In the present Chinese-character cultural sphere, the term konghwa has been used as the standard translation of republic. This semantic equation raises a question, how konghwa, which originally refers to the konghwa regency in ancient China and literally means “cooperation and harmony,” came to be associated with this Western concept, which etymologically means “public thing” or “public good.” The answer to this question will also have a profound influence on our understanding of Article 1 of the constitution of South Korea, which stipulates “Taehan min’guk shall be a minju konghwaje,” a seemingly pleonastic expression, as shown in the English translation: “The ‘Republic’ of Korea shall be a democratic ‘republic.’” To address these interrelated questions, this work explores the linguistic and historical contexts of early modern Japan, China, and Korea, where the initial association was made between the words konghwa and republic, and also the period when the official name of South Korea and its constitution were initially created. In conclusion, this article provides answers to these questions by showing the close association between konghwa and the political system of the United States, particularly, the indirect voting system for its presidential election.
목차
Abstract INTRODUCTION 1. FROM REGENCY TO THE UNITED STATES 2. KONGHWA AS A REVIVAL OF THE IDEAL CONFUCIAN RULE 3. KONGHWA IN EARLY MODERN BILINGUAL DICTIONARIES 4. KONGHWA IN ARTICLE 1 OF THE PROVISIONAL CONSTITUTION CONCLUSION APPENDIX
키워드
konghwarepublicArticle 1 of the Constitution of South Koreathe United Statesindirect presidential election
저자
JUNGHWAN LEE [ an assistant professor in the Department of Eastern Philosophy at Sungkyunkwan University, Korea. ]
한국연구원은 1970년 5월 한국 민속의 각 분야에 걸친 자료의 수집과 학술적 연구를 목적으로 '한국민속연구소'로 출발하였다. 그 후 1973년 5월 연구 분야를 확대하며 민속뿐만 아니라 한국학 전반에 걸친 연구를 위해 '한국학연구소'로 개편하였고, 다시 1989년 3월 한국의 국제적 위상의 부상과 함께 한국학 연구의 중요성이 높아짐에 따라 '한국학연구원'으로 확대, 개편하였다. 한국학연구원은 한국학 전반에 걸친 연구를 통해 지역과 민족문화 발전에 기여하며 한국학의 세계화를 위해서 학술활동을 강화하고 나아가 내·외국인에 대한 한국문화 교육을 담당하고자 한다.