The History of Korean Literature: From Ancient Times to the Late Nineteenth Century by Mi Sook Ko & Min Jung & Byung Sul Jung

Author:Mi Sook Ko & Min Jung & Byung Sul Jung [Ko, Mi Sook & Jung, Min & Jung, Byung Sul]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Literature Translation Institute of Korea
Published: 2016-12-29T15:00:00+00:00

Tales of Wonder (chŏn’gi) after Kŭmo sinhwa

There were other novels in the chŏn’gi genre created after Kŭmo sinhwa. Sin Kwanghan (1484-1555) composed Kijae kii [Strange tales by Kijae] in which various narratives are recorded. Among the works, “Sŏjae yahŏe-rok” [Record of a night meeting in the study] is notable in that it uses personification in a “dream record” (mongyu-rok) format. The story unfolds around a narrator who has an invigorating conversation with four individuals who visit his study in the middle of the night, but after waking he realizes they were only his writing implements. Another piece, “Ch’oesaeng ujin-gi” tells of a poor scholar surnamed Ch’oe who by chance visits the palace of the Dragon King. There, he experiences all sort of marvelous happenings before returning to the human world. This narrative is similar in many aspects to the aforementioned “Yonggung puyŏn-rok” recorded in Kŭmo sinhwa.

Kijae kii functions as a bridge continuing the tradition of the tales of wonder of Koryŏ such as Kŭmo sinhwa of the prior age and links these with the later romance chŏn’gi novels (aejŏng chŏn’gi sosŏl) of the seventeenth century. Also, this work is interesting from the aspect that it focuses on investigation and interest about matters of the world that could not be reasonably explained and forms these into literary works. However, since the narratives are short and do not exhibit a serious awareness of matters, they are considered less valuable than Kŭmo sinhwa.

The narrative form of the chŏn’gi novel seen in Kŭmo sinhwa blossomed in the seventeenth century. Notable works of this period include Chusaeng-jŏn [The tale of Master Chu] and Wi Kyŏngch’ŏn-jŏn [The tale of Wi Kyŏngch’ŏn] both written by Kwŏn P’il, and Ch’oe Ch’ŏk-jŏn [The tale of Ch’oe Ch’ŏk] written by Cho Wihan. Besides these, works such as Tongsŏn-gi [Record of the fairy in the cave] and Sangsa tong-gi [Record of pondering together in a cave] were created as well.

It is interesting that both above works of Kwŏn P’il feature protagonists who are soldiers of Ming China dispatched to Chosŏn during the Hideyoshi invasions (1592-1598). It is also noteworthy that these works emerged from the common fantasy setting of chŏn’gi novels, and strengthened reality. Excluded were such unrealistic features as the resurrection of a dead hero or a ghost sharing love with the living. Rather, these works described romantic love between the sexes or the fundamental insecurities of human existence in the face of destiny. Such a transformation marks a great change in the cognition of novels.

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