This thesis researches on the contemporary status of physiognomic study by comparing 'understanding person' in InJeong(人政), written by Haegang Choe Hangi (1803 ~ 1877) in the late Joseon Dynasty, and 'discerning person' on physiognomic study.
Physiognomic Study which is the study to scrutinize the essence to observe a form of a matter has purpose to know a person, which is 'discerning a person'. Thus, Physiognomic study is a methodology to infer destiny, characteristic, talent, and health of a person which is reflected on human appearance. The study was considered as a significant standard for human resource in the ancient time.
Injeong, Choe Hangi wrote, is comprised of the four chapters: Cheuk In, Kyo In, Sun In, Yong In, which means to understand, to teach, to selecting and appointing a person. The book is a theory about human resource. Chapter 'Cheuk In Moon' is the initial chapter which contain seven volumes. When Choe Hangi wrote InJeong, the traditional social structure in the Joseon Dynasty was challenged drastically. The cheating and corruption in the case of the test for national officers increased. In this circumstance, InJeong was a systematic theory to evaluate a person in the specific standard and norm. 7thvolume of the book, which is the last volume, Gam Pyeung, is a trial to establish the evident standard for Cheuk In, to understand a person. The concept of 'Cheuk In' has potentiality to construct the better society that through understanding people, he finds out social disorders, identifies specific social problems, and tries to recover.
In physiognomic study, the reason to scrutinize forms is to recognize the interiority and its change, by understanding forms which is appearances. The work of understanding a person is to conjecture the inner characteristic, which is represented as an atmosphere in appearances, facial expressions, and behaviors. He articulates that a human spirit is a behavior or reaction of qi but rather does not separate from the body.
As mentioned above, Choe Hangi's 'Cheuk In' and Physiognomic study have common ground that they try to figure out morality and the natural talent by inferring through human appearance. Both studies, since a body and spirit preserve integrity, 'understanding a person' or 'discerning people,' require exact recognition about human integrity. 'Understanding a person' by Choe Hangi and 'discerning people' have the common ground: purposes, usages and methodologies by which the essence is recognized by understanding a human external form. Moreover, Choe Hangi applies methodology of natural science to social science to explain cosmology, society and human problem in the perspective of qi(氣), and to articulate that human is significant.
Denouncing people who use the previous method of physiognomic study, Choe Hangi articulate that according to human effort, people can change destination of a person and a nation by his own theory that he combines traditional physiognomic study and his own method of understanding a person. He encourages that politicians and citizen learn the method of 'understanding a person.' Then, in order to use human resource appropriately, a way of selecting and appointing people based on their own talents directly relates to successes. This concept of 'understanding a person' by Choe Hangi is meaningful that it is indigenous theory for human resource among many western theories about human relationship.