[칼럼] Hero and Sage Story 1 -  ● An Unfaltering Scholar: Sam Bong Jeong Do-jeon

(News Korea=Seoul) Digital News Team = Hero and Sage Story 1 - ● An Unfaltering Scholar: Sam Bong Jeong Do-jeon

We live in an era where the entire world is connected through the internet, exchanging all sorts of information in the age of knowledge and information. This era is marked by incredibly rapid changes, and with this speed, the 21st century is poised to create countless new civilizations in a short period. Therefore, it is essential for us, at the dawn of this new civilization, to reflect on what kind of attitude we should adopt.

"The water flowing under the Seonin Bridge,
The sound of the water of a half-thousand-year-old kingdom,
Oh, what use is lamenting the rise and fall of the old country?"

The sound of water flowing beneath the Seonin Bridge in Gaegyeong signifies that the 500-year history of Goryeo has already passed. Just as the water flows calmly, lamenting the downfall of the Goryeo dynasty is futile. What is the point of yearning for an old dynasty? New wine should be stored in new bottles to retain its flavor and aroma. We must cast aside all lingering attachments and live a new life. Jeong Do-jeon, leaving Gaegyeong for Hanyang, remains steadfast without any wavering. The sunset over Mount Seosan or the falling leaves in autumn are irrelevant to him. The sun rises in the east every morning, and spring follows winter; it is a natural order. Now is the time to live firmly in the given reality.

Jeong Do-jeon boldly declares that there is no use in lamenting the downfall of a 500-year-old dynasty buried in history. Instead, he advocates for shaking off the past and living in the newly given world.
 
He wielded the brush to lay the foundation of Confucianism based on Neo-Confucianism and also wielded the sword to complete the construction of a new dynasty. Sam Bong Jeong Do-jeon is far from the stereotypical image of a gentle scholar. He was an outstanding figure in the early Joseon Dynasty, a clear political activist with a rare combination of intelligence and wildness. 

He faced reality head-on. He did not merely lament the predicaments of the time, such as the corruption of the ruling elite, the diplomatic failures between the Yuan and Ming dynasties, political corruption, Japanese invasions, and weak national defense, which foretold the collapse of the dynasty. His dream was to create a world for the people and implement governance for the common people. His passion for reform and the spirit of the emerging new elite of the late Goryeo period set him apart from the scholars of the Joseon era.

I often ponder what kind of human model is required in our current age of digital technology and knowledge-based society. My answer, in part, is inspired by Sam Bong Jeong Do-jeon. Having helped Yi Seong-gye establish a new dynasty and using Neo-Confucianism as the ruling ideology to reform and systematize governance, Jeong Do-jeon has emerged as a model for my life.

Thinking of him stirs a desire to lead today's Korea to a broader world and a greater civilization than the one he aimed to create. For this aspiration, I hope to dream and achieve goals greater than Jeong Do-jeon's founding of Joseon. Jeong Do-jeon will likely remain a guiding scholar within the boundaries of my ambitions, inspiring me for a long time.

There is a view that the essence of Korean traditional culture is reflected in the spirit of scholars. The scholar’s spirit refers to the moral principles of individuals who uphold loyalty and integrity. This is based on Confucianism, the ruling ideology of the Joseon dynasty, and represents one of the ideal cultural types that persisted through the Joseon era. The higher the scholar’s character, the more they value integrity and remain unwavering in their principles, maintaining noble dignity regardless of circumstances, avoiding secular influences, and dedicating themselves to learning and moral cultivation without being attached to official positions.
 
I also seek to find the ideal human model for the knowledge-based information society in the spirit of the Joseon scholars. However, a modern scholar should not be one who ignores the public in order to uphold loyalty and integrity. The scholar we aspire to today should be an idealistic individual who clearly recognizes reality but does not remain confined by it, striving to elevate reality to a higher level.

 One might question the relevance of discussing Joseon-era scholars in the digital age, but the model of the scholar provides the human qualities required by this era. As the information age progresses, characterized by transparency and originality, there is a need for corresponding ethical awareness and sound morals, which can be found in our traditions and the spirit of scholars.

