A Study on Lee, Gyujun’s Travel Records

Abstract

Lee, Gyujun (1855-1923) was a philosopher of the Joseon Dynasty and an Oriental medicine scholar who developed modern Oriental medicine based on clinical experiments. He lived during the late Joseon Dynasty and the Japanese colonial period and sometimes traveled for the purpose of sightseeing. During his time in Joseon, Confucian ideology was on the decline, and Western civilization was gaining influence due to modernization efforts. This period of both spiritual and material transition led to societal upheaval. And he tried to understand these problems through conver-sations with senior Confucian scholars. Since the senior Confucian scholar he sought to converse with lived far away, he planned and carried out a long-distance trip to meet him. As a result, he was able to travel to many regions, including Songnisan Mountain, Jeoksangsan Mountain, Gyeryongsan Mountain, the east coast, Geumgangsan Mountain, and Seoul, and wrote about his experiences and impressions at those travel destinations in Chinese poetry such as 〈Seoyu Nojeonggi(西遊路程記)〉(1901), 〈Geumgang Ilgi(金剛日記)〉(1902), 〈Ipgayasangi (入伽倻山記)〉(1909), 〈Hoyu Ilgi(湖遊日記)〉(1911), 〈Hosangjaeyu Ilgi(湖上再遊日記)〉(1913), and 〈Gyeongdoji(京都志)〉(1901). His diary entries were not daily records of activities but focused on significant events. While he did not record a wide range of content in his travelogues, he approached his subjects by selecting and documenting only ‘reliable information.’ These records were compiled and published as 『Seokgoksango』 through the final editing by Son, Jingyu. In this study, the researcher examined the significance of Lee, Jingyu’s travels and the characteristics of his travel records, focusing on 『Seokgoksango』.