Appunti Letteratura Coreana 1

Types of Chosŏn Fiction

There are mainly four different types of Chosŏn fiction:

1. Tales of Wonder (Chŏnki)

Originated in China, became in the premodern period the favourite type of narrative prose among the literary elite across East and Southeast Asia (China-Japan-Vietnam). This genre had been formed through the literary embellishment of folktales while at the same time adopting the biography form. The typical plot involves main characters of noble birth but retains a strong propensity toward romance and fantasy.

Example: New Stories from Gold Turtle Mountain (Kŭmo Sinhwa) by Kim Sisŭp. It is a collection of tales and wonders. Based upon additional notes, there originally seems to have more works, but only five pieces have been transmitted to the present:

• Manboksa chŏp o-ki -> old bachelor Yang plays chŏ p o at Manbok Temple
• Yisaeng kyujang-jŏn -> Student Yi peers over the wall
• Ch wiyu pubyŏkchŏng-gi -> Student Hong plays at

Pubyŏk Pavillon;

• Nam yŏmbuju-chi -> Student Pak visits the underworld;
• Yonggung puyŏn-rok -> Student Han visits the Dragon Palace.

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It has high literary qualities and it s in uenced by the native traditions of the Chosŏn dynasty.

Religious subjects like Buddhism and Taoism are included by the author, he doesn t just talk about Confucianism.

It s novel collection of narratives that had heretofore never existed and it s a creation that was conceived and executed by a single writer.

With regards to Sui-jŏn, the original text is not extant and only some of the narratives have survived; thereby, the exact form of this work cannot be known. Nonetheless, it is dif cult to consider this work to have been literature of high quality and arranged in an ordered fashion such as Kŭmo Sinhwa.

Kŭmo Sinhwa can be seen as the sign that Korean literature entered the age of the novel.

2) Biographical Fiction ( Chŏn

• Fictionalisation -> consciously crafted biographies;
• This fictional aspect in biography can be considered a new literary phenomenon that first became prominent in the 17th century -> more dynamic;
• Biographical fiction expresses concern with lower-class people and brings the individuality of its characters into sharp relief;
• Examples: (1) Yu Yŏn Chŏn (Tale of Yu Yŏn) by Yi Hangbok, (2) Namgung Sŏnsaeng chŏn (Tale of Master Namgugn) by Hŏ Kyun, (3) Hojil (A Tiger's Rebuke) and (4) Yangban Chŏn (Tale of a Gentleman) by Pak Chiwŏn.
• Unofficial History (Yadam)
• Short literary Chinese narrative works collected in the urban areas during late Chosŏn. It actually was criticised by Confucian scholars because they thought this genre treated vulgar non-historical matters; there are no documents to prove that the history treated in Yadam was accurate;
• Yadam paved the way for a new artistic stage unprecedented in Korea's literary history and was able

• The major themes include profound concern with eccentrics, the economic poverty of the literati, the collapse of the status system and ensuing class conflict, the acknowledgment of basic human instincts and the resistance of the oppressed against the old order;
• Examples: (1) Kyesŏ Yadam (Unofficial Tales from Korea), (2) Ch Yadamŏnggu (Unofficial Tales from the Green Hills) and (3) Tongya Hwijip (Assorted Collection from the Eastern Field). These are all collections of Yada drafted in the 18th/19th century.

• They were not read only by women, but

but also novel. The Founding of Vernacular Fiction

From the mid-late 17th century these novels gained popularity, especially among women in Seoul. The expansion of novel market has three different backgrounds:

1. The new social reality and a new literary environment (after Japanese and Manchu invasions): a great number of commoners, the main consumers of vernacular fiction, demanded a literary form corresponding to contemporary reality;
2. The long tradition of writing fiction in literary Chinese and, in turn, literary stimulation through the introduction, translation and adaptation of popular Chinese fiction. The famous Chinese fictions (for instance, Journey to the West) were translated into Korean;
3. The formation of a wide readership in vernacular fiction and the rise of a commodity economy in which peasants produced items to be sold for cash. A new literature market was established in this time.

Book Lending Shops

Fiction was produced for mass consumption through commercial institutions such as

booklending libraries and the publication of old loved editions. People went there to borrow books,which stimulated writers to write new stories for money, as well as the community of readers wasstimulated to read together and be more interested in the new novels.

Vernacular ction became more popular, especially in Seoul; although its popularity, Confucianliterati frowned upon this vernacular ction genre because of its lack of historical signi cance. Itwas rejected for disrupting customs and corrupting morality, especially because it spoke aboutlove and sentiment.

Categories of Vernacular Fiction:

• Heroic
• Dream vision
• Romance
• Family
• Clan
• Manners

Heroic Fiction:

The Japanese and Manchu invasion shocked the social order in Asia (division in early and lateChosŏn periods). Fictions dealing with

Human life couldn't ignore the contradictions in the Confucian-style way of living.

Kŏ Kyun: Most representative author of Chosŏn vernacular fiction. Born in a distinguished family with high literary skills.

Work: Tale of Hong Kiltong, first vernacular fiction in Chosŏn period. (Vedi lezione 11)

The Early Heroic Biography

A hero of noble birth and extraordinary nature is born under unusual circumstances, but when he's young he faces unexpected danger. He escapes with the help of a searcher or foster parent and then finally returns to society after developing strength and intelligence. The first crisis is that he's not strong enough to face his enemy, so he's reassured by his helpers and then trained to become stronger. Not only in power but in knowledge as well. The second crisis comes to the society -> the country has a war while he's training. When he reappeared as a hero, he deceives the enemy and becomes the country's hero. He wipes out an evil power and gains glory -> the emperor recognizes him as.

individual ambition, secular glory and love between men and women become essential inner motives.

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It has two motives inside: Confucian ideology on the surface (eg. The hero is fighting for their parents or for his king), venal concepts on the inside (e.g. ambitions, love, glory). Of course, this inner theme catches the attention of the readers more.

Dream Visions and Romance Fiction

Traditions of Dream-Journey

Several literati critical of mid-Chosŏn society created a unique literary form in which, through the imaginary space of a dream world, they could meet historical persons and express their resentment. Borrowing the dream structure to voice a contemporary complaint or desire.

-> Person who had a complaint in their real life and then dreams of another world where he could express its real voice.

Examples: (1) Taegwanjae Mongyu Rok ( Record of a Dream Journey at Great Observatory Study ) by Sim U I and (2) Talch Mongyu Rok