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The Korean Astronomical Society (한국천문학회)
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THE CHANGE OF THE CALENDAR AND TIMEKEEPING SYSTEM AROUND ADOPTION OF THE SOLAR CALENDAR IN KOREA

태양력 시행 전후 한국의 역법과 시각제도 변화

  • Received : 2019.10.11
  • Accepted : 2019.12.06
  • Published : 2019.12.31
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Abstract

We investigate the provenance and the changes in the timekeeping system focusing on official records such as almanacs and textbooks published by the government after the solar calendar was introduced. We found that the solar calendar and the 12-hour clock time first appeared in 1884 during Joseon dynasty, at that time the solar calendar was used at the open port in Busan to facilitate the exchanges with Japan. The 12-hour clock time first appeared in the 『Hansung Sunbo』 published by the government in 1884. We also found that the Joseon dynasty also used 12 diǎnzhōng or 12 diǎn. In addition, the term of the 'Sigan' first appeared in the first official academic textbook in August 1895, and the chapter related to time contained the information about 12-hour clock time instead of the 12 Shi. In 1908, the meaning of the solar time, the equation of time, and the differences in longitude with the adoption of Korean Standard Time were introduced. Meanwhile, the 24-hour clock time was first introduced in Joseon and applied to railway times in 1907. The 1946 almanac, the first issue after liberation, used the 12-hour clock time which uses 'Sango', 'Hao' and the 24-hour clock time started to be used from the following year and is still used to this day. Finally, the 12-hour clock time, which was introduced around 1884, was enacted as Article 44 of the law in 1900 and was revised again in 1905 and 1908. In Korea, the terms related to the time in the current astronomical calendar system were newly defined around 1884, 1896, and 1908, and gradually standardized through the establishment of laws.

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References

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