퍼시벌 로웰과 한국: 『Chosön: The Land of the Morning Calm: Sketch of Korea』(1885)를 중심으로

Abstract

This Article examines the theoretical construction and political ideology of Percival Lowell’s civilizational theory in Chosön: The Land of Morning Calm: A Sketch of Korea. It contends that Lowell was influenced by Spencer’s Social Evolutionism, and attempts to make readers understand Spencer’s theory more accurately and explain for the first time what kind of theoretical influence Lowell received from Spencer. Also, it attempts to break down the prejudice in the field which misunderstands Spencer as imperialist and the notion that Lowell, who succeeded Spencer, was also Orientalist through his imperialist civilizational theory. This article argues that Lowell developed Social Evolutionist civilizational theory, which is about the question of moving forward from traditional society to modern society, argued that history’s development power was coming not from consciousness but from four blood related qualification such as “pedigree,” “topography,” “climate,” and “education.” Therefore, his travel log was a scientific log different from the traditional theological travel logs of missionaries or Victorian era travel logs which described the Chosun people’s barbarism through philosophy of enlightenment. Lowell remained politically neutral and due to his natural scientific educational background and analytical and objective view, his travel logs were different from those travel logs which were full of imagination filtered through value judgment.