임란 이후 해행(海行)에 대한 당대의 시각 통신사를 보내는 문집 소재 송서(送序)를 중심으로

Abstract

By analyzing parting addresses given to the envoys sent to Japan, this paper examines Korean views of Japan after the Hideyoshi invasion of the Korean Peninsula from 1592-1598. Approximately thirty addresses were delivered to the twelve diplomatic missions to Japan for a couple of centuries from the early 1600s to the early 1800s. Written by celebrities of the time, most parting addresses included the Chosŏn envoy’s assignments for their visit. A close analysis of these addresses exemplifies how Korean intellectuals viewed Japan and how these perceptions changed over time. The contents of the parting addresses expose conflicting views of Japan: an emotional and hostile attitude against Japan on one hand, and a reasonable and culturally tolerant attitude on the other. Never refraining from enmity, the former tends to emphasize taking revenge on the Japanese, who had invaded Chosŏn and devastated much of the Korean peninsula for seven years. Conversely, admitting the necessity of the normalization and maintenance of diplomatic relations with Japan, the latter tends to suggest that the envoys make efforts to communicate with the Japanese with reason and absorb the high-level civilization of Japan. The parting addresses provide the changing trend of the Korean view of Japan in the 1600s-1800s.