兪吉濬과 『西遊見聞』

Abstract

Yu Kil-chun(兪吉濬, 1856~1914) was the only scholar in our history to write both grammar and political science textbooks. In the period of Enlightenment in Korea, Yu Kil-chun wrote these two texts in a way never before, a mixed style of writing Korean and Chinese characters.Yu studied in Japan beginning in the summer of 1881, and realized that in the thirty years since its open port, Japan has prospered by adopting many Western institutions. With this realization, Yu felt that it was important to record the things he has seen and heard, continuing his collection of material during his studies in the United States. Upon his return, he was immediately arrested and confined in a home of Han Kyu-sul(韓圭卨) and a vacation home of Min Young-ik(閔泳翊). Yu, having lost all his collected data and material, began writing Observations of the Western World. Yu predicted that his new style of writing would suffer heavy criticism from the contemporary intellectualsyet he was steadfast in using both Korean and Chinese, the transition of thought apparent in his calling of Hangul as “our script”[我文]. His inability to write the book purely in Korean was because of the conservative thought regarding Hangul at the timehis intended audiences of the book were the nobility. Believing that the core of Enlightenment were officers and intellectuals, Yu published the book without the intent of selling it, and distributed the book free of charge to these officers and intellectuals. Yu sought to transfer to his government and his compatriots the developed West, as he has experienced, and his book Observations of the Western World remains an artifact of Enlightenment movement that envisioned an establishment of a modern, independent nation.