earticle

한국어

The Musinja (戊申字) is a set of metal movable type privately cast in 1668 at the Sueocheong (Military Affairs Office) under the initiative of Kim Jwa-myeong, later transferred to the Gyoseogwan (Office of Royal Publications) in 1672, and subsequently used for royal book printing for over a century. This study reexamines the casting, usage, recasting, and integration of Musinja into the royal domain through a cross-analysis of official historical records such as the Annals of the Joseon Dynasty (Joseon Wangjo Sillok), the Daily Records of the Royal Secretariat (Seungjeongwon Ilgi), and royal protocol texts like Bosa Nokhun Dogam Uigwe and Bosa Bokhun Dogam Uigwe, along with extant printed materials using Musinja. The core contribution of this paper is its identification of two distinct phases in the royal acquisition of Musinja—not only the previously acknowledged transfer in 1672, but also a second acquisition in 1695—along with detailed evidence of its recasting. First, the study confirms early usage of Musinja in the 1669 printing of Maengja Daemun (Enlarged Text of Mencius) shortly after its casting, as well as small-scale prints for internal use. It also reveals that the Gyoseogwan lacked the capacity for systematic management of the type at the time. Second, following the 1680 political purge (Gyeongsin Hwanguk), extensive printing of certificates for meritorious officials (nokwon) led to the wear of the type and its partial recasting. In 1694, the reinstatement of Bosa officials prompted a second large-scale nokwon printing, requiring approximately 105 kilograms of recast type. Third, the study proposes that the royal incorporation of Musinja occurred in two stages: 1672 and 1695. Protocols from 1682 and 1694 record the borrowing of the type from Kim Seok-ju’s household, its damage, recasting, and the discussion of its return. A journal entry in the Annals of King Sukjong dated March 21, 1695, ordering the “purchase of Kim Seok-ju’s metal type,” has previously been interpreted as referring to another typeface (Hanguja), but this study argues it refers to Musinja, demonstrating that parts of it remained in private possession. Thus, this entry marks the second phase of royal incorporation. This study clarifies the previously obscure early usage of the Musinja and, by empirically identifying its lending, casting, and integration into the royal domain based on historical records, recontextualizes the circulation and ownership of metal movable type and the dynamics of printing resources between the royal court and private households in the late Joseon dynasty.