This study analyzed 17th-century Joseon educational reform theories, focusing on Yi U-tae’s school system theory and his reform proposals. Through his work “Gihae Bongsa,” Lee Yu-tae criticized the failure of the school system to cultivate talent and the collapse of the national educational institution’s operational system, advocating for reform. Taking China’s Zhouli and Yi I’s “Model Schools” as models, he proposed a public education system for all the people of the state. This went beyond mere talent cultivation; it was a core element of a macro-level national restructuring strategy linked to military system reform through the restoration of the Five Army System at the state’s founding, achieving the “integration of soldiers and farmers,” and the control of rural society based on the Five Family Code.
Lee Yu-tae’s public education reform vision centered on unifying educational and governing structures. To achieve this, he emphasized the hyangyak (local village regulations) as a foundational system to enhance state governance and social control. Through the ‘Choryeo Hyangyak’, he combined the five-household registry system with the hyangyak, mandating all citizens’ enrollment in the hyangyak system and enabling the state to register and manage the entire population. This hyangyak system became the foundation for building an integrated national operating system, closely linked to the school system, talent cultivation, and the military system. Ultimately, his plan aimed for the state’s unified grasp and increased control over society, signifying the unification of education and governance.
The second characteristic was incorporating the education of young children, previously left to the private sphere, into state-led education. The establishment of Mongjae schools is a prime example, reflecting the strengthening of the public aspect where the state assumed responsibility for the education of its people throughout their entire life cycle. This was deeply connected to the court’s significant interest in the education of young children and its efforts to refine related systems at the time.
For Lee Yu-tae, education was a core issue of governance. He believed that reforming public education could resolve various social problems the state faced after the war, such as military service issues, problems with the civil service examination system, and welfare for the people. His theory of educational reform can be understood as a comprehensive reform theory where the state leads the education of all its people to simultaneously achieve governance and moral education.