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Installation of Bitikchi(必闍赤) in Late Goryeo and its Change

Jounghoon Lee 1

1연세대학교

Accredited

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study is to examine why Bitikchi, which was originally a Yuan’s system, was introduced into Goryeo and how it changed. Due to the war against Mongolia, the military government of Goryeo was collapsed and the monarchy was restored. As the king 's authority fell down and the state administration was deteriorated during the military ruling, it was difficult for the king to take the initiative in the government even after the restoration of kingship. This weakening of kingship was not matched with the Yuan’s policy to rule Goryeo through the king. Yuan’s emperor Sejo tried to strengthen the political position of King Chungryeol by solving the problem King Chungryeol had asked while pushing him to take the leadership in the state administration. King Chungryeol introduced the Bitikchi which is known as the royal guard system(kesig, 怯薛) of Yuan’s emperor, and tried to recover his strong sovereignty. During the reign of King Chungryeol, the Bitikchi discussed the problems of each department with the king to make decision about them and proposed diverse policies for the national administration. In addition, the Bitikchi handled the secret tasks in the palace along with the Sinmunsaek in charge of the royal communications. As the Bitikchi and the Sinmunsaek worked together for royal tasks, the administrative discussion, decision and communication on the state could be treated rapidly and the king’s intention could also be well reflected to the state administration. Through this, King Chungryeol was able to acquire the administrative initiative in his country. The Bitikchi was abolished in the 1st year of King Chungseon but reestablished along with the inauguration of King Chungjeong. After the re-installation, the Bitikchi was used as a sub-office belonging to the royal bureaucrat such as Wangbu Bitikchi or Jeongbang Bitikchi. In other words, the Bitikchi was once the center for the royal administration during the reign of King Chungryeol but became a specific administrative post snice King Chungjeong. In particular, the re-established Bitikchi was often used as a sub-office of the Personnel Administrative Ministry, or the officer assigned to Bitikchi served the personnel works. As a result, the Bitikchi came to be recognized as an officer in charge of personnel management. Therefore, compiling the Goryeo history, the early Joseon historians recorded the Bitikchi as a bureaucrat in the administrative office.

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* References for papers published after 2023 are currently being built.

This paper was written with support from the National Research Foundation of Korea.
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