of age-old documents now should evolve into the next level. Many universities would have to establish more departments to deal with age-old document studies, and more institutes would have to devote much of their own continuous and active efforts into relevant tasks and projects. And the scholars and researches engaged in age-old document studies should try to develop new themes in their studies, and delve into deeper levels of research. The age-old document studies in Korea are just beginning. The past achievements should be reviewed, and used in expanding the realm of our studies in the future. And to develop new themes and to further our researches, interaction and exchanges with foreign societies of scholars engaged in age-old document studies should be pursued as well.