Bak Jiwon (Yeonam)

Park Ji-won was a scholar-official and Silhak (Practical Learning) thinker of the late Joseon period, and a leading figure of the Bukhak school, which sought to reform Joseon by adopting the advanced culture and technology of Qing China. Drawing on his travels to Qing, he wrote the travelogue Yeolha ilgi (Jehol Diary), and in stories such as Yangban-jeon (The Tale of a Yangban) he sharply criticized the contradictions of the society of his time. He placed particular emphasis on promoting commerce and industry, offering a new economic outlook to a Joseon society long centered on agriculture.