The Political and Social Role of Confucian Thoughts in Koryŏ Dynasty (10th-14th Centuries) was recorded on 11th March 2022 with speaker Soojin Hyun (Sungkyunkwan University). Find out more at: https://www.soas.ac.uk/koreanstudies/events/seminars/11mar2022-the-political-and-social-role-of-confucian-thoughts-in-kory-dynasty-10th-14th-centuries.html

How did bureaucrats as intellectuals ruling Koryŏ dynasty (918~1392 C.E.) shape their political thoughts to govern the country and what kinds of thoughts influenced them? This talk will try to find the answer. Koryŏ dynasty located on the Korean peninsula is generally regarded as a Buddhist society. Of course, people of Koryŏ dynasty lived their lives practising Buddhism, however, Taoism and Shamanism influenced their life as well. Nevertheless, in terms of political thoughts and actual political affairs, they were greatly influenced by Confucianism. Bureaucrats of Koryŏ dynasty chose Han and Tang periods’ Confucian thought as their political ideology and tried to rule the country based on these thoughts in their own way. On the contrary, the people of Chosŏn dynasty, established right after Koryŏ dynasty in 1392, opted for Neo-Confucianism to rule the country. I will argue Koryŏ was ruled based on Han and Tang’s Confucian thought emphasising King’s strong power and authority towards his subjects creating a harmonious relationship between them. Through this talk, we can explore how specific Confucian thoughts influenced the Korean medieval ages, what was the relationship between the political thoughts and the actual political situation, and how those thoughts were transformed according to the historical transition.