예수회 서한집『교훈적이고 호기심 어린 편지』(1702-1776)와 조선 = Jesuit Missionaries' Lettres édifiantes et curieuses(1702-1776) and Korea

국문 초록 (Abstract)

본고는 18세기 예수회 선교사 서한의 유통 및 영향을 관찰한 후 ‘예수회 방식의 글쓰기’가 19세기에 어떻게 계승되었는지 분석하고자 한다. 이를 위해 연구자는 가능하면 조선 관련 글쓰기를 활용할 것이다. 이 연구를 통해 조선과 관련된 예수회의 글쓰기 및 예수회 방식의 글쓰기가 프랑스에서 얼마나 지속적으로 영향을 끼쳤는지, 그 의미는 무엇인지 탐구할 수 있을 것이다. 18세기 프랑스에서 출판된 예수회 선교사들의 서한집『교훈적이고 호기심 어린 편지』(1702-1776)는 동아시아에 대한 실증적 지식을 프랑스인 및 유럽인에게 지속적이며 대량으로 공급한 최초의 글쓰기였다. 게다가 예수회원의 저작은 19세기 중반까지 유럽인이 손에 넣을 수 있는 조선과 관련된 매우 드문 자료 중 하나였다. 그러나 19세기에 이르면 ‘교훈적이고 호기심 어린’ 외부 세계의 소식을 전해주는 역할이 더 이상 예수회에 의해 주도되지 않았다. 그런데 흥미롭게도, 19세기에 가장 영향력 있는 선교 후원 출판물로 꼽히는 정기간행물『전교회보』(1825-1933)는『교훈적이고 호기심 어린 편지』의 유일하고 진정한 19세기 계승자를 자처하면서 창간되었다.『전교회보』는 19세기 중반까지 재조선 프랑스 선교사들의 편지를 독점적으로 연재한 유일한 서양 정기간행물로서, 이 매체를 통해 출판된 프랑스 선교사들의 서한은 독자를 감화시키면서 독자의 호기심을 충족시키려는 예수회의 교훈적이고 호기심 어린 편지를 계승한다. 물론 재조선 선교사들의 서한도 예외는 아니다. 이렇듯 근대시대에는 중국 및 일본에서 활동한 예수회 선교사들의 서한 덕분에 프랑스 교양인들에게 소개된 조선은, 19세기에는 예수회 방식의 글쓰기를 지향한 『전교회보』를 통해 프랑스 대중에게도 알려졌다. 요컨대 조선은 예수회원의 글 및 예수회 방식의 글을 통해 ‘교훈을 주고 호기심을 자극하는’ 전형적인 이국적 선교지 중 하나로 인식되었다.

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

This study is aimed at revealing two goals: 1) to look at the circulation of letters written by Jesuit missionaries in modern Europe, and 2) to analyze the continuation of a certain Jesuit style writing tradition in the nineteenth century. In order to do this, the paper will be particularly focused on writings regarding Korea. This work will ultimately contribute to a better understanding of the role of Jesuit writing and Jesuit style writing in the ‘discovery’ of Korea by the Europeans and its significance. In modern Europe, Jesuit missionaries were among the most representative travellers due largely to the French collection of their
letters, Lettres éifiantes et curieuses: the first writings that provided Europeans ‘real’ knowledge on East Asia in a continuous and regular way. The Jesuit missionaries who lived outside of Europe and used to send letters home invited contemporary European intellectuals to discover the new worlds such as China. However, the letters of the Jesuits served as reference books for travel story collections or geographical works over the centuries. In the case of Korea, of no doubt, no Jesuit missionary was sent to this ‘closed’ kingdom during the period in question; yet some texts written by Jesuit missionaries in China and Japan concerning Korea were published and distributed in Europe by channels other than an official collection. These printed pages were part of the very few documents related to Korea that the Europeans were able to acquire until the second half of the nineteenth century. In the nineteenth century where Catholic mission extra muros enjoyed fervent and popular support, the Jesuits were no longer the most influent people who provided Europeans with ‘edifying and curious’ news about the worlds outside of Europe. Moreover, the nineteenth century communicated more than modern times or was much more public than modern times. However, despite this changes, the missionary publications flourished in the nineteenth century in Europe and in the Christian world in the wake of the Edifying and Curious Letters. One publication in particular, the Annals of the Propagation of the Faith(1825-1933), a French world-wide leader of missionary periodicals, aimed at being the only authentic continuation of the Edifying Letters of the Jesuits. This observation is crucial in understanding the characteristics of missionaries’ letters distributed in large numbers during the nineteenth century: the Jesuit style travel account. Through the Annals of the Propagation of the Faith, which continued to be popular, French missionaries’ letters from the Korean Mission taught Europeans about Korea. Many of these letters corresponded perfectly with travel accounts that were both ‘edifying and curious’ by Jesuit missionaries. The missionary letter must, as we know, promote and develop missionary work as well as console and edify the reader. The Edifying and Curious Letters of the Jesuits inaugurated a new era of missionary writings by offering not only consolation and edification, but also satisfy a growing curiosity about the exotic and new worlds, so that the Europeans might find the figure of ideal and typical traveller in the Jesuit text. In the nineteenth century, the Annals of the Propagation of the Faith took over. Prior to the opening of Korea, the French were among the main European authors to write about this ‘hermit’ kingdom and they were mostly Catholic missionaries. In modern times, the Jesuit missionaries working in Korea’s neighbouring countries spread knowledge about Korea throughout Europe by describing it indirectly. In the nineteenth century, the writings relating to Korea began to appear regularly and frequently by the Annals of the Propagation of the Faith, the purported successor to Edifying Letters. In sum, through these missionary writings, the Europeans discovered Korea, a land of edification and curiosity.

목차 (Table of Contents)

• 1. 서론
• 2. 근대시대 – 예수회 출판물의 성공적 유통
• 3. 19세기 – 예수회 방식 글쓰기의 계승
• 4. 결론