Hong Daeyong

Hong Dae-yong (1731–1783) was a scholar of the Silhak ("practical learning") movement and a scientific thinker of late Joseon. Alongside friends such as Park Ji-won and Park Je-ga, he belonged to the Bukhak school, which urged Koreans to learn from the advanced culture of Qing China. He argued for the rotation of the earth and built an armillary sphere, advancing a scientific view of the cosmos that was well ahead of his time. Rather than remaining in abstract theory, he valued practical knowledge and economic development, making him a representative figure of late-Joseon Silhak.