On September 21st, 2018, presentations on the Sillok research and translation were held before the board members of the Union Académique Internationale (UAI) in a conference room at the Kyujanggak Institute for Korean Studies, Seoul National University.
First, Hacksun Cha, a Sillok researcher and translator, made a presentation titled “The Current State of Sillok Translation and the Future of Sillok Studies.” Then Yi Tae-jin, professor emiritus of Seoul National University, made a presentation titled “Historical Records on the Natural Disasters from the 16th through 18th Centuries – Comparing the Korean Sillok with the German Flugblatt.“
Mr. Cha discussed the peculiar giftedness of King Sejong and the future of Sillok Studies and concluded that no one knows how the world will be affected by the English version of the Sillok when it is completed in the future.
Professor Yi pointed to a remarkable correspondence between the German paintings of the 16th to the 18th centuries and the Sillok records of Joseon Korea in the same period, concluding that the Sillok records prove that the abnormal natural phenomena depicted in those European pictures actually occurred.
In the afternoon, a tour of the Kyujanggak Archive was held in which the original copies of the Sillok and other historical records of the Joseon period were viewed, with Professor Yi’s commentaries interpreted by Mr. Cha.
The presentations and the tour were well received by the UAI board members.
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