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Exchanges between Korean and Japanese Scholars and Perception of Joseon in 17th Century Diplomatic Missions
Journal of Humanities
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The purpose of this paper is to study how Japanese scholars perceived Joseon in the 17th century when exchanges began between Korean and Japanese scholars by examining their diplomatic letters. Joseon's ultimate aim in sending diplomatic missions was to prevent Japan from invading again. Because speaking about state matters or divulging information about Joseon was forbidden, Joseon diplomats were very secretive regarding that subject, and instead chose to communicate with Japanese scholars through exchanges of poems and writings. In contrast, Japan's main objective was to raise the prestige of its feudal government through the procession of its diplomatic missions. Behind the superficially cordial treatment lay Hayashi Razan's official view of regarding Joseon as a tributary state. The method of exchanging poems and writings advocated by Joseon and established during this time period corresponded with the tastes of Japanese scholars as well, and Joseon scholars came to cast an unrealistic imageof themselves as exotic foreigners. Meanwhile, their approach cost them the opportunity to have detailed discussions regarding actual problems and resulted in deepening Japan's official view of Joseon.
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