Myeonwu(?宇) Gwak, Jongseok(郭鍾錫) is a scholar who lived in the 19th century experiencing a great deal of historic turning point. In the consideration of such historical background, this thesis aimed at analyzing his reality recognition and philosophical tendency. Myeonwu’s reality recognition and response during the Japanese Colonial Period are roughly summarized into three categories as follows. He refused to join any governmental services, declined to participate in righteous army activities, but rather followed diplomatic efforts. Myeonwu did not join any governmental services, because he thought that it could be impossible to solve the national crisis at that time regardless of his willness in the government. Nevertheless, Myeonwu continued to demand the reform of internal affairs to King Gojong(高宗) with his strong willness for governing and suggested various solutions in seclusion.
Also, Myeonwu did not participate in righteous army activities, since he believed that it might be able to cause reverse effect in terms of justification and practical interests. It was based on his belief that internal contradictions should be overcome with Juri’s(主理的) Neo-Confucian thought in order to defeat the foreign power. In addition, he rather focused on diplomatic efforts to maintain national independence by utilizing the western powers. This approach could be found in Myeonwu’s memorials up to King Gojong and also represented in his book named as ''Pogo Cheonhamun(布告天下文)''.
Myeonwu’s internal mindset during the Japanese colonial era began to be gradually migrated into more reformative ways. His attitude differentiated from what Reformist Party attempted to do was meant to figure out the strengths and weaknesses of the advanced western powers, which clearly indicated decent political expediency exerted by a moralist to save his country. After Chosun(朝鮮) dynasty perished out, Myeonwu prepared for the day of sovereignty recovery by educating the younger generation instead of exile in foreign countries. Moreover, ''Event of Longletter to Paris(巴里長書)'' resistance was the event that cried out for human justice to the world with previous ''Pogo Cheonhamun'', which substantially showed the ethnic pride with the five thousand years of rigorous traditional culture. Before his death, he stated that “A noble man plans for eternity but does not care about one short time”, which implied his reality recognition and responding attitude based on his belief kept in life.
In a word, Myeonwu’s study area followed the intensified Juri’s academic territory. Myeonwu revealed Juri’s thinking system through his writings and, in particular, his book named Ligyeol(理訣) could be evaluated as a representative outcome with academic significance. Myeonwu inherited ''Simjeukri theory(心卽理說)'' of Lee Jinsang(李震相) and clarified superintendence character of mind and superintendence character of Ri(理). Also, he proved the famous ''Chiljeongribal theory(七情理發說)'', and subsequently supported ''Ribalildo theory(理發一到說)'' driven as the main philosophic ideas of Hanjoo(寒洲) academic party. Therefore, premising the value predominance of Ri over Gi(energy,氣), ''Simjeukri theory'' is a philosophical system regarding it as the dialectic of subdivision or combination. Such underlying philosophical principles brought in flexible but strict reality recognition as well as his rational coping with reality. Also by controlling four kinds of human nature and various feelings, Myeonwu emphasized ‘Chiji(致知) and Geogyeong(居敬)’ that become the superintendence of Manhwa(萬化).
Myeonwu placed his serious efforts to correct traditional Confucian artistry not to only position it as the framework for resolving national crisis but also make it as the spiritual mainstay to resist against the surging foreign powers. Myeonwu continuously claimed to recover the traditional courtesy spirit in terms of pursuing fundamental courtesy, and tried to make the world standing straight with courtesy throughout defending the truth of Confucianism.
Myeonwu’s academic dispute was openly made with his teachers or colleagues as well as even opposing scholars, such as ‘Gijiljiseong(physical natural tendency,氣質之性) Discussion’ ‘Myungdeok theory Argument(明德說論爭)’ ‘Jungyong Bunjeol Theory Argument(中庸分節說論爭)’, ‘Simjeukri Theory Discussion(心卽理說 辨護)’ etc.
Myeonwu’s ''Myungdeok Theory'' widened the scope by stepping forward from Lee, Jinsang’s ''Myungdeok Theory'' and was an expression of ''Haecheyong''s(該體用的) thinking''. The fact that Myeonwu tried to widen the scope of Myungdeok could be understood to be associated with the necessity of protecting our culture, appealing self-reliance and independence of the country in the situation where we had no choice but to accept a variety of Western civilization in the transition period of that time. In addition, Myeonwu’s broad thinking system examined in ''Myungdeok Theory'' was the source of civilized thinking of interacting with other academic parties or understanding and accepting Western civilization. And Myeonwu’s ''Haecheyong''s(該體用的) thinking'' contributed to have such a open mind. ‘Jungyong Bunjeol Theory Argument’ was an argument on the fact that the name of the ''1st Daeji(第一大支)'' in ‘Jungyongjijeoldo(中庸支節圖)’ drawn by Myeonwu was determined as ‘Jungyongdaeji(中庸大支)’ instead of Lee Jinsang and Heo Yu(許愈)’s ‘Junghwadaeji(中和大支)’.
In order to defend ‘Simjeukri Theory’, Myeonwu exchanged letters of arguments with many scholars including Lee Jonggi(李種杞) of Toegye(退溪) school. In those arguments, he explained that ‘Simjeukri Theory’ does not only take Ri by giving up Gi, thus it does not deviate from ''Simhapligi Theory(心合理氣說)''. In addition, when Ganjae(艮齋) Jeon Woo(田愚) criticized Lee Jinsang’s Simjeukliseol(心卽氣說), Myeonwu criticized Jeon Woo’s ''Seongsasimjae Theory(性師心弟說)''.
Finally, philosophical tendency and reality recognition revealed in Myeonwu’s life can be summarized as follows. The ‘reality recognition and response’ were shown as intense spirit to protect the Confucian way and obvious rules of conduct, act of sober rational judgment. The ‘philosophical tendency’ could be integrated into Juri’s interpretation of the scriptures and intensified Jurihak(主理學) in pursuit of basic meaning of courtesy.