Park Sun described the devastated royal court, fierce party strife, terrible disasters faced by talents, and hardship of the people via figurative satires to reveal his consciousness of distress and expressed his desire for the appointment of talents ...
Park Sun described the devastated royal court, fierce party strife, terrible disasters faced by talents, and hardship of the people via figurative satires to reveal his consciousness of distress and expressed his desire for the appointment of talents and the rule by a wise king to display his philosophy of governance. His consciousness was different from the direction that Toigye(退溪) and Nammyeong(南冥) were oriented to in their attempts at the gradual changes of the world in their retirement in that he constantly confronted the confusing reality of politics and tried to realize his political ideal in reality.
In Park's poems, clear and solid things make often appearances. Such clear things as the moon, water, and the crane, he expressed his direction towards a pure mind by purifying his desire. By depicting solid things such as cliffs and rocks along with clear ones, he implied that one could keep his or her pure mind with a firm and upright attitude to life. In addition, he pursued a poor but honest life and advocated labor. His poems depicting a life of labor are especially noteworthy as they show his practical mindset. His practical attitude stemmed from his viewpoint of valuing self-complacency in learning.
Presenting his yearning for ideal governance, emphasis on the body and mind training, and desire for a unique ideal in life, his poems fully display his aspects as a moralist. In particular, his tendency toward Sagong(事功) demonstrated in his pursuit of ideal governance and his practical attitude in his ideal in life reflect the unique aspects of the Hwadam(花潭) School hard to find in the Toigye School and the Nammyeong School.