English
The Structure and Role of the Seungjeongwon
The Seungjeongwon, the Royal Secretariat, was composed of six royal secretaries, or Seungji (senior grade of the 3rd court rank, 承旨), and two scribes, or juseo
(senior grade of the 7th court rank, 注書).
Of the six royal secretaries, the chief secretary (doseungji, 都承旨) took charge of the Ministry of Personnel(吏曹), one of the vice secretaries (jwaseungji, 左承旨) of the
Ministry of Taxation(戶曹), the other vice secretary (useungji, 右承旨) of the Ministry of Rites(禮曹), the assistant secretary of the jwaseungji and the ubuseungji
(dongbuseungji, 同副承旨) of the Ministry of Works(工曹).
The two scribes took charge of records and assigned clerks (gajuseo, 假注書) to take their place when they were unavailable themselves. War affairs were recorded by
emergency clerks(sabyon gajuseo, 事變假注書).
Subject to the varying winds of reform of government and administrative systems, the name of the royal secretariat was changed several times from 1894, from
Seungjeongwon to Seungseonwon(承宣院), Gungnaebu(宮內府), Biseogam(秘書監), and Biseowon(秘書院).
So also changed the titles of the 3,243 diaries. Still, as most of them were compiled under the Seungjeongwon, the entire collection of royal diaries is called
Seungjeongwon Ilgi today .
The Introduction of Seungjeongwon Ilgi
Seungjeongwon Ilgi is considered to be an administrative reference of historical rarity and value. It records important court affairs in great detail, the
Seungjeongwon secretaries having closely assisted and observed the kings. Of all Korean cultural properties, it constitutes the most massive compilation of records.
What is more, Seungjeongwon Ilgi provided primary reference sources for the compilation of Annals of the Joseon Dynasty, which are already listed as a documentary
heritage on UNESCO's Memory of the World, testimony to their invaluable attributes.
Seungjeongwon Ilgi, The Diaries of Royal Secretariat of the Joeson Dynasty, recorded for the 271 years of the dynasty from March 1623 (the 1st year of King Injo, 仁祖)
to the June 1894 (the 31th year of the King Gojong, 高宗) the daily royal accounts, administrative affairs, and court ceremonies which were in the purview of the Royal
Secretariat. The keeping of diaries began in the founding year of Joeson Dynasty, but those of the kings before King Injo were burned to ashes during the Japanese
invasions of Korea and by palace fires. The extant 3,045 diaries are preserved in the Gyujanggak(奎章閣) Library(The library originally had 3,047, but Nos. 2,454 and
2,465 have been the lost over the years.)
On general principle, the daily records were supposed to be compiled into one diary every month. But most diaries recording the earlier period of a king were rather
roughly written, so that two to five months were compiled into one diary. Later in a reign the content tended to increase, so that two diaries might be needed for a
month.
The diaries of kings before the reign of King Injo all vanished into smoke from the Japanese invasion of Korea in 1592(壬辰倭亂), the Revolt of Yi Gwal(李适), and palace
fires. Of the extant 3,045 diaries, 934 were restored: 548 diaries from the 1st year (1623) of King Injo to the 1st year (1721) of King Gyeongjong(景宗), 3 diaries in
the 22nd year (1822) and 4 diaries in the 34th year (1834) of King Sunjo(純祖), 361 diaries from the 2nd year (1851) of King Cheoljong(哲宗) to the 25th (1888) year of
King Gojong, and 18 diaries of the 11th year (1873) of King Gojong.
The historical value of these restored diaries is less than that of the original ones in Seungjeongwon Ilgi. But the restorations were based on authentic references,
including Jobo(朝報), or The Court Gazette, Sacho(史草), of Draft Histories, Ilseongnok(日省錄), or Royal Utterances, Seungjeongwon Deungnok(承政院謄錄), or Recordings of Court
Precedents by Royal Secretariat, and Danghu Ilgi(堂後日記), or The Diaries of the Scribes. The source of every item in the restored diaries quoted from other references
is indicated, with the name of the person making the entry, in order to heighten responsibility for data restoration and secure authenticity.
On the other hand, many of the original references quoted in the restored diaries have not been handed down, which gives historic value to the restored diaries. The
diaries from the reign of King Yeongjo(英祖) to the reign of King Jeongjo(正祖), the period often referred to as the Korean Renaissance, are of particular value in the
way they reveal the intriguing historic background of those fast-changing times. Their vivid reflection of the new civil ibertarianism emerging from the soil of
feudalism in the 19th century is a rare historic treasure.
