• The Journal of Korean Philosophical History
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• no.32
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• pp.43-78
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• 2011

The two schools which eventually came to form the "Northerners party" in the middle period of the Joseon dynasty, were Nam'myeong school and Hwadam school. Nam'myeong's philosophy, which emphasized the importance and merit of acting upon respect and righteousness(敬義), encouraged many people to organize righteous militias during the war with the Japanese in the 1590s, and when Jeong In-hong established himself as the leader of the Northerners party during the reign of King Gwang'hae-gun, the philosophy of the party and the school continued to thrive. Also, Hwadam's philosophy, which tried to understand Neo-Confucianism from a flexible point of view and demonstrated a level of openness toward it, had a considerable influence upon the Northerners school as well. It seems Nam'myeong Jo Shik and Hwadam Seo Gyeong-deok were the ones who ultimately enabled the Northerners party to be more active in their operations of the government and also to approach more freely toward the ideology of Neo-Confucianism. Prime examples of the party's stance and attitude, and also of the school's philosophy and perception of the world, were figures like Jeong In-hong and Heo Gyun from the 'Majority Northerners(大北) party,' and Kim Shin-guk and Nam I-gong from the 'Minority Northerners(小北) party.'Since the time of King Injo's ascension to the throne in 1623, the philosophical society of Joseon came to be occupied by schools who were deeply committed and dedicated to the teachings of Ju Hi and his Neo-Confucianism, such as the Twe'gye and Yulgok schools, and as a result the Northerners' philosophy was pushed away from its former formidable status. Their political philosophy was also partially responsible for their fall, as they believed only them were the ideal Confucian figures(君子黨), and never appreciated the stances of other political factions. In the middle of the 17th century, passing through a war with the Manchurian Qing dynasty as well, they further became a mere undercurrent. Yet their thinking and philosophy partially survived, as it managed to affect and influence the Southerner school scholars who were living in the vicinity of the capital in the mid and late 17th century, as well as the "Shilhak" scholars such as Yi Ik/李瀷 in the 18th century, on a certain level. The Northerners faction was a party and a school which led the political and philosophical societies of Joseon, alongside the Westerners and Southerners, in the middle period of the Joseon dynasty. Recently, studies of Jo Shik and Seo Gyeong-deok, figures who were the roots of the Northerners faction, and studies of how the Northerners' political philosophy was inherited to the following generations, have been published and announced. All these efforts will enrich future studies dealing with the political history and philosophical history of the middle and latter periods of the Joseon dynasty.