Seohak
Seohak | |
Hangul | 서학 |
---|---|
Hanja | 西學 |
Revised Romanization | Seohak |
McCune–Reischauer | Sŏhak |
Seohak was the introduction of technology, philosophy and most prominently,
History
Seohak was seen as a western philosophy, instead of a religion, which embraced new technology. This movement was initially accepted only by a minority of progressive thinkers and even fewer people were ready to accept the Catholic aspect of Seohak.
Allegedly, in 1784 after
Controversy
Many of the Korean elite saw Seohak as a modified form of Buddhism which threatened the social order of the time. Furthermore, it promoted the idea of social equality which challenged the established order at the time. Silhak, a home-grown reform movement, was preferred.
It is worth noting that in Korea at the time only elites could read - thus the Seohak-Silhak face-off was an intra-elite disagreement.
In addition, many Korean Catholics refused to do ancestor worship due to religious conflicts. This eventually led to the Catholic Persecution of 1801.
See also
References
- The Founding of Catholic Tradition in Korea
- The Origin of the Roman Catholic Church in Korea: An Examination of Popular and Governmental Responses Catholic Missions in the Late Chosôn Dynasty