한자문화권 ‘행정(行政)’용어의 탄생과 초기 확산

초록

The purpose of this study was to identify the origin and trace the early spread of the term ‘行政’ in China, Japan, and South Korea. From a historical perspective, the evolution of the term 行政, which translates to “public administration” in English, is a fundamental question in public administration studies. Three major questions were addressed: First, when did the term 行政 appear, and how was 行政 translated? Second, who played a part in the process of its creation and diffusion? Third, what are the differences between the three countries? A historical approach was used to answer these questions. The period analyzed was until 1911, which is the year in which the last of the three countries officially adopted the term. The findings are as follows: 行法 first appeared in 1838 in Singapore, then in China, and the Meiji government in Japan retranslated “public administration” as 行政 in 1868; 行政 replaced 行法 over time. Japan played a central role in spreading the term 行政 to China and Korea. Unlike China and Japan, South Korea did not have a period of using 行法, nor was it involved in the process to create the term 行政. The term was accepted in 1868 during the Meiji Restoration period in Japan, by the Gabo Reform (甲午改革) in South Korea in 1895, and through the Provisional Government Organization Act (臨時政府組織大綱) in China in 1911. The use of the term 行政 delineates the moment that each of the three countries began to move toward the adoption of a constitutional system, a separation of power, and a shift from a monarchical sovereignty to a people’s sovereignty. These findings have significant implications for our understanding of the term 行政 and the early days of public administration.

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