학자군주 正祖의 리더십에 대한 재평가

Abstract

King Jeongjo, one of the great kings of the later Joseon period, has often been criticized for his scholarly dogmatism, ideological inconsistency, and Machiavellian tactics at the court. There have been a number of misconceptions about the king. For example, it has been asserted that the king, who enjoyed the prestige of a scholar-king, was condescending to his officials by treating them as his own students. While he regarded himself as the guardian of the Confucian civilization,his policies also reflect much tolerance for Catholicism and Buddhism that were considered heterodoxy by Confucians. King Jeongjo was also said to have been a master schemer in court politics and used personnel decisions in governmental appointments to strengthen the power of the throne. However, these conventional views were much exaggerated. A closer examination of King Jeongjo's attitude toward his scholar-officials reveals that the king took pleasure in debates with his ministers and that he did not subscribe to the Confucian dogmatism. Jeongjo's religious policies may be criticized for his failure to defend the Confucian orthodoxy,but the king was not a blind follower of Confucian ideology. For Jeongjo, the lives of the Joseon people under his rule were more important than preservation of ideological consistency. As the king faced severe political factionalism at the court,he had to consider several factors such as maintaining balance of power among factions to reinforce the royal power in his effort to stabilize the regime. On the other hand, the king always refrained from his private feelings in making appointments to government posts. Jeongjo maintain good relations and formed lasting friendship with his officials. In the end, King Jeongjo's humility in scholarship, tolerance in religious policies and humanistic outlook laid the foundation for the great leadership as a Confucian scholar-king.