정조의 탕평정치 연구2: '醫國論'의 관점에서 본 정조의 리더십

Abstract

King Chong-jo, the 22th king of Chosun Dynasty, carried out ‘Tangpyung policy’(蕩平策) as a prescription after diagnosing his country as a serious patient. “Curing a person of a disease is, according to King Chong-jo, on the same principle as treating a state for an illness.” ‘UI-KOOK(醫國),' treating state's illness, had been used by many Confucian scholars in Choson dynasty including Kwon-kun(權近), Yi-hwang(李滉), Yi-I(1536-1584), Yi-Ik(李瀷). They understood that the political leader, like a doctor, diagnosed the situation and devised the course of action that were needed to met it. The word of ‘Tangpyung,' according to King Chong-jo, signify the ideal situation in which peace prevails, and that situation will be accomplished with the mediation between the struggling parties by a fair monarch who has no partisanship at all. So to speak, King Chong-jo established ‘Great Political Harmony'(literal meaning of Tangpyung) as the Choson's political vision. And he ‘prescribed' the ‘Tangpyung' policy(opening the offices to talent irrespective of partisanship) to achieve the vision.