Knowledge on international law was actively required because Korea was in the international circumstance where Western powerful countries appeared and the Qing dynasty and Japan promoted their modernization, and people were greatly concerned about how Korea should survive in such situation.
周辺に西欧列強が現れ、清朝や日本が近代化するという国際環境にあって、朝鮮はいかに生存を図るべきかということが、人々の主要な関心事として浮上しはじめていたため、国際法の知識は積極的に求められていた。