『朝鮮賦』의 한중일 간행과 유통

Abstract

Rhapsody of Joseon (朝鮮賦, Ch. Chaoxian fu) is a book on Joseon's geography, landscape, culture, folk customs, institutions, and living things written by Dong Yue (董越) who came to Joseon in 1488 (19th year of the reign of King Seongjong) as an envoy of China. Within two years of its first publication in China in 1490, a copy was brought to Joseon and printed at least three times before the outbreak of the Japanese invasion of Joseon in 1592. One of the Joseon editions printed in 1531 (26th year of the reign of King Jungjong) was then transmitted to Japan, where it was used as the master copy for creating the Japanese edition. Rhapsody of Joseon was commonly distributed in China and Joseon as a single book in the 15th to 16th centuries but it became part of a library after the mid-16th century. This book was printed in Joseon under the direction of the government, but its Japan counterpart was sold and spread through privately owned bookstores in Japan, mainly in Kyoto and Osaka, in the 18th century. This led to the rise in unique sales strategies to increase sales. It can be said that this book shows one aspect of the interchange of print culture in Joseon, China, and Japan due to the fact that Rhapsody of Joseon was disseminated widely and, hence, read by many literati in diverse forms and ways throughout the three nations since its first publication in the late 15th century.