In this paper, I studied Seokbuk Shin Gwang-su's Jeju journey and the psychological state revealed during the journey through his 『Tamnarok』. On January 16, 1764, Seokbuk received a royal order and headed to Jeju with his party on a mission to capture criminals. They crossed the sea and arrived in Jeju on January 26.
He departed Jeju the day after completing his mission, but was caught in a storm and was forced to remain on the island for approximately 40 days. The poems included in『Tamnarok』 can be broadly divided into three categories based on chronology: those written on the way to Jeju, those written during his stay in Jeju, and those written during his journey from Jeju to the mainland.
The night before leaving for Jeju, Seokbuk appeared anxious and timid due to fear of sailing, and prayed for a smooth voyage with the help of the king and the country's divine energy. However, as the journey went smoothly, he found psychological stability and enjoyed imagining the things he wanted to do in Jeju.
Meanwhile, while he was forced to stay in Jeju due to the storm, he wrote many poems to soothe his depressed mind and shake off his boredom. In that poem, we can see various aspects of Seokbuk: his longing for his hometown, his weak side that tries to rely on a transcendent power, his suffering from illness, his compassion for the poor people, and his ambivalent feelings toward Jeju.
When the waves of the Jeju sea calmed down, Seokbuk and his party left Jeju on March 13th, reached land on the 15th, and arrived in Seoul three days later. As Seokbuk boarded the departing ship, he felt a sense of relief, as if all his worries had vanished. As he cruised to Chuja Island, he felt the strong winds soften. However, as the moon set and fog thickened during the voyage, he dropped anchor and remained at sea. Seokbuk and his party were so frightened by the storms they couldn't sleep. The weather was so bad that they had to stay at sea for three days, but fortunately, they overcame the crisis and arrived safely on land.
Through Seokbuk's 『Tamnarok』, we examined the psychological state of a person before and after suffering, and learned how he overcame fear and mental and physical pain to find peace of mind.