Event Description:
This presentation explores the publication and circulation of two official court histories of Koryŏ (918–1392) compiled in early Chosŏn (1392–1910): the History of Koryŏ (Koryŏsa) and the Essentials of Koryŏ History (Koryŏsa chŏryo). While the two works are important historical sources today, the motives and means for printing and circulating each history varied over the course of the Chosŏn dynasty. Initially, court policy dictated that circulation of the two histories was to be restricted, resulting in a limited number of movable type imprints of both histories that tended to be accessible only to central officialdom throughout the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. Eventually, the court relaxed its attitude and permitted the publication of a new woodblock edition of the History of Koryŏ in the seventeenth century, drastically broadening its readership. This uneven temporal and geographical distribution impacted how Chosŏn literati read and wrote histories outside of the court. In particular, the widespread publication of a previously restricted source in the form of the History of Koryŏ spurred new ventures in private history writing in late Chosŏn.

Speaker:
Graeme Reynolds, Instructor in History, The University of Chicago

Moderator:
Jisoo M. Kim, Director of the GW Institute for Korean Studies (GWIKS)