A Human Rights Confucian Approach to the Late Joseon Novel, 『Parkssi-Jeon』 : Since you will not change your mind until the end, I will show you my talents

『Parkssi Jeon (朴氏傳)』 is a late Joseon novel whose author and exact publication date are unknown. However, considering that the main setting of the work is the Byeongjahoran (丙子胡亂), and that it criticizes the incompetence of men, and that it uses women like Parkssi to take revenge on the Qing Dynasty (胡國), it seems reasonable to assume that it was written in the late 17th century or early 18th century. Various systems and values related to human relations are reflected in novels from the Joseon Dynasty. Representative examples include the legitimate heir (嫡庶) (『Hong Gildong Jeon』), filial piety (孝) (『Simcheong Jeon』), brotherhood (悌) (『Heungbu Jeon』), and class discrimination and gender equality (『Chunhyang Jeon』). Among these, 『Parkssi Jeon』 can be used as an excellent text for a human rights Confucian approach as it describes how the status of women is changing in modern Joseon. Human rights Confucianism (人權儒學) refers to “an academic tendency to resolve, abolish, and overcome the pre-modern ideas of Confucianism by reinterpreting them from a modern human rights perspective.” If we examine the issues of humanity based on Confucianism in connection with human rights, we can not only discern the truth and falsehood of the Confucian system, but also naturally lead to discussions on how to understand and accept it in a modern context. From this perspective, late Joseon novels can be said to be excellent texts for understanding Confucianism (especially Neo-Confucianism), the political ideology and dominant moral discourse of the Joseon Dynasty, from a modern human rights perspective. 『Parkssi Jeon』 contains socio-political and philosophical meanings, even from a modern social perspective, regarding women’s ‘appearance’ and ‘transformation’ as well as ‘making female heroes.’ In this respect, this paper aims to analyze the discriminatory and hateful views on women's appearance, the discriminatory treatment of women based on their status, the inversion of clothing, and the improvement of women's status revealed in 『Parkssi Jeon』 from a human rights Confucian perspective.