Masterpieces of Korean Literature

Kathleen Y. Paras

BSED 2-d1

The Story of Hong Kiltong• By Ho Kyun

• The first Korean vernacular novel

• It is a satire in which commoners outdo the upper class.

• Hong Kiltong (protagonist), leader of a band of thieves who set up classless community on an isolated island and succeed in getting along without the yangban and their laws and priviledges.

Hwangjo ka• 17 bce; “Orioles’ Song”

• composed in Chinese

• the first lyric poem in Korean literature

• evokes the personal loneliness of the unfortunate Koguryŏ king Yuri

Samguk sagi• 1146; “History of the Three Kingdoms”

• compiled by Kim Pu-Shik

• departed from the practice of stressing supernatural legend over human history

• attempts to use the methods of what might be considered modern historiography in its efforts to establish a Confucian-based ideology of governance

Yongbi ŏch ŏn ka• 1445–47; “Songs of Flying Dragons”

• early Chosŏn Period

• a dynastic narrative poem that praises the heroic achievements of the founders of the Chosŏn kingdom

• these texts were intended to accompany court music and to celebrate the inauguration of the new dynasty, were composed in the vernacular and culminated in the work of Chŏng To-Jŏnand Sangjin

Hanjung nok• “Record of Sorrowful Days” or “The Memoirs of Lady Hyegyong”

• most famous court novel by a woman

• is an elegant account of the tragic experiences of Lady Hong, princess of Hyegyŏng Palace, and carries on a tradition of palace memoirs written by Korean women.

• written in diary form

Ch’unyang-jŏn• “Spring Fragrance”

• Is one of the best known love stories and folk tales of Korea

• A good example of p’ansori genre

• Young lover’s dilemma, their tragic separation

• The story was popular enough to be sung and told in forms other than p’ansori

Land• Pak Kyong-ni

• national epic

• comprises 21 volumes

• tells of the great revolutions in Korean society in the first half of the 20th century

• more than 700 characters are introduced