Shin Gyeong Jun was a scholar, and also an official who passed the national examination at the age of 43 and served in the government for 26 years. He is known to have been extremely well versed in almost every academical areas, and that assessment is shared by not only his colleagues back then but also the researchers studying them today. But the word ‘well-versed’ feels somewhat lacking in describing his expertise or the nature of his studies. He had a color of his own, and that color is very evident in everything he left, his thoughts, his philosophies regarding his own studies, and most importantly, the academical researches he conducted throughout his life.
He had a critical point of view against the dogmatism of Neo-Confucianism which was placing legitimacy and formality above all else, and felt that the so-called heretic Buddhist and Taoist philosophies, or the ancient Chinese ‘Hundreds of School of Thoughts’ can all be useful in understanding the nature of the world.
He also thought that, in order to fully acquire the very Confucian, very legitimate way of searching for the philosophical truths of our lives(the so-called Gyeokmul-Chiji/ 格物致知 methodology), an accurate understanding of technological matters would be very crucial. That was why he argued the importance of reforming the national examination, which was rather focused upon testing the testees’ ability in the area of literary compositions alone, so that a subset of tests be included for the engineers or technological experts which could eventually pave the way for their enlistment inside the government and their flourish inside the entire society. His academical researches also show his technological interests, as primary subjects of his studies included carts, rocket launchers (火車), boats and water wheels(水車) etc.
Another side of his studies features his interest in subjects like national history, national language and also the national territory. Shin Gyeong Jun was advancing his studies in the tradition of other researches of his time originated in the wake of heightened sense of pride for the country and caring for the people. These kinds of tendency were prevalent among the scholars in the capital area. He also inherited the previous historical and geological studies of Han Baek Gyeom and Yu Hyeong Weon, and established a new model for studies involving national subjects(the so-called Gukhak/國學 subjects) which would be prominently studied in the next era.
His studies were not exclusive or dogmatic but a very magnanimous (in a very Hwaetong/會通 kind of way) one, embracing many important schools of thoughts, including not only the Buddhist and Taoist philosophies, but also 9 other schools of thoughts as well. Those 9 schools were the Yuga/儒家-Confucian, the Doga/道家-Taoist, the Eumyangga/陰陽家-Eum Yang theorist, the Beobga/法家-Judicial, the Myeongga/名家-Reputation, the Mukga/墨家-Philanthropist, the Jonghwaengga/縱橫家-Strategists, the Jabga/雜家-Miscellaneous, and the Nongga/農家-Agricultural.
Shin Gyeong Jun’ s other junior colleagues, such as Damheon/湛軒 Hong Dae Yong/洪大容 or Yeonam/燕巖 Park Ji Weon/朴趾源, had the opportunity to visit the Chinese Ch’ ing dynasty as a member of the national envoy and experience the superior and advanced culture and technology of China. They also embraced the philologico-bibliographical studies of Ch’ ing. Yet Shin Gyeong Jun, although he wanted to join the Ch’ ing envoy, did not have the opportunity to do so or to study such new Chinese academical trends. The Chinese influence that can be traced from his works seems to have come from Western science and technologies which were introduced to the Chinese people through the actions of Western missionaries during the transitional period between the Ming and Ch’ ing dynasties. He was deeply interested in new pieces of technology such as Water wheels(which were deemed so in even China as well) and tried to adapt those technology to the Chosun terrain. Also, his suggestions of enhancing the features and potentials of carts and boats and newly utilizing them were precursive ones preceeding Park Jae Ga’s own famous studies(recorded in his 〈Pukhak-eui/北學議〉). Shin Gyeong Jun was not such a strong advocate of commercial activities like Park Jae Ga, but the fact should not be overlooked that even before the period of Pukhak/北學 thoughts people like Shin already had shown this kind of philosophical changes in academical studies.
His studies were aimed at social development based upon technological innovation and he tried to free himself from the dogmatic restraints of the Confucian ideology. Considering the major subjects of his studies, which could be considered as politically neutral ones, it can be suggested that he was in the end more of a scholar than an official. Surely he must have been well aware of his duties as a governmental official, but his primary interests were in the quest for academical truths, the quest which was underlying the activities of the medieval Korean scholars.