近代改革期 함경도 儒ㆍ鄕 갈등과 養士 機關의 변환

Abstract

본 논문은 조선말 함경도 향촌 사회의 질서 변동을 배경으로 대한제국기 함경도 내 전통 교육 기관이 신식 학교로 변환되는 과정을 밝힌 글이다. 조선 시기 함경도에 대한 정책 방향은, 邊境에 위치해 있는 지리적 특징에 따라 文보다는 武 위주로 설정되었다. 함경도의 士族은 경제력도 크지 않아 儒學에 매진하여 科擧에 급제하기가 어려웠고, 대신 그들은 향촌 職任을 차지하고자 노력하였다. 조선말 기존 鄕任을 다수 차지하고 있던 鄕儒層에 의해 직임 경쟁에서 밀려난 世儒層은, 養士 機關의 설립과 鄕約․鄕禮의 시행을 통해 향촌 사회에서의 영향력을 확보하고자 하였다. 갑오개혁으로 신분제와 과거제가 철폐되면서 함경도 향촌 사회에 새로운 사회 변동 세력이 등장하여 세유와 향유의 기득권이 위협받게 되었다. 이에 儒鄕層은 연대하여 중앙에 上疏하고 舊例의 회복을 청하였다. 이후 중앙으로부터 鄕憲이 내려진 일을 기념하여 鄕飮酒禮를 베풀었다. 그러던 가운데 韓日議定書 체결 등 국난에 봉착하면서, 함경도의 유향층을 포함한 주요 인사들은 향음주례를 베풀었던 咸鏡道京約所에서 漢北興學會를 설립하고 교사를 양성하는 등 교육의 진흥을 통해 위기를 극복하고자 하였다. 한북흥학회의 교육 지향은 新舊折衷이었다. 한북흥학회 설립 이후 함경도 내 많은 양사 기관은 신구절충에 입각한 교육 기관으로 변환되어갔다. 교육 활동의 주체는 점차 民人 전체로 확대되었고 공공성을 띤 新式 學校의 확산은 가속화되었다. 이러한 변화는 양사 기관으로 대표되는 함경도의 전통적인 교육 기반 위에서, 함경도 민인 일반이 國亡의 위기를 극복하기 위해 새로운 학문을 적극 수용하려 한 결과였다.

This paper examined how the traditional educational institutions were converted to modern schools in Hamkyung-do during the Korean Empire as the social orders shifted in local communities in Hamkyung-do at the end of the Joseon dynasty. Policy directions towards Hamkyung-do during the Joseon dynasty focused on the military aspects rather than the scholarly aspects as the region was situated in the border area. The aristocratic class in Hamkyung-do wielded relatively weaker economic powers, and it was, therefore, difficult for them to focus on studying Confucianism in preparation for the national examination. Instead, the Confucian scholars made an effort to hold official posts in the local communities. By the end of the Joseon dynasty, most of the posts in the local communities were occupied by the local functionary class, whereas the Confucian scholars who were pushed out of such positions aimed to gain more influence within the local communities by establishing educational institutions to foster scholars and implement hyangyak (local community pacts, 鄕約) and hyangnye (local rituals, 鄕禮). As the status system and the national examination were abolished after the Kabo Reform, new groups calling for social change appeared in the local communities in Hamkyung-do, threatening the social order established by the Confucian scholars and the local functionaries. The Confucian scholars united and appealed to the central government, asking for the restoration of the old traditions. Later, they held a local wine-drinking ritual (hyangeumjurye, 鄕飮酒禮) to commemorate the central governments response of sending the hyangheon (a book that recorded the local pacts, 鄕憲) to the region. After the country faced national crisis after the signing of the Japan-Korea Treaty of 1904, influential figures in Hamkyung-do, including the Confucian scholars, established the Hanbukheunghakhoe (North Han River Association for the Promotion of Learning, 漢北興學會) at the Hamkyung-do Gyeongyakso (京約所), where they had hosted the hyangeumjurye, and trained more teachers to overcome the impending crisis by promoting education. The motto of the Hanbukheunghakhoe was to find harmony between the new and the old. After the establishment of the Hanbukheunghakhoe, many educational institutions in Hamkyung-do were converted into institutions that were based on both the traditional and modern school systems. The agents of educational activities were soon expanded to the public, and the spread of modern schools with public missions accelerated. This transition was possible through the joint effort of the people in Hamkyung-do, who openly accepted modern studies on top of their traditional educational foundations, most noticeably the Confucian institutions, to overcome the fall of their country.