KJCKorea
Journal Central

t the end of <Jusaengjeon> of a North Korean edition, which is acknowledged as a rare and precious book among the copies of a different edition, its writing period and writer name are specified. It clarified that Kwon Pil wrote this book in the Gyesa Year Jungha[癸巳年 仲夏/May 1593]. However, depending on acknowledgement of this content, decisive divergence in writer, writing period, and direction of work interpretations can be made, so these matters have become major points at issue. Particularly, the research on 'Writing period' in historical and positivistic way is a vital matter to decide on the character of a work and its interpretation direction, but, even after the lapse of 10 or more years since this matter was posed, this discussion has not been attempted by anybody until the present. Thus, this research, acknowledging the content listed in the afternote of the North Korean version of <Jusaengjeon> as true, clarified the fact that Kwon Pil wrote this book in May, 1593 and the background of its writing at a historical and positivistic level. First of all, this research summarized the overall circumstances that the war progress until May, 1593, and took a look at the fact that it was actually 'Namgun'[the troops in the south] of the Ming Dynasty that stationed at Gaeseong in the spring of the Gyesa Year when Kwon Pil clarified that he happened to meet Jusaeng from the southern region while visiting Gaeseong, and also historical fact that there appeared the soldiers of the Ming Dynasty who broke away from the ranks one after another like Jusaeng. These facts become a major clue to understanding the writing background for <Jusaengjeon>, and it was found that the character setting in this writing was very realistic through actual overall circumstances at that time. Second, this research newly shed light on the circumstances of Kwon Pil at the time of May, 1593 through his collection of literary works and historical records. As a result, it was revealed that unlike the existing discussion that Kwon Pil was devoted to his family security while wandering from one refuge to another, rather, he was aggressively coping with the war while harboring a strong will for his loyalty and patriotism for his nation and a rise in the world. Kwon Pil, who was steeped in reading through almost all books of military science in his earlier times, aggressively coped with the war while putting forth a memorial to the King at the risk of his life asking for a severe punishment of the advocates for peace as soon as the war broke out, discussing military affairs by participating in the army in the cause of justice, and getting involved in the publication of books of tactics staying at a military camp. In this context, the fact that Kwon Pil frequented Gaeseong between spring and summer in 1593 where the forefront camp of the Ming Dynasty army stationed under the circumstances with the regain of Ganghwa-do and Seoul, which were the greatest base of armed resistance against the Japanese army, just ahead, is also interpreted as a level of saving his country, not as wandering from one refuge to another or caring for his family security. Such facts related to the circumstances surrounding Kwon Pil become a major clue to the understanding of his writing in May 1593. Third, on the basis of historical facts this research looked at above, this research inquired into the motive of the 1593 May creation and its readers under the critical mind-why Kwon Pil wrote <Jusaengjeon>? namely, what message did the writer Kwon Pil wanted to convey to readers? First, this research, based on the writer's creating intention suggested at the end of <Jusaengjeon>, took a look at the logical relations between the work contents and the reality of the interval between spring and summer. In addition, this research clarified that Kwon Pil wrote this work with the aim of encouraging and arousing the Ming army to participate in the war by giving admonition to the Ming army who were living in ease while dodging the war at that time. In addition, this research proved that the class of readers, whom the writer Kwon Pil, at the time of his writing, primarily bore in his mind, was the Ming army-to be more accurate, Namgun.

Jusaengjeon, Afternote, Gyesa Year Jungha[May 1593], Ming army, Namgun[the troops in the south of the Ming Dynasty], Admonition, Tactics, Gyeokjang-method, Ganghwa-do, Gaeseong