1880년대 초반 姜瑋의 聯美自强論

Kang Wi’s Yeonmijagang-non(聯美自强論) in Early 1880’s

After the 2nd Susinsa(修信使, Special Envoy) received the <Chos&#335;n ch’aengnyak (朝鮮策略, Ch’ao hsien t’se l&#252;eh, A Policy for Korea)>(hereinafter referred to as the <Ch’angnyak>) from the Chi’ng legation stationed in Japan right after returning to the country, Chos&#335;n government hurried up the pursuit of amity between Chos&#335;n and the USA and enlightenment policy. It has been generally agreed that such a policy conversion appeared after the government authorities were very impressed by the content of the <Ch’angnyak>. This study focused on the case of Kang Wi for the purpose of interpreting the logic of Chos&#335;n government’s enlightenment policy in early 1880s. Kang Wi who also participated in the second trip of envoys refuted the claims of advocates for the expulsion of wickedness and stressed the justification of enlightenment policy by writing <Bak-ak-ra-bul-ga-seon-yeon-eu>(hereinafter referred to as the <EU>) and <EUgo> when anti-enlightenment movement was in full swing due to the introduction of <Ch’angnyak> right after returning to the country. These writings revealed Kang Wi’s perspectives on <Ch’angnyak> and the promotion of enlightenment policy, but they also represented the logic of Chos&#335;n enlightenment groups in early 1880s. Kang Wi compared the Yeonmi-ron(聯美論, theory of entering into a treaty with the USA) suggested in <Ch’angnyak> in <EU> to Seonchak(先着, first arrival) in Baduk and actively advocated Hwang Jun-heon’s claims. However, he simply accepted the logic of Yeonmi corresponding to Chos&#335;n’s realistic needs and he considered Russia also as the object country for treaty even if it would be slightly behind the USA in order; in doing so, he actually refused the logic of temporary defense(防俄) emphasized in <Ch’angnyak>. Meanwhile, <EUgo> was a writing that showed the countermeasure of enlightenment groups when Confucian scholars’ appeal to expulse all wickedness turned into a comprehensive anti-enlightenment movement. Kang Wi criticized that their appeal was old-fashioned and it would not be helpful to current affairs while completely negating the existence value of Cheoksawijeong-non(斥邪衛正論). Furthermore, he actively claimed that Chos&#335;n had to promote its national prosperity and defense by improving the national and people’s property and introducing western modern technologies through the irresistible Ip-yak-tong-sang(立約通商, Entering the treaty and conducting commerce). Kang Wi’s Yeonmijagang-non was the reappearance of independent Gaegung-non in early 1870s and more concrete and advanced form. While prior Gaegung-non signified that the open-door policy had to be maintained to the western Great Powers and to promote Chos&#335;n’s national prosperity and defense, Yeonmijagang-non indicated the most preferred target country for amity as the USA and suggested the content of national prosperity and defense in a concrete manner. The reason that Kang Wi could demonstrate Yeonmijagang-non actively even if the public view of the expulsion of wickedness was still predominant was that the newly-appointed bureaucrats such as Kim Ok-gyun & Kim Hong-jip entered the government service and they became a driving force in the promotion of enlightenment policy in the Royal Court. The treaty between Chos&#335;n and the USA signed on Apr. 6, 1882 in Incheon signified the completion of independent Gaeguk-non that Park Gyu-su, Kang Wi and Oh Gyeong-seok pursued. By playing certain roles in the process of the treaty between Chos&#335;n and the USA(the completion of opening the country to outside world) as well as the treaty between Chos&#335;n and Japan(the first step to opening the country to outside world), he laid groundwork for the birth of the Enlightenment Thought, a bourgeois revolutionary thought.