Irish scholar shares his view on the leading philosopher of late Joseon



Love your people, and serve their interest -- not yours.

The message of Dasan (1762-1836), one of the greatest thinkers in the late Joseon period, transcends time and cultural boundaries. It certainly was the case for Irish scholar Kevin N. Cawley when he read one of Dasan’s texts a number of years ago. Cawley, who grew up Catholic, saw striking similarities between teachings of Catholicism and the Joseon scholar’s writing.

“We know that he had read Buddhist texts, Christian texts and Confucian texts,” said Cawley, who participated in a recent forum on Dasan organized by Tasan Cultural Foundation in Seoul last week.

“But I think the most important thing to remember is the socio-political context in which he lived. And I think if we don’t consider that, then any attempts to understand his texts are ahistorical.

“The context in which he lived was very different for Catholics than for Buddhists and others, because it was the Catholics who were under attack. And we know through Dasan’s writings that he himself was baptized, and was involved with Catholic ceremonies with his brothers and his mentor Yi Byeok.”

Dasan, whose famous texts include “Admonitions on Governing the People,” or “Mongmin Simseo,” which describes the fundamental principles a governor should observe, lived in exile for 18 years in the countryside after he was accused of being a Roman Catholic convert in the early 1800s. His older brother Jeong Yak-jong (1760-1801) in fact was the leader and martyr of the first Korean Catholic community, which suffered persecution by the government. Many of Dasan’s close friends and relatives were executed for their Catholic faith, including his brother-in-law and scholar Yi Seung-hun (1756-1801) and his niece Jeong Jeong-hye.

The philosopher is widely regarded as one of the pioneers of “Silhak,” a Confucian social reform emphasizing “practical learning” that flourished in late Joseon period. Some local scholars argue that Dasan is solely a Confucian scholar, stressing that he officially stated he does not believe in Catholicism in 1791.

“His life was shaped by Christianity,” Cawley told The Korea Herald. “It is a fact that he spent 18 years in exile because of Christianity on top of losing all of his friends. I think there is this deep psychological trauma of Dasan that we sometimes overlook by trying to emphasize Dasan as a scholar and not appreciating him as a human being at the time of great religious terror.”

Cawley said he is not trying to prove that Dasan was a Catholic. Rather, he is interested in the traces of Catholicism that remained in Dasan’s works. In “Mongmin Simseo,“ for example, Dasan critiques shamans and Buddhists as well as other supernatural beliefs, saying they should be eliminated as they lead the people astray, but does not criticize Catholicism, according to Cawley. Dasan’s concept of “Sang-je” also resembles Christians’ God, as he wrote he is “the being that creates and governs and looks after heaven, earth and all things.”

Many of his theories regarding serving the people also are linked with the Christian idea of charity, he said.

“‘Mongmin’ of ’Mongmin Simseo’ actually means shepherding the people,” Cawley said.

“Dasan said the goal of a government is to serve people, not to rule people. And I think that is something that in the 21st century is extremely important in Korea, in Ireland, and in all over the world. We still have religious wars.

“I think Dasan has something to teach us about tolerance as well. And that’s why I present him as a great interdisciplinary thinker of great intellectual dexterity, rather than as a Korean, or a Confucian philosopher.”

Cawley currently teaches Korean studies at University College Cork (UCC) in Ireland, which is the only Irish university that offers Korean studies courses. He is scheduled to hold a Korean Studies Conference in UCC next February with the help of local scholars he met during the Dasan forum last week.

By Claire Lee (dyc@heraldcorp.com)