A Study on the Review and Prospect of Honam Confucian Studies

Research on Confucianism in Honam is in full swing in connection with raising interest in regional studies. However, the independent area of Honam Confucianism is still not very prominent in the overall study of Korean Confucianism. It can be said that the lack of specific research interest in the independent domain of Honam Confucianism is due to the existing arguments related to the setting of the category of Korean Confucian studies mediated by the region. The regional categories related to the study of Korean Confucianism explicitly presented after the mid-1990s were generally structured as Kiho Confucianism and Yeongnam Confucianism, at which time "Honam Confucianism" was defined as a part of Kiho Confucianism. Honam Confucianism was specified as a part of Kiho Confucianism as the school structure related to regional categories, which had been understood by dividing into Kiho and Yeongnam schools until the previous period led to the establishment of a category combining local and Confucian studies in earnest. To some extent it can be said to be appropriate to divide the development of Confucianism in Joseon into the Toegye School and the Yulgok School by paying attention to the academic veins of the development of Confucianism in Joseon according to the scholastic unity that began in earnest from the 17th century. However, the division of the Toegye School and the Yulgok School into the Yeongnam School and the Kiho School in relation to the region has some problems, considering that there lacked a group of scholars with different academic backgrounds in the area. Moreover, organizing the topography of Joseon Confucianism by dividing it into Yeongnam Confucianism and Kiho Confucianism beyond the distinction between the Yeongnam School and the Kiho School is an over-simplification in that it not only overlooks the various academic flows within each region but also simplifies the flow of Joseon Confucianism. In this study, I try to review the problems of the discussions on regional classification presented in the existing research on Confucianism in Korea, and to confirm that an independent area of Honam Confucian research is possible by paying close attention to this classification. In this process, I reveal that the understanding of the uniqueness of Honam Confucianism is not only consistently passed down by various Confucian scholars in the Joseon Dynasty, but also recognized by the Confucian scholars who were active in Honam as a regional background. Even now, the general direction of understanding is to understand and grasp the various Confucian trends and characteristics of Honam as Honam Confucianism, centering on the region called Honam. And based on this point, I review the general contents of the existing research results related to Honam Confucianism. Based on this, I have suggested a pilot plan to derive advanced results of future Honam Confucian research.