The purpose of this paper was to examine the characteristics of the recontextualization of knowledge in the perspective of intellectual history, focusing on the Japan section of Choi Han-gi's Jigujeonyo (地球典要). Through this attempt, the influence of the Japan studies triggered by the 1764 Tongsinsa (the delegation to Japan) on the terrain of late Joseon knowledge was explored. When summarizing the characteristic aspects of knowledge reception regarding Japan, with the Japan section of Jigujeonyo from the 19th century serving as the focal point, several points emerge. Firstly, Choi Han-gi mainly cited contemporary sources such as Haiguotuzhi and Ying huan zhi lue, but for the Japan section, most of the content was derived from Haeyurok by Shin Yu-han of the 1719 Tongsinsa. Secondly, Choi Han-gi adopted Wei Yuan’s method of classifying regions based on the Chinese seas but organized the details of each country’s entry from the perspective of Qi-Study by Choi Han-gi himself. Thirdly, Choi Han-gi recontextualized Haeyurok by simplifying and clarifying the content to reconstruct it more systematically, deleting unreliable information and subjective evaluations to provide an objective description, and supplementing information related to latitude based on geography and maps in the case of climate. Fourthly, while Choi Han-gi had exchanges with Lee Gyu-gyeong and showed interest in Lee Deok-Moo’s scholarship, he did not cite the Japan studies of Won Jung-geo and Lee Deok-Moo in Jigujeonyo. The systematization of knowledge is practiced through collection, comparison, editing, criticism, and summarization, and only after this process is completed does it become “knowledge” to be utilized. The purpose of refining knowledge from the perspective of intellectual history is to harmonize or adapt it to existing academic categories for circulation in contemporary society. Despite considering the incomplete nature of Won Jung-geo’s Hwagukji, Lee Deok-Moo’s Cheongryeonggukji actively utilized Hwagukji as a citation source and selected, summarized, edited, and completed the research by comparing various works and organizing their contents into sections. However, the reason why 18th-century research works did not make it to the citation list when 19th-century Joseon’s intellectuals wrote world geography books might be related not only to the interest in new knowledge but also to the conservatism of Noble Families in seoul, which was not open to public discourse due to the hierarchy and taboo of Neo-Confucianism. The discovery of Japan as an object of objective perception by two intellectuals from the Seo-eol class was a functional intellectual activity aimed at renewing self-awareness through interest in the other. However, their knowledge remained confined within the pages of their books without being disseminated and could not transcend the conceptual dimension due to the loss of practicality.
