This is a study on the governmental offices(and posts) designed for Confucian scholars, as well as the operations of those offices during the reign of King Yejong. It is truly an important subject, in the overall efforts to better understand the political system of the early Goryeo period.
There were many governmental offices for which Confucian scholars worked in this period. In the beginning of King Taejo"s reign, several scholars were already helping the king rule the country. Ever since, there have been many governmental offices created for the scholars, such as Hal"lim-weon(한림원), Mun"deok-jeon(문덕전), Yeon"yeong-jeon(연영전), Bo"mun-gak(보문각) and Cheong"yeon-gak(청연각), according to 『The History of Goryeo』.
From the names of these offices we can see that they were significantly influenced by their counterparts in the Tang and Sung institutions. However, we do not know exactly how these offices were operated inside Goryeo, due to insufficient data. But we do know that there were some differences between the Goryeo versions and the Chinese versions, as we can see from how Goryeo adjusted the "3 Departments / 6 Ministries" system which had originally been imported from China.
Also, there was a big difference between the policy of King Yejong and those of the former kings, in terms of these offices" overall activities. King Yejong established new offices for scholars such as Cheong"yeon-gak and Bo"mun-gak. In addition, the status of sitting officials were elevated, and were treated better than before. Scholars gave lectures in front of King Yejong and his vassals, demonstrating their academic capabilities. They published books for the king and the king"s dignity. King Yejong enjoyed composing poems with scholars, so they could continually practice. Even though the ranks of the scholars were not high, they had pride in what they were doing.
King Yejong was determined to rule the country with the Confucian ideology, which was indeed a ruling model in those days. Through integrating foreign Tang and Sung institutions into the political system of Goryeo, King Yejong redesigned the Goryeo political system. Many scholars helped the king as political elites.
In conclusion, through the governmental offices for Confucian scholars, King Yejong was able to establish a strong ruling power. As king"s political partners, political scholars contributed to reinforce the king"s dignity, and raised their fames in the process.