King Jeongjo’s Letters Go on Exhibit

A letter written by King Jeongjo sent to his uncle Hong Nak-im is on display at the National Museum of Korea in Yongsan, Seoul, through Nov. 8 as part of the special exhibition “Yeominhaerak,” which means “Sharing Enjoyment with the People,” marking the 100th anniversary of the nation’s central museum. / Courtesy of National Museum of Korea

By Chung Ah-young
Staff Reporter

King Jeongjo (1752-1800), the 22nd ruler of the Joseon Kingdom (1392-1910), is remembered as one of the greatest Korean kings and at the same time a reformative but politically astute leader.

Also, the king knew the art of how to deal with the people around him including his relatives to ensure fair rule. A letter by the king sent to his uncle, Hong Nak-im in Sept. 19, 1799 shows that he scolded his cousin, Hong Hu-young, for sending too many presents to him and asked his uncle to advise him not to do so.

“He (Hong Hu-young) sent a lot of things to me. I dispatched him as a magistrate as his household is poor and his parents are old. It’s not my intention to send him as the magistrate so that he can give gifts to me, making it hard for him to support his parents and driving him into debt,’’ the king said in the letter.

King Jeongjo’s letters are being shown to the public for the first time at the National Museum of Korea as part of the special exhibition “Yeominhaerak,’’ meaning “Sharing Enjoyment with the People.’’ The exhibition is to mark the 100th anniversary of the national museum.

The museum is displaying 32 letters written by King Jeongjo among 66 letters, enclosed in two albums ― “Jeongjo Sinhan’’ and “Jeongjo Oepil.’’ In this exhibition, 20 from the former and 12 pieces from the latter are on display.

“This is the first public exhibition showing the museum’s collection of the king’s letters. Visitors will find it interesting to compare the museum’s exhibition to the album of the letters called `Jeongjo Oechal’ published by Sungkyunkwan University in May,’’ Seo Yoon-hee, a curator at the museum, said.

A bundle of 297 letters that showed the king as a reformative leader who knew the art of behind-the-scenes politics was published in a compilation by Sungkyunkwan University’s Academy of East Asian Studies in May.

The university’s letters prove that the king, widely regarded as one of the most successful and visionary rulers of the kingdom along with King Sejong, was a political maverick who secretly kept up correspondence with his political rival Shim Hwan-ji (1730-1802), the minister and the head of Byeokpa, a rival faction to the king, from Aug. 20 in 1796 to June 15 in 1800 in Jeongjo’s handwriting. In the museum’s collection, “Jeongjo Sinhan’’ includes casual correspondence between the king and Shim. It compiles the letters Jeongjo sent to Shim to discuss personnel management, rumors, major figures, public opinions and other state affairs.

“The contents of the letters are in line with that of the university’s collection, which reveals that the king’s private style of leadership ― collecting information and spying covertly on public opinion. ‘Jeongjo Sinhan’ can answer the historical questions left by the university’s album of letters,’’ Seo said.

Meanwhile, “Jeongjo Oepil’’ features letters sent to the king’s uncle, Hong Nak-im, using words of respect. The king wrote about his mother’s welfare and the list of food items he sent to his uncle when he sent the letters to Hong.

“Jeongjo Oepil’’ also sheds light on the detailed process of editing the books “Silgi’’ and “Yujib’’ written by Hong Bong-han, the king’s grandfather, showing that the king was directly engaged in the book publishing process.

“It is very important to note how the cultured ruler was immersed in reading and how he contributed to the state’s publishing of books,’’ the curator said.

The letters from “Jeongjo Oepil’’ reveals the human side of the king who expressed joy about marriage, childbirth and the passing of the state examination by relatives.

“So far, his letters that have been made public were very limited. But our collection has a variety of letters including both official and personal ones. It shows the king’s political and human side alike,’’ she added.

King Jeongjo was known as an open-minded leader who implemented “tangpyeongchaek,’’ an engagement policy toward rival factions intended to give people equal footing in politics, despite death threats from multiple sources.

chungay@koreatimes.co.kr