THE JEONG GAM NOK PROPHECY BOOK AND ITS INFLUENCE ON THE KOREAN HISTORY IN THE LATE JOSEON PERIOD

Abstract

The Jeong Gam’s Writings (鄭鑑錄, Jeong Gam nok) is a famous Korean prophecy book that appeared in the late Joseon period (1392–1897) yet gained its popularity by the end of the 19th century and is still well-known by most of Korean people. The main idea of the book is expressed through a dialogue mundap 問答 between two scholars: Jeong Gam (鄭鑑) and Yi Shim (李沁). It is not known whether they were real or imagined characters, or prototypes of any real historical figures. The Writings also include prophecies made by other scholars who lived earlier. There have been several texts written either in hanmun or in ǒnmun. In the Veritable Records of the Joseon dynasty (朝鮮王朝 實錄, Joseon wangjo sillok) it is first mentioned in 1782. The article is aimed to introduce the book to Russian audience focusing on its importance and its influence on the Korean history in the late 18th–19th century, namely mass uprisings.