본고에서는 박세당(朴世堂, 1629∼1703)이 그의 두 아들 박태유(朴泰維, 1648∼1686)와 박태보(朴泰輔, 1654∼1689)에게 보낸 간찰을 분석해서 학자이자 관료였던 부자간에 어떠한 조언과 자문을 했는지 살펴보겠다. 이들은 모두 과거에 합격한 후 관리 생활을 했다. 따라서 박세당은 두 아들에게 아버지이자 정치 선배였다. 조선시대에 아버지와 아들이 대를 이어 문과에 합격한 후 벼슬살이를 하는 경우는 적지 않았다. 그러나 박세당과 박태보처럼 부자가 모두 문과에 장원급제하는 것은 드물었으며 정치격변기에 핵심 인물들로 활약하는 것은 매우 흔치 않았다. 박세당이 두 아들에게 보낸 간찰은 그의 문집인 『서계집』에 실려있는데 이를 분석해 본 결과 그는 아들에게 아버지이자 유학자로서 건강, 소양, 처신 등에 대해 조언했으며 정치 선배로서 출처와 걸군, 호포와 문묘출척, 답험과 역마 등에 대해 자문했다. 그가 자문한 내용은 당시 정치적으로 매우 중요한 문제였다. 박세당은 그의 언행이 충(忠)과 신(信)에 뿌리를 둔 인물로 평가되는데 두 아들에게 보낸 간찰을 통해서도 이러한 점이 그대로 드러난다.
This study aims to analyze the letters that Se-dang Park (朴世堂, 1629∼1703) sent to his two sons, Tae-yu Park (朴泰維, 1648∼1686) and Tae-bo Park (朴泰輔, 1654∼1689), who were also Confucius scholars and government officials, and investigate what tips and advice he gave to his sons, in consideration of their father-son relationship when the father and the sons were scholars and government officials alike. All of the three passed Gwageo, the state examination of the Joseon Dynasty to appoint talented people to government posts, and they served as government officials afterward. In this regard, Se-dang Park was not only a father but also a senior politician to his two sons. Throughout the period of the Joseon Dynasty, it was not an unusual case that both the father passed Gwageo for literature and got appointed to a government post, and then the son follows his father’s footsteps. However, it was a rare case, as in the case of Se-dang Park and Tae-bo Park, that both the father and the son won the first place in Gwageo and then became powerful political figures in the era of political turmoil and transition. The letters the Se-dang Park sent to his two sons were published in Seogyejip, a collection of Se-dang Park’s literary works. As a result of analyzing those letters, it was found that Se-dang Park gave advice to his sons, as a father and Confucius scholar, concerning such issues of health management, refinement of personal attitudes and knowledge, and guiding principles of life. As a senior politician, he also advised on diverse matters including Chulcheo (the issue of whether to pursue political career or staying out of political position), Geolgun (request for relocation to a region close to the parents of the government official), Hopo (tax system to impose taxes by household), Munmyochulcheok (exclusion from the Confucius shrine), Dapheom (system of field investigation of harvest of the year) and Yeokma (government system to lend horses at stations as transportation for government officials), all of which were politically important issues at that time. Se-dang Park has been recognized as a person of Chung (忠, loyalty) and Shin (信, trust) based on his words and action, and such reputation could be confirmed in his letters to his sons as well.