The Introduction of Western Economics to Korea before 1945

Abstract

Western economics in Korea has a history of over a century. In 1884 the term "economics" was introduced to the intellectual community in a periodical entitled The Hanseong-Soonbo (Ten-day Report of Seoul). This periodical served also as an intermediary to introduce economic theories of H. Fawcett and T. Malthus. The other early work to introduce Western economics was a book by Gil-Joon Yoo, entitled Seo- Yoo-Gyeon-Moon (A Brief Look at Western Society, 1895), which mentioned the role of money in a Western economic system and briefly explained some economic theories, including the tax theory of P. L. Beaulieu. These two efforts were, however, so discursive that they cannot be considered to be theoretical works. In the 1890s more intensive efforts were made by two groups: one was a group of Korean students studying in Japan and the other was the Association for the Independence of Korea. The effort to introduce Western economics intensified in the first decade of the twentieth century, but it was soon aborted, as Korea fell a victim to Japanese colonization.