Hand-Copied Corrected Edition of Yu Giljun's "Seoyugyeonmun" Designated as National Registered Cultural Heritage

Clear Black and Red Ink Corrections
Reflecting Joseon's Perception of the West in the 19th Century

Seoyugyeonmun: Transcribed and Proofread Edition

The hand-copied corrected edition of Seoyugyeonmun, written by late Joseon thinker Yu Giljun, will be managed as a National Registered Cultural Heritage.

The Cultural Heritage Administration announced on the 12th that it has registered the Seoyugyeonmun Hand-Copied Corrected Edition, held by the Korea University Museum, as a National Registered Cultural Heritage. It is the corrected manuscript of Seoyugyeonmun, in which Yu Giljun recorded his study-abroad experience in the United States in a mixed style of Korean and classical Chinese. The work consists of one item in nine volumes.

Seoyugyeonmun is an encyclopedic work that organizes, in twenty sections, information on the geography, history, administration, and customs of various Western countries. It covers a wide range of topics, from the natural environment to the rights of states and citizens, systems of government, taxation, education, the military, currency, law, Western scholarship, religion, marriage, funerals, and even steam engines.

The corrected edition bears traces of revisions to characters in black and red ink, refinements to sentences, and changes to the content. Because it allows researchers to verify the state of the text before printing, it is regarded as highly valuable as a source for historical and bibliographical studies.

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