Understanding Korean Literature by Hung-Gyu Kim & Robert Fouser

Author:Hung-Gyu Kim & Robert Fouser [Kim, Hung-Gyu & Fouser, Robert]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Political Science, Public Policy, General, Social Science, Ethnic Studies, Regional Studies
ISBN: 9781315285313
Google: x4QYDQAAQBAJ
Publisher: Routledge
Published: 2016-09-16T04:16:47+00:00

There are many different versions of the three most popular p’ansori novels, Tale of Shim Ch’ŏng, the Tale of Ch’unghyang, and Tale of Hŭngbu. In addition to changes that took place in the process of reprinting these novels for the commercial market, which grew considerably in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the novels were transmitted orally in various versions over the years. P’ansori novels grew in popularity from the eighteenth century on, particularly among the common people. As p’ansori novels grew in popularity, novels based on drama and written in a style that appealed to the common people developed a growing readership. Tale of Yi Ch’unp’ung (Yi ch’unp’ung chŏn), Diary of Three Daoist Immortals (Samsŏn ki), and Tale of O Yuran (O Yuran chŏn) are examples of this type of novel. Novels that portrayed human society sarcastically through the use of animals, such as Tale of Sŏ Tongji, the Rat (Sŏ Tongji chŏn) and Record of a Rat’s Trial (Sŏok ki), also appeared at this time. All of these novels belong to the category of “commoner novels” because of their popularity with the common people.

Certain works by Pak Chiwŏn (1737–1805) and Yi Ok (n.d.) that have the characteristics of novels are classified as “novels written in classical Chinese,” and those of Yi Ok are called “short stories in classical Chinese·, ’ This type of work appealed to those groups in society that were proficient in classical Chinese but in terms of contents it departed sharply from traditional yangban literature. Everyday life and social problems of the time were depicted clearly through the lives of a variety of people—merchants, peasants, wealthy landowners, thieves, kisaeng (female entertainers in traditional Korea), and shamans.

Most of the novels discussed above had one character, or one important character. This meant that there was very little character development beyond the protagonist. In most of the novels that were discovered in the Naksŏnje, the private quarters of the royal family, the plot was built around the lives of many members of an extended family through several generations; this type of novel is called the “family novel” or “epic novel.”Except for works such as Ch’ŏngsusŏk, Falling Spring and Rising Clouds (Naksŏn tŏngun), Record of Repaying Gratitude (Poun kiurok), and History of the Two Branches of the Hyŏn Family (Hyŏn-ssi yangung ssangnim ki), which have been studied extensively, most of the remaining works have yet to be studied in detail. Family novels emerged toward the end of the eighteenth century and became popular with women in the royal palace through the activities of increasingly active book sellers in Seoul. The works were extremely long, most of them thirty or forty volumes. Treasure of Bright Pearls in the Moonlight (Myŏngju powŏlbing), a novel based on three generations of family life, is in 235 volumes. The characters in these novels are average members of the yangban class searching for power, wealth, and love in the real world. This differed sharply from other genres of the classic novel, whose heroes either had supernatural powers or accomplished miraculous deeds.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.