Newsletter/Webzine

  As part of the Academy of Korean Studies’ “Project for the Establishment of the Center for Korean Studies Materials” (2008-2022, 27 billion KRW), this project aimed to systematically collect, organize, and analyze various historical materials, such as old documents and books, from across the Gangwon region and then process and compile the materials in a standardized form to create a database of Korean Studies knowledge content. The project, which began in 2015 and comprised two, three-year phases for a total of six years, was conducted by the Institute of Koreanology at Kangwon National University.

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| Outcome of project

The first outcome of this project is the continued collection of old documents and the establishment of a database. Through this project, a total of 50,545 old books and documents were identified in the Gangwon region. Among these, 3,488 materials were included in the database. The database can be accessed via the Academy of Korean Studies’ Korean Studies Materials Portal by clicking on the “Gangwon Regional Center” button.

The second outcome of the project is the standardized organization of old documents. The Center for Korean Studies Materials follows a standardized scheme in which the basic information, detailed information, guide information, and original text are compiled into four types of XML files. The Gangwon Center used this same method, converting the information into XML files in accordance with the scheme and then loading them onto the central hub. The detailed information, guide information, and original text were also written in a Hangeul file and tagged with the names of government offices, people, years, and locations to increase user convenience. Because the information also needed to be machine-readable, a separate tagging input device was developed and utilized.

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The third outcome of the project is the provision of materials via a website. A website was developed to provide surveys and research results to researchers specializing in old books and documents of the Gangwon region, as well as to the general public. The central hub of the Center for Korean Studies Materials facilitates a meta-search of old documents, while the detailed content is provided via the individual regional websites. The Gangwon regional website was also developed accordingly in the same style. This was a very difficult undertaking from the perspective of researchers uneducated in the field of computing, so a significant amount effort was required.

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The fourth outcome of the project is the development of specialized creative content. During the project’s first phase, storytelling content was created under the theme of “People and Lifestyle.” The content was based on materials in the database, such as royal edicts (gyoryeong), household registers (hojeok), and documents of local elite associations (hyangan) and mutual assistance groups (gye). A total of 47 topics were developed using relational information to make information about each clan and person easy to understand. In particular, the content showed the material value of the documents of local elite associations and mutual assistance groups and made it easy to understand the composition and management of social structures in the Gangwon region.

In the second phase of the project, the specialized themes included “Economy and Communication” and “Scholarship and Social Exchange.” The storytelling content was classified into topics such as regional conflict, the sale and purchase of land, communication among low-level clerks (seowon), the collection of information and communication practices related to the publication of genealogical records (jokbo) by family lineages (munjung), and the scholarship and social exchanges of literati (seonbi). The directory was classified into 16 topics by organizing and processing materials such as memorials (socha) and reports (gyejang) to the king, written statements (myeongmun) and written records (mungi), government documents (cheopgwan) and circulars (tongbo), letters (seogan) and comprehensive studies (tonggo), and literary collections (munjip). In particular, content created under the theme of “Economy and Communication” introduces and facilitates a deeper examination of the social conflicts within the region, the sale and purchase of land, and the system of communication. Furthermore, content under the theme of “Scholarship and Social Exchange” facilitates the discovery of materials related to yet-unknown Confucian scholars of the region, allows for the examination of daily lives, family finances, and scholarly connections, and makes it easy to understand case studies of communication among low-level clerks, as well as the collection of information and communication practices related to the publishing of genealogical records. Thus, the project shows that the potential exists for the endless development of creative content that utilizes old books and documents.

The fifth outcome of the project is the fostering of next-generation scholars and the facilitation of the establishment of a Gangwon Studies Archive Center. Two master’s theses and one doctoral dissertation came out of the project, thus fostering the next generation of the scholarly field. Six research assistants who helped in the project were also employed in related fields. In addition, two academic conferences were held and 528 new materials were discovered. Furthermore, the Institute for Old Document Research at Kangwon National University was expanded and promoted to the Institute of Koreanology, now an affiliate institute of Kangwon National University. And, with the cooperation of the Gangwon-do Provincial Government, a ten-year project to establish a Gangwon Studies Archive was set in motion.