A Research On Image Of Japan In Records Of Oversea Country By Kim SE-Ryeom

There is a long history of culture exchange between Korea and Jap an. When Korean envoys were sent to Japan, they recorded all the deta ils of what they saw and heard in the style of diaries. These records compare the food and clothing culture between Korea and Japan. Moreo ver, these records depict the vivid image of Japan and Japanese. Afte r "Anti-Japan War"(壬辰卫国战争) in1592and "Battle between Jin and Korean"(丁卯之役) in1627, Korean Government sent the first grou p of envoys to Japan in order to alleviate the tension between Korea and Japan in1636. The records made by the envoys were published in t hree versions of "Record of Envoys", Kim Se-ryeom’s Records of Ove rsea Country is the most distinctive one among them. This book not on ly provides informative details, but also contains rich literary valu e. This thesis aims to analyze the cultural difference between Korean and Japan in order to explore ideology of Korean literati and offici aldom at that time by close research on The Records of Oversea Countr y.This thesis analyzes Kim’s records to explore development of his attitudes of,Japanese from a negative attitude to a positive one. At the beginning, Kim was filled with hate of Japan because of trauma ca used by the failure of "Anti-Japan War" in1592. Under this negati ve social collective imagination, Kim’s records made at the beginnin g of his stay in Japan are full of negative descriptions of Japanese. Japanese are described as people who are extravagant, crafty, lustfu1and cruel. This kind of attitude reveals that Korean Literati incli nes to hold a "mini-China" ideology which advocates Chinese Confuci anism but excludes Buddhism.However, Kim gradually changed his attitude after he visited Japa n and met Japanese. This thesis is to apply methodology of comparativ e literature imagology to analyze Kim’s development of attitude towa rds Japan and Japanese as well as the reasons of attitude changes. Wh ile Kim served as an envoy to Japan, he witnessed Japan’s great deve lopment of material culture and Japanese’s strong pursuit of Chinese culture. Kim gradually changed attitude to Japanese material and spir itual culture, especially attracted by beautiful mountains and rivers. Although Kim was still influenced by the inclination of supporting C hinese culture, his visit to Japan as envoy did change his attitude t o Japan. The significance of Kim’s visit to Japan as an envoy is the attitude change to Japan.This thesis resurveyed Kim Se-ryeom’s attribution to literature and his historical significance by analyzing The Records of Oversea C ountry. Because of the special historical background and diplomatic s trategy of the visit, the requirement to the envoys were severe. Ther efore, Kim Se-ryeom’s literary attainments and the historical value of the book is especially notable.