The Horak Debate from the Reign of King Sukjong to King Sunjo

The Horak debate was a philosophical discussion that originated among Noron scholars who aspired to refine the logic of Neo-Confucianism. The first round of this controversy took place in the early eighteenth century, a time in which the political and philosophical dominance of the Noron faction was widely recognized throughout the Joseon dynasty. Then, Song Si-yeol’s students, divided into those who established a presence in the capital city Hanseong and those who did so in Chungcheong-do province, began to express conflicting opinions regarding the conclusions of the controversy. The differences between the two groups mainly stemmed from the issue of correctly interpreting the logic of Neo-Confucianism, and such differences later caused divisions of several academic schools and political parties within the Noron faction. The second round of the Horak debate occurred during King Yeongjo’s reign. From the onset of his reign, Yeongjo consistently argued that politics and philosophy were two distinct fields, and such an emphasis contributed to the significant divergence between the Ho-ron and Nak-ron scholars over the relationship between academia and politics. This time around, the Ho-ron group and the Nak-ron group each established its own identity as an academic school and began to criticize each other in a rather harsh manner in connection with political parties within the central government. Through the debate, philosophical differences evidently manifested themselves in the area of political ideology.

keywords: Horak debate, Ho-ron, Nak-ron, Noron, Sipa, Byeokpa, North Party, South Party, Tangpyeong, righteousness

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Article Contents

Vol.51 No.1

The Horak Debate from the Reign of King Sukjong to King Sunjo

Abstract

Reference

Korea Journal