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Research Article

Choi Nam-Seon`s Plan of New Dae-Han and "Robinson Crusoe"

Nam Yee Kim1 · Sang Bok Ha1

1 Sogang Institute for East Asian Studies, Sogang University

Published: August 2009 · Vol. 28 No. 2 · pp. 129-161

DOI: https://doi.org/10.33334/sieas.2009..57.129

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Abstract

Making the plan of New Dae-Han for the purpose of cultivating the youth as the hope for Joseon, Choi Nam-Seon pursued various ways for the civilization of Joseon from the early twentieth century, which, at the time, was colonized by Japan. His gathering, introducing, translating, and publishing of Eastern and Western classics were started from this plan. He translated many Eastern and Western texts oth partially and in an abridged version, and then published them serially in his magazines, So-Nyeon(Young People) and Cheong-Chun(the Bloom of Youth). Among the translated versions of Western texts, a remarkable example was that of Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe in So-Nyeon. In the two texts, Choi's translated version and the original text, we can read the particular contexts reflected by both translator in Joseon and author in England or comparatively read the intersecting places and transformative positions between Joseon and the West. This paper accurately examines these readings through investigating Choi's thoughts related to the civilization of Joseon.
Keywords: Choi Nam-SeonThe plan of New Dae-HanDaniel DefoeRobinson CrusoeSo-NyeonThe civilization of Joseon.