This paper explores the nature of Toegyejib (退溪集, Toegye
Collection) as a literature collection centered on letters. In
Toegyejib, letters are separately grouped from other forms of
literature. To the persons whom Toegye exchanged
correspondence with, or, simply, those who are recipients of his
letters (Daebanginmul, 對方人物), Toegye wrote and sent out
poems, ritual orations, written phrases for tombstone inscriptions,
and forewords for publications. The editors of Toegyejib, taking
notice of this aspect of Toegye’s letters, grouped the recipients
of Toegye’s letters into several types and linked such grouping
with other poems and proses to reveal the political and intellectual
society of Joseon at the time of Toegye. This collection was
centered around Toegye Yi Hwang (退溪 李滉), Toegye’s status in
those societies, and Toegye’s presence as a master scholar. The
editors overcame the limited number of proses, and created
Toegyejib as a literature collection that befits a master scholar.
It was their way of meeting the demands of the readers at the time.
The publication of Boyupyeon (補遺編, supplement) to Toegyejib
was another way for the editors to cope with the changed needs
of the time. With this, the editors of Sokjib (續集, sequel) and Yujib
(遺集, posthumous collection), the two supplements to Toegyejib,
were descendants of Toegye Yi Hwang. They collected letters with the intention of establishing close links between their family and
the families of the recipients of the letters. In other words, they
identified new recipients of Toegye’s letters and collected and
organized other poems and proses related with those recipients to
create the supplements to Toegyejib.