대한제국기 ‘공립’과 ‘사립’의 경계 - 『하재일기』에 나타난 양평공립보통학교 운영 사례를 중심으로 - = The Boundary Between “Public” and “Private” in the Korean Empire - Focusing on the Management of Yangpyeong Public Primary School Found in Hajae-ilgi(Hajae's Diary) -

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

“Public” schools in the 1900s were not fixed entities. The boundary between “public” and “private” schools was vague and not clearly defined. Schools with names consisting of place names + “public” + school constantly changed despite having the same name. This study confirmed such changes through a case in Yangpyeong-gun, Gyeonggi-do, from 1902 to 1911.
Established in 1902, the private Yeonghwa Primary School soon became a “public” school. However, as the school became difficult to manage and its future became uncertain, the Bunwon private school, located in a nearby region, took over the title of a “public” school in 1906. The Bunwon school changed its name to Yangpyeong Public Primary School after becoming “public” and received various subsidies from the county governor. The management, nevertheless, was headed by Jigyusik, just as it had been as a private school. Although it was dubbed a public school, the school's management was close to that of a private school.
Because the distinction between public and private schools was so blurred, public schools were able to become private again. The private Yongmun School, established in Eupnae-myeon in 1906, shared the subsidies with the Yangpyeong Public Primary School (Bunwon School) starting in 1908, under the support of the newly appointed governor. In 1911, the private Yongmun School changed its name to Yangpyeong Public Primary School, and the Bunwon School, previously called Yangpyeong Public Primary School, became a private school. While the name Yangpyeong Public Primary School remained, it was used by two different private schools.
In terms of financial management, a “public” school clearly had the advantage of receiving financial support from the central and local governments. However, such support was subject to change, depending on the effort made by the school management and its relationship with the county governor. As a result, schools in the Korean Empire had to make both political and economic efforts to navigate the blurred line between “public” and “private” schools.