Home Articles Abstract
Research Article

Pak Chigyŏm’s Establishment of Aehanjŏng and the Patterns of Rhyming Responses to Aehanjŏng p’aryŏng

어강석

충북대학교

Published: June 2026 · Vol. 36 · pp. 129-153
Full Text

Abstract

This study examines the life of Pak Chigyŏm, who lived in seclusion in Koesan, Ch’ungbuk Province, during the mid-Chosŏn period, and analyzes the literary characteristics of Aehanjŏng p’aryŏng. Pak Chigyŏm was a figure who consistently practiced loyalty and filial piety. He showed deep devotion to his parents and maintained a strong sense of responsibility toward the state, remaining prepared to serve the country whenever necessary. In his later years, Pak built Aehanjŏng and lived in seclusion while actively interacting with scholars in the surrounding region. Literary figures such as Obong Yi Homin, Wŏlsa Yi Chŏnggu, Namch’ang Kim Hyŏnsŏng, and Yonggye Kim Chinam composed rhyming responses to Aehanjŏng p’aryŏng, thereby extending its literary influence to later generations. Aehanjŏng was not merely a residential retreat but a space intended for Confucian self-cultivation and scholarly exchange, as is shown in Pak Chigyŏm’s Aehanjŏng ki. Aehanjŏng p’aryŏng consists of eight scenic views around Aehanjŏng selected through Pak’s long-term observation. Unlike the poems of Yi Homin and Yi Chŏnggu, which were composed on the basis of inscriptions provided by Pak rather than direct observation, Pak’s own poems were grounded in his personal experience of the site. As a result, they present more concrete and rational descriptions of the landscape and its meanings. This study concludes that Aehanjŏng p’aryŏng reveals Pak Chigyŏm’s continuing concern for the country and public affairs, even during his life in seclusion. His poems and other writings show that he regarded retreat not as withdrawal from the world but as a space for moral cultivation, literary exchange, and sustained commitment to the stability of the state.
Keywords: 박지겸애한정애한정팔영이정귀이호민송시열괴산