Philosophies and Philosophers on the land

In the history of Korean philosophy, Yi Ih (Yulgok) of the 16th century paid most attention to the cause of national consensus. National consensus is something gained only through harmonizing public opinions, which however must not be confused with ideological struggle. In other words, a national consensus should not be achieved through coercion or seduction. In Yi's theory this national consensus in its true sense would not be attained if the true voice of dissent was stifled in favor of blind assent. Yi insisted that this national consensus should follow the dictates of changing situations. According to his theory, national consensus was the vitality of the state and he declared that survival of the kingdom depended on whether this public opinion or national consensus could be achieved. Yi Ih made a clear distinction between national consensus and demagoguery. He held that demagoguery, once started, shakes the foundation of the kingdom if it is not checked in time, and soon becomes beyond any control. Public resentment is directly attributed to misrule by the leadership. The ruler should take the voice of the subjects seriously. Any act of reform should have the sole purpose of bettering the life of the people. Injustice will not be eliminated if corrupt officials escape reform. Further to the Yi Ih's theory, Po U, a Buddhist philosopher, advocated the Unitary Theory of Ilchongron in which he identified intellect with heart. According to his philosophy, the body of man must be identified with the body of the universe. By the same token, the heart of man is the heart of the universe, the vitality of man is the vitality governing the universe. Hence, heaven should be considered the same as man, and vice versa. The emergence of the Tonghak philosophy in later Chos n dynasty, which followed these assertions, was significant for it was based on the theory that man was equal to heaven, and that he should be served as heaven is to be feared. Ch'oe Haew l (1829-1898) further enriched the argument and claim that as man is heaven and heaven is equal to man. According to Ch'oe's theory, the two concepts could not be considered separately and there should be no distinction as to class or origin. By A Portrait of Yi Ih (Yulgok, 1536-1584)