Silhak was first made when the Joseon Dynasty was having a hard time, and after Japan had made war with them. The people of Korea were very poor, and their economical situation was not good. Also, all the farmland had grown and it was very hard to farm. To prevent all of this trouble, instead of learning neo-Confucianism, some philosophers decided that a new education should be made to help the poor, and they named it Silhak.