惠岡 崔漢綺의 근대교육론

A Study on Modern Educational Ideas of Choi, Hangi

Choi, Hangi, born in 1803 and died in 1877, was a Silhak (Practical Learning) scholar putting emphasis on modern education in late Choseon. At the time when people in Choseon felt a crisis at home and abroad, intellectuals in Choseon, who devoted themselves to their studies, became to participate in a national movement. In order to meet the needs of the times, Choi, presenting pragmatic educational ideas replacing the traditional society, also involved in building an autonomous and powerful country based on his ki (energy) philosophy. On the basis of his ki philosophical epistemology, the modern educational ideas of Choi, Hangi came close to reform movements. In particular, he regraded the essence of nature as ki. While traditional Neo-Confucians divide all existence into two inseparable components ki and li (formative element), Choi regarded ki as the cause of the universe. That will result in establishing a base for an equal society rejecting social discrimination. Choi, Hangi’s view of human being is based on grasping Heaven and man as equal, attaching high value on man’s shinki advocating the importance of Tchutsuk (conjecture) and transformation, while denying any supernatural entity or world apart from rational experience. He also asked that Neo-Confucians should accept western technology and science criticising their narrow-minded Confucian values and order. He asserted that people change their fixed ideas, and a three-step educational theory, especially by meeting the abilities of students, the effects of education will be maximized. In a nutshell, he addressed the importance of such environmental factors as education and asked for the Confucian scholars to escape from the traditional Confucian educational idea. While Neo-Confucian scholars emphasized the contents to teach, Choi, Hangi suggested what and how to teach. The educational theory he presented was progressive and modern at the time.