1839년(헌종 5) ‘己亥邪獄’의 전말과 그 추이 -서양인[洋漢]·劉進吉 추국 사건을 중심으로-

Abstract

There were two “In-law” factions(“Wecheok, 外戚”) from the No’ron(老論) party during the latter half of King Sunjo(純祖)’s reign(1800-1834): the Andong(安東) Kim(金) House of the “Shi’pa(時派)” line, and the Pung’yang(豐壤) Cho(趙) House of the “Byeok’pa(僻派)” line. Meanwhile, there was another faction squarely against the in-law house members’ interference in state governance, the “Cheong’ron(淸論)” group, which criticized the in-law factions for their abuse of power. Yet both in-law houses as well as the Cheong’ron group all had their share of smaller alliances or groups, composed of members from different political bases such as No’ron, So’ron(小論), Nam’in(南人) and So-Bug’in(少北人), within them. Crown-prince Hyo‘myeong(孝明), when he was governing the dynasty on behalf of the king, appointed members from the Pung’yang Cho house and the Cheong‘ron group to governmental posts, more so than members of the Andong Kim house. After King Heonjong(r.1834-1849) was enthroned, Queen Sun’weon(純元) stepped in and supervised the dynasty’s governance. Then in 1836, second year of the new king’s reign, Nam Gong-eon(南公彦) and Nam Eung-jung(南膺中) of the Eui’ryeong(宜寧) Nam(南) House, who conspired to enthrone the grandson of royal family elder Eun’eon-gun(恩彦君), were found out and interrogated. They were punished(“Jeongbeob, 법이 집행”) and labeled as offenders to the very stability of the dynasty(國事犯). Around this time, Western priests crossed the border and came into Joseon. They propagated Catholicism, spreading influences and the Catholic belief to the Joseon people. And almost 40 years since the Shin’yu-year Purge of Evil(“Shin’yu Sa’ok, 辛酉邪獄”) that took place in 1801(1st year of King Sunjo’s reign), the Gi’hae-year Purge of Evil(”Gi’hae Sa’ok, 己亥邪獄“) occurred in 1839, 5th year of King Heonjong’s reign. Three foreigners from the Western world and a Joseon translator(譯官) named Yu Jin-gil(劉進吉) were interrogated for conspiring and spreading evil studies(“Sahak, 邪學”), while Jeong Ha-sang(丁夏祥) and Nam Ih-gwan(南履灌), respective sons of Jeong Yak-jong(丁若鍾) and Nam Pil-yong(南必容) who had earlier been implicated in the Shin’yu Sa’ok Purge, were also implicated in the conspiracy and executed. The Byeok’pa faction and the Cheong’ron group, including the officer-in-charge(委官) Yi Ji-yeon(李止淵), interrogated them to find out their relationship to the faction which tried to enthrone Eun’eon-gun’s grandson, and also ruled them as “enemy of the state.”Around the Shin’yu Sa’ok Purge, multiple conspiracies involving “evil studies(邪學),” “evil theories(‘Saseol, 邪說’),” and various framing attempts(誣告) were reported. They were all followed by interrogations. And nearly 40 years after that purge, the conspiracy to enthrone Eun’eon-gun’s grandson, and the interrogation of Min Jin-yong(閔晋鏞) and Yi Weon-deok(李遠德) in 1844(Heonjong’s 10th year), both occurred. Then, the Gi’hae Sa’ok Purge led to the Byeong’oh-year Purge of Evil(“Byeong’oh Sa’ok, 丙午邪獄”) in 1846(Heonjong’s 12th year), which involved Kim Dae-geon(金大建), and other Catholic-related incidents during King Gojong(高宗)’s reign.