Thanks to the policy as well as to the admission of Sarim(progressive young officials) to the government and the wide-pread of Sunglihak, demands for the books increased rapidly. However, this increase of demands resulted in the shortage of books. The...
Thanks to the policy as well as to the admission of Sarim(progressive young officials) to the government and the wide-pread of Sunglihak, demands for the books increased rapidly. However, this increase of demands resulted in the shortage of books. The debates on setting up Seosa(publicly owned book stores) during the reign of Joongjong simply reflected this sense of urgency. The Monarchy in an attempt to overcome the shortage of books, and at the same time to circulate them smoothly took initiatives to build Seosa.<br/>
As far as the Monarchy was concerned, there were some other hidden agendas with building Seosa. First of all, it was to eliminate the privilege of the high-ranking officials with regard to purchasing books, so that anyone could buy books freely. Second of all, Seosa should provide an open ground for the students to be able to exchange, read, and buy books cheaply. After all, the debates on building Seosa reflected the wills of Gimyo Sarim(the progressive political group with young officials), whose initial intention was to spread Sunglihak through modifying the book-distributing system. As a result, the debates on building Seosa became a conflictual political issue between the privileged and the newly admitted officials.<br/>
Building Seosa was, first, suggested during the discussions on supplying books to other regions. It was the 10th year of Joongjong's reign, when Gimyo Sarim began to be admitted to the government. but never implemented due to Gimyo Sawha. The highest-ranking officials continuously objected the plan. This conflict between two groups reached a climax between the years of 24th and 32nd of Joongjong's reign, till Kim An-Lo, lost his power.<br/>
Gimyo Sarim regained its position immediately after that. However, the various attempts to facilitate the plans to build Seosa were never materialized during Joongjong's reign. Eventually it was no longer discussed, especially the 6th year of Myongjong's regin onwards, due to the political circumstances where the queen's side relatives controled the power from the late years of Joongjong to the 20th of Myongjong'. After all the political situation at the time was reflected on setting up Seosa.<br/>
During Sunjo's reign, the numbers of private book traders increased and so did the book sales among the commoners. Accordingly students and newly admitted officials could easily obtain books without having to rely on the supplies of Department of Books and official book stores. Therefore, it was only natural that the discussions on building Seosa gradually faded.