Aspects and Characteristics of the Publication of Collections of Works Printed by Wooden Movable-type in Gyeongnam Province Korea
For over 100 years of modern times, Korean society has experienced upheaval in the economy, culture, diplomacy, and poli ...
Aspects and Characteristics of the Publication of Collections of Works Printed by Wooden Movable-type in Gyeongnam Province Korea
For over 100 years of modern times, Korean society has experienced upheaval in the economy, culture, diplomacy, and politics along with foreign invasion, war, industrialization and democratization. The changes over the past hundred years have brought about great changes not only to Korean society as a whole but also to the local community, and have had a great impact on the local economy, politics, culture, and space, as well as the daily lives, consciousness, and values of local people. The rapid change brought about identity confusion not only for individuals but also for society.
The historical and regional identity of the region is being shaken due to regional homogenization caused by the development of information and communication technology and transportation in the second half of the 20th century. In this study, we tried to explore the identity and uniqueness of the region by analyzing the collections of works printed by wooden movable-type published in the region. In addition, it was attempted to grasp collective memory such as spiritual values, academic tendencies, and political orientations that were important to intellectuals in the traditional era.
Compared to woodblock printing, wood type printing is a printing method that quickly typeset and withdrawn whenever there is a demand at a lower cost than woodblock printing. The collections of works printed by wooden movable-type compiled and published by local people in the provinces can be said to be very good materials that show the originality and identity of a region.
In order to explore the originality and identity of a region, the scope of the study was limited to a collections of works printed by wooden movable-type published in the Gyeongsangnam-do, and the research was conducted by city or county unit.
A bibliographic database was established and analyzed on the types of collections of works printed by wooden movable-type in Gyeongsangnam-do, such as titles, authors' names, years of birth, family names, academic relationships, years and places of publication, publishers, printers, etc.
For 3 years and 6 months from July 2017 to December 2020, the research was conducted mainly in the western and central Gyeongsangnam-do, where a lot of collections of works printed by wooden movable-type were published in the Gyeongnam province. This is because, in the traditional era, as the center of learning where Nammyung’s scholarly teachings flowed, the publication of collections of works printed by wooden movable-type was active. By analyzing the aspects and characteristics of the publication of collections of works printed by wooden movable-type in Sancheong, Hapcheon, Geochang, Jinju, Haman, and Uiryeong, the localities of each region, such as academic and political orientation, could be identified.
In the traditional era, in the Gyeongnam region, the publication of collections of works printed by wooden movable-type was most active in Sancheong and Hapcheon, where Nammyung Cho Sik(曺植)’s school continued, followed by Haman and Jinju. After the Injo Rebellion, the downfall of the political party, Pookin(北人), including Jeong In-hong(鄭仁弘), cut off the advancement of Gyeongnam intellectuals into politics.
Since then, the academic tendency of Gyeongsangnam-do has been led to the Noron(老論), which respects Uam Song Si-yeol(宋時烈). At the end of the Joseon Dynasty, as Heo Jeon(許傳) took office as Head of Gimhae county and trained many disciples, the schooling of Toegye Yi Hwang(李滉) was handed down in Sancheong, Uiryeong, Haman, and Miryang.
The publication of the collection of works was the result of efforts to reveal that there were scholars in the family, so it was done as a family business. Therefore, the place where the collection of works was published was mainly in Nujeong and Jaesil, the space for ancestral rites.
Most of the authors were born in the 19th century, and most of the collections of works printed by wooden movable-type were published within 50 years of the author's death and in the first half of the 20th century. This is because, with the fall of the Joseon Dynasty, the restrictions on publication of the collections of works were removed from the rural society. Therefore, it can be said that the collections of works printed by wooden movable-type is a window that reveals the knowledge world and intellectual topography of modern intellectuals.