This article attempts to examine the Chosŏn intellectuals' perspectives and responses on the Kangxi Emperor's decision to lift the sea trade ban for analyzing how Chosŏn identified and grasped the knowledge of China's maritime development. The study of maritime history in Korea has provided the new perspective to rewrite the traditional discourse of the Korean historiography. As many scholars have mainly identified Chosŏn as a society with an anti-maritime ideology, studies on how Chosŏn responded to the maritime affairs after the Ming-Qing transition have been neglected. This article will shed light on how Chosŏn intellectuals acquired adequate knowledge about the development of maritime reordering in East Asia in the 18th century and examine why Chosŏn was in favor of the Qing maintaining the sea ban. The research result reassesses the discourse of Korean maritime history and also the Chosŏn's position on maritime trade.