‘홍익인간’은 무엇을 뜻하나?

What Does It Mean By ‘Hong-Ik-In-Gan’?: The Concept of 'Hong-Ik-In-Gan' Interpreted from the Korea's Own Traditional Philosophical Perspective

오늘날에는 홍익인간이라는 개념을 서구적이고 현대적인 사유체계 속에서 해석함에 따라, 홍익인간의 의미가 크게 왜곡되어 있다. 본 논문에서는 홍익인간이라는 개념이 만들어졌던 당시 우리의 고유한 사유체계를 통해 홍익인간의 개념을 해석해보았으며, 이에 따라 홍익인간의 올바른 의미가 ‘도道로써 널리 또 크게 중衆을 깨우쳐서, 사람과 사람 사이 삶의 도리를 실천하며 살아가게 하다, 또는 그렇게 살아가는 세상’으로 해석하고 있다. 이는 ‘깨우침’과 ‘공존 상생’을 강조하는 개념으로, 오늘날 우리가 일반적으로 이해하고 있는 홍익인간의 의미와는 크게 다름을 보여주고 있다, 즉 홍익인간이 ‘이타적인 사람의 모습’을 강조한, ‘널리 사람 또는 세상을 이롭게 하다’라는 의미가 아님을 강조하고 있다. 본 논문에서는 ‘고문헌에 기록된 한문 해석에 대한 접근법’과 ‘기존 역사연구방법에 대한 비판’을 통해, 홍익인간의 의미를 원래대로 복원하여 제대로 해석하기 위한 방법론을 제시하고 있다. 또한 ‘홍익弘益’은 ‘홍도익중弘道益衆’에서, ‘인간人間’은 ‘인재기간人在其間’에서 온 표현임을 보여주고 있다. 이를 통해 우리는 홍익인간이라는 개념이 삶에 대한 깊은 통찰력과 원대한 이상에서 나온 것임을 알 수 있다.

In modern days, the Korean traditional concept of 'Hong-Ik-In-Gan' has been grossly misinterpreted and misunderstood, mainly due to the Westernized, modern way of life and thinking. In this article, we use the Korea's own traditional philosophy which dates back to approximately 9,000 years ago to reinterpret and restore the original concept of 'Hong-Ik-In-Gan'. The Korea's own traditional philosophy is unique and different from other Asian philosophies such as Confucianism, Taoism, Buddhism, etc. The origin of the Korea's own traditional philosophy can be traced back to two ancient Korean writings, Cheonbugyeong and Samilsingo, which have been passed on to today's Koreans for over 9,000 years. Cheonbugyeong and Samilsingo are very short, consisting of only 81 and 366 ideographic characters (known as Chinese characters today), respectively, but contain limitless implications to our lives and the universe well beyond imagination. The backbone of Korea's traditional philosophy laid down by Cheonbugyeong and Samilsingo has been further explained in detail in five old Korean books such as Samseong-gi I, Samseong-gi II, Dangun-Segi, Bukbuyeo-gi, and Taebaek-Ilsa, and these five old Korean books are put together in one book, known as Hwandan Gogi. According to the Korea's traditional philosophy, the meaning of 'Hong-Ik-In-Gan' is 'Enlighten (and/or brighten and/or civilize) the people by having them understand Do (道) so that they can live in accordance with Do(道), i.e., live together in mutual understanding and mutual prosperity‘. The meaning of Do(道) in the context of Korea's traditional philosophy is also different from other Asian philosophies in that it is very much scientific and practical. In such context, the concept of 'Hong-Ik-In-Gan' implies that no one can exist/live alone and that everyone needs everyone else. 'Hong-Ik-In-Gan' emphasizes 1) people should be enlightened (and/or brightened and/or civilized), and 2) they can only exist and should live together with mutual understanding and mutural prosperity. Unfortunately, the meaning of 'Hong-Ik-In-Gan' has been misinterpreted and misunderstood in modern days as one meaning 'Benefit and/or contribute to the wellbeing of other people so that all human beings can live together in peace and harmony'. That is, 'Hong-Ik-In-Gan' is misunderstood as a concept that emphasizes being altruistic as opposed to being selfish, which is the outcome of wrongly interpreting the unique Korean philosophical concept in a non-Korean philosophical context. Though most people praise being altruistic is more ethical and better to a society than being selfish, being altruistic is as troublesome as being selfish in that it is an unstable and incomplete concept as well. In this article, we also propose new methodology for interpreting the meaning of the ancient Korean writings in a more adequate way. We also show the origin of the expression, 'Hong-Ik-In-Gan'. In sum, we can say that the concept of 'Hong-Ik-In-Gan' truly reveals the deep insight and understanding about our life and the grandiose vision to our future.