Bibliographical and Registration Details about Seungjeongwon Ilgi
Recording and Compilation Methods
All everyday recordings were written in chronological order daily.
Monthly records were usually compiled into one diary, but sometimes into more than one. The original draft of the diary is called sachimbon ( 四針本 ) and the revised
edition ochimbon( 五針本 ).
Diarizing Methods
The King's appointments including gyeongyeon( 經筵 ), or discussions with scholars on the Confucian and other Chinese classics, meetings with court functionaries,
administrative acts, and affairs in the queen's inner palace were listed in the preface to a monthly diary. A king's reign title, a date name in accordance with
the sexagenary cycle, and a lunar date and month were recorded all together in every day's dairy. The date by the solar calendar was added form 1895. The names of
the royal secretaries and of the scribes are recorded in every day's diary. Underneath the list are recorded the names of daily deputy of ficials and their
attendance or absence.
The details of the main text are written in the order of the daily tasks of the Seungjeongwon, daily regards to the king and his queen, the king's gyeongyeon, the
Seungjeongwon's personnel affairs, reports from different ministries, and the king's commands.
Especially, as gyeongyeon took the role of a channel of communication through which the king could impart his aims for education and his political opinions, they
were recorded in detail, including the time and place, a list of those in attendance, and the subjects of discussion.
Preservation of and Damage to Seungjeongwon Ilgi
On principle, daily records of Seungjeongwon Ilgi, The Diaries of the Royal Secretariat, were supposed to be compiled into one diary every month. But the number of
diaries was flexibly adjusted to more or less than one per month according to the amount of records.
The written diaries were kept in the office of the Seungjeongwon, located near Wolhwamun Gate(月華門), which stands to the south west of Geunjeongjeon(勤政殿), the
Throne Hall of Gyeongbokgung Palace(景福宮). Unfortunately, the diaries of the early Joseon period before 1624 (the 2nd year of King Injo) were all destroyed by the
Japanese invasion of Korea in 1592, the Revolt of Yi Gwal in 1624, and fires. 26 diaries recording the 1st and the 2nd years of King Injo during the Revolt of Yi
Gwal survived because the scribe Hong Deong-nin(洪德麟) promptly removed them to a safe place, together with Jobo, or The Court Gazette, published in the reign of
King Gwanghaegun(光海君). Therefore the diaries of that reign were completely restored and kept in the Seungjeongwon. But a huge portion of the diaries were burnt up
in the fire in the Seungjeongwon on October 13, 1744 (the 20th year of King Yeongjo)
The Restoration of Seungjeongwon Ilgi
The Ilgicheong(日記廳), or the Office of Diaries, was established in May 1746, the 22nd year of King Yeongjo, when it was decided to restore the diaries of the 99
years from 1623 (the 1st year of King Injo) to 1721 (the 1st year of King Gyeongjong). In 1747, the next year, 548 diaries were completely restored. This was only
about a third of the total 1,796 diaries that had been handed down since the dynasty's founding. Yet, the restored diaries were based on authentic recordings,
including Jobo, or The Court Gazette, Chunbang Ilgi(春坊日記), or The Diaries of Crown Princes, Gaksa Deungnok(各司謄錄), or Records of Government Administration, and
Danghu Ilgi, or The Diaries of the Scribes. At the end of each day's entry were written the names of references and of the persons who had done the restoration, to
ensure the authenticity of the records. The Seungjeongwon suffered from a fire on March 7, 1888 (the 25th year of King Gojong). 361 diaries out of 480 recording
the reigns of King Cheoljong and King Gojong, which were kept in the left depository of Seungjeongwon, were burnt to ashes. The Ilgicheong, or the Office of
Diaries, was established in August 1889.
Under the responsibility of the prime minister, restoration of the destroyed diaries was completed in 1890.
The authentic data in the restored diaries was restored from diverse channels, including Jobo, or The Court Gazette, Gaksa Deungnok, or Records of Government
Administration, and Danghu Ilgi, or The Diaries of the Scribes. The efforts the secretaries and scribes poured into keeping intact the royal diaries with utmost
authenticity enabled their handing down without a single loss from 1623(the 1st year of King Injo) to 1907, until the royal secretariat's duties were abolished
under Japanese colonial rule.