What kind of scholar should our era look up to? I have found a very clear answer to this question in Sam Bong Jeong Do-jeon. Jeong Do-jeon epitomizes the true scholar that our era should emulate. When he was exiled to Naju due to the pro-Yuan faction's oppression at the end of the Goryeo period, he said, "Since ancient times, people die once," and though he could not defy the decree, he believed that governing was a human responsibility. He was a determined realist.
 
His heart burned with the passion to eradicate corrupt politics, save the people from hardship, restore the collapsed morality, and establish a nation where the people are the foundation. He stated, "The ruler relies on the state, and the state relies on the people. Therefore, the people are the foundation of the state and the sky for the ruler." This is the proclamation of Minbonism, the ideological basis for revolutionary change. His spirit, seizing the opportunity to transform a difficult era into a new age, is fundamentally rooted in love for humanity.

This love and passion are what made Sam Bong Jeong Do-jeon stand out as a true scholar. His statement, "The nation is based on the people, and the people regard food as heaven," illustrates his economic policy of increasing productivity through land reform and expanding self-cultivated farms. By advocating economic reforms through the agrarian system and leading political reforms with a focus on bureaucratic governance, he aimed to implement a Confucian-based people-centered politics. Jeong Do-jeon’s vision, which elevated the political and cultural level of his time, continues to possess the vitality to cleanse the barren spiritual world of our era.

Jeong Do-jeon was an outstanding thinker who combined both literary and martial skills, an excellent statesman, a strategist with broad vision, and a practical intellectual. The dynasty he founded, Joseon, blossomed with a brilliant Confucian culture and left a legacy of 600 years of history.

The practical scholar pursued by Jeong Do-jeon is considered to be a desirable human being required by the new information society aimed at in the 21st century, as ‘a person who is economically independent, mentally autonomous, and a person of moral perfection.’ I am the 22nd generation descendant of Kim Gyun, who along with Jeong Do-jeon was posthumously awarded the title of Prince Gyerim-gun for his contribution to founding the Joseon Dynasty, and I have embodied the high spirit and aspirations that Jeong Do-jeon instilled in me since I was young. That's why I've been thinking of embodying the true scholar that Jeong Do-jeon showed, the life he lived without hesitation, into today. Because it is a spirit that we all need and is considered a desirable attitude in life.
 
To lock the door and protect oneself,
Without interacting with others,
Is merely the act of an individual.
Welcoming the virtuous and expelling the deceitful,
To gather the people of the world and govern the affairs of the world,
Is the role of a statesman.
How can it be right to say that having no party is correct
And having a party is wrong?

☆ Author:  Atty Jeong-kee Kim ☆

● Education
- Bachelor of Arts in Political Science, Summa Cum Laude, State University of New York at Stony Brook
-  Doctor of Jurisprudence, Marquette University Law School
- Senior Executive Program, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University
- Research Scholar in North Korean Studies, Peking University

● Experience
- Consul General of the Republic of Korea in Shanghai
- Commissioner General for the Korean Pavilion at the 2010 Shanghai Expo
- CEO, Asia-Pacific Local Government Network for Economic and Social Development (CityNet)
- Secretary General, World Smart Sustainable Cities Organization(WeGO)
- Law Clerk, Milwaukee Circuit Court, USA
- Senior Attorney-at-Law, Dr & Aju LLC
- Distinguished Visiting Professor, World Economy Research Institute, Nanjing University
- Research Professor, Institute of Oriental Studies, Peking University
- Distinguished Professor, Graduate School of Political Science, Kookmin University
- Chair Professor, Graduate School of Business, Dongguk University
- First President of Soongsil Cyber University

● Publications
- Georo English Studies Series for College Students [10 volumes] (Georo Publishing)
- I Challenge the Possibility of One Percent (Chosun Ilbo)
- The Art of Negotiation (Cheongnyonneongsin Publishing)
- Korea and the World (Chekmidum Publishing)