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A Review of Correlation between the Yi Sun-sin Syndrome and the Public Sentiments －A Comparative Analysis of “The Immortal Yi Sun-sin” and “Roaring Currents”－
Journal of Humanities
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This paper will comparatively analyze and interpret the drama “TheImmortal Yi Sun-sin (Bulmyeol-ui Yi Sun-sin),” aired on KBS TV in 2004,and the 2014 movie “Roaring Currents (Myeongnyang)” and figure out thecorrelation between the Yi Sun-sin syndrome and the public sentiments. Thestudy will focus on the interpretation of the newly illuminated narratives ofAdmiral Yi Sun-sin actively enjoyed by the public in each period with theinterval of a decade. Since Sin Chae-ho (1880∼1936) first reilluminated theaccomplishment of Yi Sun-sin with a view to promote the people’senlightenment, Yi Sun-sin has been incessantly reinterpreted and edited. Especially, the Park Chung-hee regime idolized Yi as the hero of saving thenation in order to make up for its legitimacy tarnished by the military coupd’etat. The attempt to focus on the humanistic aspects of Yi started as partof the efforts to disintegrate the idolized image of Yi. The humanistic aspectsof Yi were concretely portrayed in the novels by Kim Hun and KimTak-hwan, respectively. “The Immortal Yi Sun-sin” was produced based on the novels by the two authors. This study compared the narratives of “TheImmortal Yi Sun-sin” and “Roaring Currents” – which created a Yi Sun-sinsyndrome in 2014 – and reinterpreted them from the three perspectives. First, the movie fictionally introduced Bae Seol who did not participate inthe battle of the Myeongnyang Sea in actual history. “The Immortal YiSun-sin” did not feature the desertion of Bae Seol from the army, while“Roaring Currents” portrayed him as a betrayer of Yi. This shows therelation between the governing ideology and individuals under the situation ofwar. Second, the two movies show the difference in dealing with the issueof “life” and “death.” “The Immortal Yi Sun-sin” exposes the death of theenemies while “Roaring Currents” features both “life” and “death” of theJoseon and the Japanese soldiers. “Life” in war is not so much a process ofovercoming “death” as a process of heading into “death.” Third, thecomparative analysis of the two movies shows the difference in the conceptof heroes in each period of 2004 and 2014. Yi Sun-sin in “The Immortal YiSun-sin” was represented as the people’s hero who emphasizedcommunication, while the latter Yi in “Roaring Currents” shows a semblancewith Yi Sun-sin in another movie produced in the 1970s.
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