• Journal of Agricultural Extension & Community Development
• /
• v.7 no.1
• /
• pp.155-166
• /
• 2000

When the marcher visited Korea in fall 1994, he was shocked to see high rise apartment buildings around the capitol region including Seoul and Suwon, resulting from rising demand of housing because of urban migration followed by second and third industrial development. After 6 years in March 2000, the researcher witnessed more apartment buildings and vinyl house complexes, one of the evidences of continued economic progress in Korea. Korea had to receive the rescue finance from International Monetary Fund (IMF) because of financial crisis in 1997. However, the sign of recovery was seen in a year, and the growth rate of Gross Domestic Products (GDP) in 1999 recorded as high as 10.7 percent. During this period, the Korean government has been working on restructuring of banks, enterprises, labour and public sectors. The major directions of government were; localization, reducing administrative manpower, limiting agricultural budgets, privatization of public enterprises, integration of agricultural organization, and easing of various regulations. Thus, the power of central government shifted to local government resulting in a power increase for city mayors and county chiefs. Agricultural extension services was one of targets of government restructuring, transferred to local governments from central government. At the same time, the number of extension offices was reduced by 64 percent, extension personnel reduced by 24 percent, and extension budgets reduced. During the process of restructuring, the basic direction of extension services was set by central Rural Development Administration Personnel management, technology development and supports were transferred to provincial Rural Development Administrations, and operational responsibilities transferred to city/county governments. Agricultural extension services at the local levels changed the name to Agricultural Technology Extension Center, established under jurisdiction of city mayor or county chief. The function of technology development works were added, at the same time reducing the number of educators for agriculture and rural life. As a result of observations of rural areas and agricultural extension services at various levels, functional responsibilities of extension were not well recognized throughout the central, provincial, and local levels. Central agricultural extension services should be more concerned about effective rural development by monitoring provincial and local level extension activities more throughly. At county level extension services, it may be desirable to add a research function to reflect local agricultural technological needs. Sometimes, adding administrative tasks for extension educators may be helpful far farmers. However, tasks such as inspection and investigation should be avoided, since it may hinder the effectiveness of extension educational activities. It appeared that major contents of the agricultural extension service in Korea were focused on saving agricultural materials, developing new agricultural technology, enhancing agricultural export, increasing production and establishing market oriented farming. However these kinds of efforts may lead to non-sustainable agriculture. It would be better to put more emphasis on sustainable agriculture in the future. Agricultural extension methods in Korea may be better classified into two approaches or functions; consultation function for advanced farmers and technology transfer or educational function for small farmers. Advanced farmers were more interested in technology and management information, while small farmers were more concerned about information for farm management directions and timely diffusion of agricultural technology information. Agricultural extension service should put more emphasis on small farmer groups and active participation of farmers in these groups. Providing information and moderate advice in selecting alternatives should be the major activities for consultation for advanced farmers, while problem solving processes may be the major educational function for small farmers. Systems such as internet and e-mail should be utilized for functions of information exchange. These activities may not be an easy task for decreased numbers of extension educators along with increased administrative tasks. It may be difficult to practice a one-to-one approach However group guidance may improve the task to a certain degree.

• Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
• /
• v.53 no.4
• /
• pp.234-249
• /
• 2020

The dispute involving the construction of the Tomb of Queen Sindeok (hereinafter "Jeongreung"), King Taejo's wife in Seoul, and the moving of that tomb, represents the most clearly demonstrated case for the collision of new and old ideologies between political powers in the early period of Joseon. Jeongreung, the tomb of Queen Sindeok from the Kang Clan, was built inside the capital fortress, but in 1409, King Taejong forced the tomb to be moved outside the capital, and the stone relics remaining at the original location were used to build the stone bridge, Gwangtong-gyo. In an unofficial story, King Taejong moved the tomb outside the capital and used the stone items there to make the Cheonggyecheon Gwang-gyo so that the people would step upon the area in order to curse Lady Kang. In the final year of King Taejo, Lady Kang and King Taejong were in a politically conflictual relationship, but they were close to being political partners until King Taejo became the king. Sillok records pertaining to the establishment of Jeongreung or Gwangtong-gyo in fact state things more plainly, indicating that the moving of Jeongreung was a result of following the sangeon (a written statement to the king) of Uijeongbu (the highest administrative agency in Joseon), which stated that having the tomb of a king or queen in the capital was inappropriate, and since it was close to the official quarter of envoys, it had to be moved. The assertion that it was aimed at degrading Jeongreung in order to repair Gwangtong-gyo thus does not reflect the factual relationship. This article presents the possibility that the use of stone items from Jeongreung to repair Gwangtong-gyo reflected an emerging need for efficient material procurement that accompanied a drastic increase in demand for materials required in civil works both in- and outside the capital. The cause for constructing Jeongreung within the capital and the cause of moving the tomb outside the capital would therefore be attributable to the heterogeneity of the ideological backgrounds of King Taejo and King Taejong. King Taejo was the ruler of the Confucius state, as he reigned through the Yeokseong Revolution, but he constructed the tomb and Hongcheon-sa, the temple in the capital for his wife Queen Sindeok. In this respect, it is considered that, with the power of Buddhism, there was an attempt to rally supporters and gather the force needed to establish the authority of Queen Sindeok. Yi Seong-gye, who was raised in the Dorugachi clan of Yuan, lived as a military man in the border area, and so he would not have had a high level of understanding in Confucian scholarship. Rather, he was a man of the old system with its 'Buddhist" tendency. On the other hand, King Taejong Yi Bang-won was an elite Confucian student who passed the national examination at the end of the Goryeo era, and he is also known to have held a profound understanding of Neo-Confucianism. To state it differently, it would be reasonable to say that the understanding of symbolic implications for the capital would be more profound in a Confucian state. Since the national system that was ruled by laws had been established following the Three-Kingdom era, the principle of burial outside of the capital that would have seen a grave constructed on the outskirts of the capital was not upheld, without exception. Jeongreung was built inside the capital due to the strong individual desire of King Taejo, but since he was a Confucian scholar prior to becoming king, it would not have been accepted as desirable. After taking the throne, King Taejong took the initiative to begin overhauling the capital in order to reflect his intent to clearly realize Confucian ideology emphasizing 'Yechi' ("ruling with good manners") with the scenic view of the Capital's Hanyang river. It would be reasonable to conclude accordingly that the moving of Jeongreung was undertaken in the context of such a historic background.