고려 현종대 정치와 이계(吏系) 관료 = The Politics of King Hyeonjong's reign of the Koryo Dynasty and the Clerk-based(吏系) Officials

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

Since the ending days of the reign of King Mokjong, a group of officials who were very close to the King experienced certain political rise, as King Hyeonjong ascended to the throne. This led to a result in which certain officials who originally either had connection with or were assigned to clerk functions (이계) came to lead the early stage of King Hyeongjong's regime. In the meantime, the number of officials who made their way to the government through passing official examinations was increasing, so responding to such changes, the functions and entrance rules(환로) for the aforementioned officials were gradually established, and these figures became clerk-based(서리) officials, who had not passed the official examinations. This particular time period also witnessed their presence becoming significantly apparent and influential inside the government.
In the early days of King Hyeonjong's reign, helped by their own nature of being well-versed in administrative works themselves, these clerk-based officials attempted an administrative reform, based upon the general interests of the literary officials' part of the government. As mentioned earlier, they did not have to pass the official examination in order to enter the government, yet they were literary officials in the end as well. Yet, a reform efforts based upon the literary officials' interest and attempted by the clerk-based literary officials whose interests were not unrelated to the cause of the reform itself, caused some clashes of interest with the military officials, and eventually led to an insurrection led by several military officials and occurred in the 5th year of King Hyeonjong's reign. This insurrection was subjugated by the officials who had passed the official examination when they entered their governmental offices, and were also on the verge of political ascent at the time. Needless to say, they were supporting the idea of protecting the general interest of all the literary officials, and they were also agreeing to the general directions of the reform efforts launched by the clerk-based officials. And as legitimate members of the literary officials society, they could not sit by and do nothing about the military officials' trying to take over and control the government.
When the insurrection was subjugated, domestic stability was restored, but some of the officials who newly rose to power through the subjugation efforts(who also had entered the government through official examinations) decided to change the direction of the foreign policy of the government. These officials tended to respond fiercely to the invading forces of Georan, and also maintained a pro-Sung(the Chinese Sung dynasty) position in terms of the nature of the policies they were supporting. They had backgrounds of being local influentials(토호), Confucian scholars, and was also intent upon establishing a diplomatic relationship with foreign regions based upon culture-based objectives.
Against this agenda, the clerk-based officials argued that maintaining peace with the Georan people should remain as the government's top priority. This kind of foreign policy suggesting realistic approaches, was a result of their own consideration of public safety and well-being, which usually are the first agenda of the administrative officials. And it was also part of their ongoing efforts preventing military officials from gaining too much voice or power inside the government. As the battles continued and the public status of the country was significantly worsened, resolute policies against Georan became increasingly hard to maintain, and in the end moderate policies regarding the Georan issue placing stability and practicality above anything else, which was supported the clerk-type officials, were accepted throughout the government. Based upon this consensus, the officials were able to re-engage themselves in administrative reforms.
As we can see, the clerk-based officials had a significant influence upon the governmental politics during the reign of King Hyeonjong, and as the expertise in administrative matters became a highly appreciated ability in the government, clerk-based officials continued to secure influences in their voices inside the government.

목차 (Table of Contents)

• 머리말
• 1. 현종의 즉위와 이계 관료의 정치적 부상
• 2. 이계 관료의 정국주도와 무신의 반발
• 3. 대거란 정책을 둘러싼 과거출신 관료와 이계 관료의 대립
• 맺음말