Bak Jiwon (; 1737–1805), styled Yeonam (, 'Rock of swallow'), was a philosopher and novelist in the late

Joseon Joseon (; ; Middle Korean: 됴ᇢ〯션〮 Dyǒw syéon or 됴ᇢ〯션〯 Dyǒw syěon), officially the Great Joseon (; ), was the last dynastic kingdom of Korea, lasting just over 500 years. It was founded by Yi Seong-gye in July 1392 and re ...

dynasty. He has been regarded as one of the greatest thinkers of the so-called "Practical Learning (

silhak Silhak was a Korean Confucian social reform movement in late Joseon Dynasty. ''Sil'' means "actual" or "practical", and ''hak'' means "studies" or "learning". It developed in response to the increasingly metaphysical nature of Neo-Confucianism ( ...

)" movement. Park Jiwon belonged to the "School of Profitable Usage and Benefiting the People" () to promote the industrialization of his country and the development of trade by positively introducing western technologies to Joseon Korea. Park Jiwon proposed that Joseon import advanced technologies from the

Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...

, and promote

mercantilism Mercantilism is an economic policy that is designed to maximize the exports and minimize the imports for an economy. It promotes imperialism, colonialism, tariffs and subsidies on traded goods to achieve that goal. The policy aims to reduce a ...

. The scholars

Bak Jega Bak Jega (; 1750–1805) was a scholar of school of Practical learning (Silhak) in the late Joseon Dynasty. He was a student of Bak Jiwon. Background Bak Jega was a famous Silhak scholar in the late Joseon Dynasty. He was a student of anot ...

, Yu Deukgong and Yi Deokmu were influenced by Park Jiwon.

Belief

Along with

Hong Daeyong Hong Daeyong (; 12 May 1731 – 17 November 1783), styled Damheon (, "Relaxed house") was a philosopher, astronomer and mathematician of the late Joseon Kingdom. Hong was an early leader of the ''Profitable Usage and Benefiting the People'' () ...

, he argued that the ground is not flat but round. He saw that the

Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surfa ...

could be a large circle, not a flat surface. It also claimed that the land consists of one dust and soil. He argued that the world is objectively real, from celestial bodies to all things, and that everything in the universe is created in the process of the particle of dust and movement and change. Park's claim that the Earth is a round circle was accepted as absurd.

Personal criticism

Park Jiwon's appearance is described in Gwajeong-rok (過庭錄), written by his son, Park Jong-chae. He was tall and very big, had a long face, prominent cheekbones, and a double eyelid. The record is almost identical to the remaining portraits of Park Jiwon. Park also said that his voice was so loud that he could be heard far outside the fence even if he spoke. Although there was one portrait depicting Park Jiwon as a middle-aged man, Yeonam forced him to destroy the portrait, saying it was less than 70 percent of his original self, and he never accepted his son's plea to paint it again. Park Jiwon was also not able to negotiate easily with others. Kim Ki-soon said, "He lacked the power to hold down smoothly because he was so graceful, and he was always too strong to have a smooth side." Park Jiwon also admitted, "It's all because of my personality that I've been through this sort of mess all my life." In fact, Park entered the government office with a sound letter and served as a minister of internal affairs and internal affairs, but was not included in key posts in the government.

Books

The Jehol Diary ''The Jehol Diary'' (''Yeolha Ilgi'') is the work of the Joseon dynasty silhak scholar Bak Jiwon, written in classical Chinese. Bak, also known by his pen name of Yeon'am (燕巖), made an extensive tour of what was then the northern territory o ...

(열하일기) * (양반전) * Heosaengjeon (허생전) * YeonamJip (연암집)

Popular culture

* Portrayed by Jung Yoo-seok in the 2014

tvN TVN may refer to: * TVN (Australian TV channel), a former horse racing channel * Televisión Nacional de Chile, a public broadcaster * TVN (Indonesia), a former television station; predecessor of Rajawali Televisi * TVN (Norway), or TVNorge, a comm ...

TV series ''

The Three Musketeers ''The Three Musketeers'' (french: Les Trois Mousquetaires, links=no, ) is a French historical adventure novel written in 1844 by French author Alexandre Dumas. It is in the swashbuckler genre, which has heroic, chivalrous swordsmen who fight f ...

''.

References

External links

A harbinger of Korean literary modernism
https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/art/2011/02/135_81644.html
Yeonam Bak Jiwon, Die Schelte des Tigers
(in German)
Yonam ''Bak Jiwon'': a humanist who sided with the lower classes
(연암 박지원: 백성의 편에서 세상을 바꾼 휴머니스트), Im Chae-yeong (임채영), Naver BookStory, March 2012, (in Korean) .
Yeonam ''Bak Jiwon'' Institute website
(in Korean) {{DEFAULTSORT:Bak, Jiwon 18th-century Korean philosophers Korean Confucianists 1737 births 1805 deaths People from Seoul 18th-century Korean poets 18th-century agronomists