Moon Il-pyeong’s Research on Korean History and His Vision for Academic Promotion : An Analysis of His 1934 Diary

Moon Il-pyeong has long been recognized as a prominent nationalist historian during the Japanese colonial period. This study analyzes Moon’s diary from 1934, focusing on a critical but often overlooked aspect of his career: the fact that his primary academic activities took place within the setting of a newspaper office. While Moon held the responsibility of producing editorials and publicfacing historical content for various newspaper projects, he simultaneously strove to publish works characterized by rigorous academic depth. To this end, he cultivated an extensive scholarly network, engaging with figures such as Yi Byeong-do and members of the Chindan Hakhoe, as well as Jeong In-bo, to advance his research on Korean history. Deeply embedded in his work was a strong aspiration for the promotion of academic learning for the Korean people. Although he operated within the “non-institutional” academic space of the press, Moon consistently worked toward the establishment of formal academic institutions. This effort was rooted in a shared consensus on independent modernization, as evidenced by his frequent interactions with intellectuals from the Northwest(Seobuk) region.