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Dasan Jeong Yak-yong (1762-1836) authored an extensive amount of works. It is easy to imagine him leaving a lot more than what already remains if he had visited China as Yeonam Park Ji-won had. Although Dasan never traveled to China or Japan, his writing shows that he was constantly concerned about the state of affairs in Northeast Asia.

In the winter of 1799, Han Chi-eung (韓致應), a close friend of Dasan, was ordered to travel to China as a Seojanggwan, a secretarial position of taking notes among the envoys. Dasan wrote words of farewell to Han Chi-eung, who had been feeling presumptuous about being sent to a civilized country such as China.

"Noon is generally said to be when the sun is above the top of one's head. Yet, when it takes the same time for the sun to rise and set in between noon, one finds oneself standing right in the middle between east and west. ... If one has already gained the center of all four cardinal directions, one is in China wherever one goes, so why call Joseon the 'Eastern Kingdom' (東國)? If it is China wherever one goes, why call it the 'Middle Kingdom' (中國)"

nowledge of Astronomy Raises Caution against Sino-centrism

At a time when Sino-centrism and reverence for the Ming dynasty was ingrained in Joseon, Dasan proposed a conceptual shift similar to what Copernicus had done. He pointed out that the term Middle Kingdom was problematic for implying that China was at the center of the world when the earth is round, which means anywhere can be the center depending on where and in which angle one looks from. Such a dignified sense of independence seems to have been shaped from an advanced understanding of astronomical geography.

Dasan went on to further question his friend as to why he was proud of traveling to China when, unlike the times when the political sagacity of Emperor Yao and Shun or the scholarship of Confucius and Mencius were only available within China, all those have not only been passed on to Joseon and have been developed into a higher level there. Technologies that make life convenient would be the only thing China had worth offering, so he told his friend there was no reason to be proud unless he could acquire such technologies through his visit to Beijing. This story of Dasan seems to be one for those who visit advanced countries nowadays on official business and busy themselves with serving the powerful, only to miss opportunities to learn things truly worth acquiring.

Dasan's thoughts criticizing the worship of China can also be witnessed in Cheokbalwi-ron (拓跋魏論), his discourse on the Tuoba Wei: "The rule of sages is such that should the Chinese behave barbarically, they shall be treated as barbarians, and should barbarians behave like the Chinese, they shall be treated as the Chinese. The difference between the Chinese and barbarians depends on morals and governance, not on geography."

The idea that civilization is what people make of it rather than being the exclusive property of a particular country and that Koreans must learn what will be beneficial for them rather than remain in an inertia of worshiping all that is labeled Chinese. Such an idea seems independent indeed and faithful to the four-character idiom Silsagusi (實事求是), which means a pursuit of truth based on facts.

Contrary to how China was viewed at the time, people in Joseon tended to rule Japan out and disregard it whereas, instead of holding on to such prejudices, Dasan kept an eye on Japan and examined it through Japanese publications that found their way across the sea and into Joseon. This sort of attitude can be witnessed in his "discourse on Japan."

"As its custom favors Buddhism and worships military power, Japan has invaded multiple coastal countries to quench its immediate greed by pillaging treasure, food, and linen and silk. It has thus been a source of distress for our country, which is why we have not associated with it for decades since the Silla dynasty. The provinces of Jiangsu and Zhejiang in China have suffered pillaging every year so that anxieties over it lasted until the end of the Ming dynasty."

Although Japan had been belligerent, Joseon remained at peace with Japan for nearly two centuries following the Imjin Waeran (壬辰倭亂 1592-1598 Japanese Invasions). In his "discourse on Japan," Dasan applies viewpoints of the time to reconsider the question of whether Japan will ever invade Joseon. His conclusion was that there was nothing to be concerned about. The reason was because Japan had achieved a higher level of sophistication in scholarship than that in military power.

"There is currently nothing to worry about when it comes to Japan. I have read what the scholar of ancient learning Itō Jinsai (伊藤仁斎 1627-1705) wrote as well as the books written by Ogyū Sorai (荻生徂徠 1666-1728) and Dazai Shundai (太宰春臺 1680-1747) and found all their styles beautiful and of high quality. This is how I know that there is nothing to worry about at the moment in terms of Japan."

Other reasons that supported his conclusion not to be concerned about Japanese aggression included: the fact that the 1592-1598 Japanese Invasions had resulted in much resentment for leaving no profit, that the two countries were benefiting from peaceful exchange, that it was impossible to ignore the Qing dynasty's stake in Joseon, that it would be difficult for a couple of individual forces to independently wage war under a unified Japan, and that there was no more need to pillage Joseon's products of civilization when Japan had been directly engaging in exchange with China.

While the aforementioned conclusion turned out to be false for failing to correspond with how history actually unfolded, things may have veered toward a different direction had others in Joseon kept a closer eye on Japan as Dasan had.

Applying Silsagusi (實事求是) as a Criteria to Assess Neighboring Countries

In his "discourse on Liaodong," Dasan stated his opinion about the fact that Joseon was unable to recover the Liaodong area during the rule of Kings Sejong and Sejo. "By the time Kings Sejong and Sejo came to rule Joseon, we have been able to develop land lying up to 1000 ri (里 Korean unit of measurement) north of Macheonryong (摩天嶺) and installed Yukjin (六鎭 six strategic points of national defense) like stone checkers that nearly reach the Changehae (滄海 East Sea). Yet, we have never managed to recover Liaodong. Those who talk of this consider it a shame. I consider it fortunate for our country not to have recovered Liaodong."

The reason Dasan thought so was because the Ming dynasty had already occupied Liaodong by that time, so there would not have been much to benefit even if Joseon had managed to win it over. "Occupying an infertile, worthless piece of land and increasing the number of his country's enemies is not the kind of deed a clear-sighted king would do." Dasan did also admit that becoming a larger country by taking over Liaodong would be gratifying, but it is obvious that his judgements were basically realistic and comprehensive.

We are now living in times in which the circumstances are quite different from those of Dasan. However, we still seem to be in need of Dasan's attitude of keeping tabs on developments in neighboring countries instead of blindly worshiping or disregarding any of them and objectively assessing products of civilization and reality.