1913 ‘Mangcheop’ (Appointment Document) Found, Advancing Timeline by about 10 Years
Pro-Japanese Figures and Anti-Japanese Righteous Army Leaders in the Same Organization… Initial Re-publication Project Re-examined

Important historical documents have been discovered that will shed new light on the production process of the Songja Daejeonpan (Woodblocks of the Complete Works of Songja), a Tangible Cultural Heritage of Daejeon City.

The Daejeon City Museum (Director Jeong Pil-gu) recently received a donation of two items—the 'Songja Daejeon Jungganso Mangcheop' (Appointment Document of the Songja Daejeon Re-publication Office) and its pibong (outer envelope)—from a local collector.

The newly discovered mangcheop is a document written on September 15 of the Gyechuk year (1913). It records the titles and names of seven individuals in charge of the re-publication office—including the Senior Director (Sanguijang), Director (Sojang), Proofreader (Gyojang), Printing Supervisor (Gaminjang), General Affairs Manager (Chongmujang), Financial Manager (Jaemujang), and Inspector (Gammu)—along with a person recommended as a new member of the organization. Official seals for each position are also confirmed, showing that the re-publication project at the time was promoted with a structured organization and operational system.

What makes this material particularly notable is its date of creation. Most historical documents related to the Songja Daejeon re-publication office identified so far date from 1925 onward, leading previous research to understand that full-scale block carving began around 1925 when the re-publication office was established in Soje-ri, Daejeon. However, efforts to recreate the woodblocks were underway much earlier. After the existing Songja Daejeon woodblocks stored in Hwayangdong were burned down by the Japanese military in 1907, Confucian scholars requested financial support for re-publication from the government in 1909, and opened the 'Songja Daejeon Woodblock Re-publication Office' in 1910. Although related advertisements were published several times in the Hwaseong Shinmun, no physical materials specifically showing subsequent activities had been identified. Therefore, this mangcheop is of great significance as the first physical material bridging the gap between the 1910 newspaper articles and the post-1925 re-publication office materials.

The profiles of the figures appearing in the document are also intriguing. The names identified include Senior Director Min Yeong-gyu, Director Kim Jong-han, Proofreader Kim Hak-jin, Printing Supervisor Yi Yong-gu, General Affairs Manager Min Jong-sik, Financial Manager Yi Jeong-ro, Inspector Song Byeong-yu, and Pak Chan-u, who was recommended as an assistant affairs official (chanmu yusa). Among them, Min Yeong-gyu, Kim Jong-han, and Kim Hak-jin are figures who received peerage titles from the Japanese government after Korea was annexed by Japan in 1910. Pak Chan-u is presumed to have been a member of the Daehan Hyeophoe who engaged in political activities within the scope recognized by Japanese imperialism. On the other hand, Min Jong-sik was an anti-Japanese righteous army leader who led the Hongju Righteous Army to fight against the Japanese military after the Eulsa Treaty.

Daejeon City Curator Go Yun-su, who uncovered this material, stated, "Since research on the Songja Daejeon woodblock re-publication project has not yet been conducted in earnest, it is difficult to pre-judge," but added, "The fact that pro-Japanese figures participated in core positions of the re-publication project around the period of national subjugation, while anti-Japanese righteous army leader Min Jong-sik's name is listed in the same organization, is very interesting in understanding the character of the organization."

He continued, "In the re-publication office that reappeared in the mid-1920s, pro-Japanese figures largely dropped out, and with the participation of Confucian scholars nationwide, the inheritance of jonhwa yangi (revere China and expel the barbarians) and wijeong cheoksa (defend orthodoxy and reject heterodoxy) was put forward as the justification for re-publication," explaining that "clarifying the personal and ideological continuity and change processes between the re-publication projects of the 1910s and the 1920s will be an important research task ahead."

Curator Kwon Jeong-yeon of the Daejeon City Museum, who has long collected and organized materials related to the re-publication of the Songja Daejeon woodblocks, noted, "The Songja Daejeon woodblocks go beyond mere printing woodblocks to show the movements of Confucian scholar society during the Japanese colonial period and the regional history of Daejeon together." She added, "Materials showing the activities of the initial re-publication office were previously scarce, but this mangcheop holds great archival value as it not only predates existing materials by about 10 years but also allows us to verify the positions, names, and official seals of the re-publication office."

The Daejeon City Museum plans to publicly exhibit the newly donated mangcheop to citizens in late September through a 'Small Exhibition in the Museum,' alongside one piece of the Songja Daejeon woodblocks recently repatriated from the United States.