본문 바로가기
  • Home

Dong-do-il-sa, an Envoy Journal Written by Park Sang-Sik, a Village Clerk of the Second Susinsa in 1880

KIM,DONG-CHUL 1

1부산대학교

Accredited

ABSTRACT

Park Sang-Sik(朴祥植), who was from Dongnae(東萊) and accompanied the second Susinsa in 1880 as a village clerk, left an envoy journal named “Dong-do-il-sa(東渡日史).” This book had been owned by his descendant, and currently has been in the possession of the Busan Museum. This study analyzed the “Dong-do-il-sa” based on the author, sojourn, value as historical record and others. Busan was the center of the exchange history between Korea and Japan in Jeseon Period. Since the seventeenth century, twelve times of Tongsinsa(通信使) and four times of Joseon Susinsa were dispatched to Japan. Many people in Busan area participated in these two envoys. However, Byeon Tak(卞琢) as a member of Tongsinsa in 1763 and Park Sang-Sik as a member of Susinsa in 1880 were the only people who left envoy journals. Most of envoy journals were left by government bureaucrats. It is quite rare for people from provincial cities such as Busan to leave an envoy journal. He was born to a representative village official family in Dongnae area. It is considered he was selected as a village clerk because of his career that he served in a variety of high-ranking village officials. “Dong-do-il-sa” is the unique manuscript consisting of one book. The book is incomplete with several pages torn. The book consists of three parts. It consists of three parts: The first part is his envoy journal, the second part is questions and answers between Kim Hong-Jip(金弘集), the Joseon chief envoy, and bureaucrats of Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the third part is the official document related to Susinsa. In his journal, he recorded details of Japanese and Manchu people he met, places he visited, and urban landscape he viewed. In particular, it shows his perceptions of modern transport facilities and culture such as military installations, paper currency production, rail transport and steamboat. This book has a great historical value as a first-rate text in the study of Susinsa. It is an invaluable document that shows views and perceptions of the modern culture and landscape of Japan from the perspectives of not government bureaucrat but local official. His father, Park Ju-Yeon 박주연(朴周演), left a collection named “Yun-dae-jip(倫臺集).” It is greatly significant for father and son to left works for two generations in building local knowledge in Busan area.

Citation status

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

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