This study suggested two conflicting groups of anti-Japanese and pro-Japanese
in the Japanese invasion period. The study analyzed and interpreted personal traits
of the members of the two groups based on their writing styles and the study of
Ki(氣) by Choi Han-gi(崔漢綺). Choi Han-gi is a representative scholar of Silhak
(實學), the realist school of Confucianism, in the late Joseon Dynasty, who
construed the nature of the world and human as Ki, the internal energy. Choi
interpreted human nature as a function of Ki and evaluated the nature based on
the five basic elements of individuals(五具) and five ways to express the
elements(五發), the principle that he suggested. With his view of man and writing
style, this study analyzed and interpreted four people from the anti-Japanese group
and four people from the pro-Japanese group. The groups under the national time
of trial were not just anti or pro-Japanese but represented people who prioritized
public interests over private affairs(先公後私) and vice versa. The priority on
private affairs over public interests(先私後公) by the pro-Japanese group can be
regarded as a perilous idea from a humanitarian perspective. In this regard, the
fact that individual’s personal trait is reflected, to some extent, in the writing style
of the person is a critical evidence showing that the writing style of an individual
can change personality of the person. Therefore, this is a very significant study
that individual’s personal traits can be reflected in the writing style and suggests
the direction of personal education through writing style.