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Diagnosis and Its Transition in Nammyeong Jo Sik's Statecraft Thought — Focusing on Minambu, Eulmyo sajikso, and Mujin bongsa —

  • 인문논총
  • 2026, 71(), pp.95~119
  • Publisher : Institute for Human studies, Kyungnam University
  • Research Area : Humanities > Other Humanities
  • Received : August 30, 2026
  • Accepted : October 9, 2026
  • Published : October 31, 2026

YOON-HO BAE 1

1인재한국학연구원

Accredited

ABSTRACT

Nammyeong Jo Sik (曺植, 1501–1572) never held office, yet his memorials name where tribute goods are blocked and whose hands decide the fate of an inspecting officer. Where did this knowledge come from? This study argues that it was neither deduced from the classics nor acquired within officialdom. Jo Sik named its source plainly: he had seen with his own eyes (目見) that villages stood empty. His diagnoses reason back from that outcome to what produced it. Where the regress comes to rest distinguishes the three texts. Minambu (民巖賦) assigns responsibility to the ruler alone and names no institution of Joseon. Eulmyo sajikso (乙卯辭職疏) derives the collapse of national defense from the court employing men through wealth. Mujin bongsa (戊辰封事) concedes that government had passed to the clerks even though high officials stood in ranks — governance fails even when able men have been obtained. The diagnosis thus descends from the ruler to the court, and from the court to the lower reaches of administration, while the language of his conclusions holds constant.

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