2025, Vol., No.69

A Study on the Transformation and Variation of Affect in Transmission Reflected in the ‘Movement-Stoppage’ of t he Legend of t he ‘ I sland That Moved and Stopped’

Jungeun Kim | 2025, (69) | pp.5~32 | number of Cited : 0

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Representation of Body Empathy for Pain in Korean Classical Novels - Focusing on Sukhyangjeon as a primary case

Haejin Lee | 2025, (69) | pp.33~60 | number of Cited : 0

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The Shifting Role of the Family in Korean Classical Novels Set During Dynastic Transitions - Focusing on Hwaseon Seongyerok

KIM KANG EUN | 2025, (69) | pp.61~96 | number of Cited : 0

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This study examines the narrative function and significance of the family that assumes a central role in place of state authority in the Korean classical novel Hwaseon Seongyerok, set during a dynastic transition. While most Korean long novels focus on the prosperity of noble families and the personal success of protagonists, using national crises merely as a background device, Hwaseon Seongyerok uniquely foregrounds the dynastic change as a major narrative axis and depicts in detail the process by which a single family substitutes for the functions of a failing state. The Wi family not only contributes to the legitimacy of the new dynasty through its close relationship with the founder Jo Gwang-yun, but also integrates displaced royal descendants and refugees, reconstituting fragmented communities and restoring social order. In this respect, the Wi family functions not merely as a loyal subject or collaborator, but emerges as an ethical and political agent that temporarily replaces the state during its absence. However, the family’s active intervention is not simply a source of honor. Once the new dynasty stabilizes, the very acts that supported its founding are reinterpreted as signs of treason, placing the Wi family’s survival in jeopardy. That a founding family and key contributor to dynastic legitimacy can so swiftly become a target for political elimination reveals the ambivalence embedded in the narrative toward state power. The protagonist Wi Hyeon’s decision to retreat from politics and return to seclusion in Mount Hwasan is thus not a mere withdrawal, but a strategic act of preservation. This motif echoes the earlier narrative of Cheonsuseok, the preceding work, where the Wi family, despite its proximity to the throne, is similarly exiled after falling victim to palace intrigue. Both novels suggest that intimate involvement with public power carries inherent risk and that maintaining a measured distance from the state may be the only viable path to survival. Such narratives signal an attempt by Korean long novels to critically reimagine the relationship between state and family. Hwaseon Seongyerok explores the political potential of the family as a substitute for the state while at the same time rendering the tensions and vulnerabilities that arise from such substitution. In doing so, the family is portrayed as a self-governing and adaptive entity that must continually assess its position and make decisions for its own preservation. Given the prevalence of narratives involving the decline and recovery of noble families in 19th-century Korean fiction, Hwaseon Seongyerok reflects a historical consciousness in which public authority is no longer seen as an unquestionably reliable force. Ultimately, this novel is not merely a story of familial glory, but a meaningful narrative experiment that probes how the institution of the family is redefined and restructured within the volatile dynamics of state power.

<The Bride Who Had a Child on Her First Night> and <The Husband Who Was Too Generous> the Epic Meaning of ‘Telling’ and ‘Not Telling’ of Trust

KimJuongHee | 2025, (69) | pp.97~134 | number of Cited : 0

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This paper analyzes how ‘telling’ and ‘not telling’ affect trust in a couple’s relationship by comparing ‘The Bride Who Gave Birth on the First Night’ and ‘The Generous Husband’. To this end, Chapter 2 discusses the overcoming of marital crises and the development of trust in the two works, and Chapter 3 discusses the narrative differences between ‘telling’ and ‘not telling’ as a sign of trust. The narrative structure of both works is based on two embraces. In the first event, the wife’s infidelity (giving birth on the first night or adultery) occurs and the husband embraces it to preserve the relationship, but the relationship is one-sided. This imbalance is restored in the second event. In the second case, a past incident involving the wife’s infidelity is brought up again after the passage of time, proving that trust has been built up in the couple’s relationship during the intervening time. The comparison of the two works also reveals the usefulness of both ‘telling’ and ‘not telling’ strategies in a trusting relationship. <In “The Bride Who Gave Birth on the First Night,” the strategy of ‘telling’ appears, where ‘telling’ is a necessary process for establishing the son’s identity or deepening the husband’s understanding of his wife, and explaining past events is necessary in the present. On the other hand, the strategy of ‘not telling’ is emphasized in ‘The Generous Husband’. When the husband witnesses his wife sleeping with an executive, he covers it up, and when the executive later tries to mention the incident, the husband stops him. Here, “not telling” is a way of maintaining the stability of the couple’s relationship, and a strategy to block the negative impact that bringing up the past would have on the relationship. This is because the speaker is the cadre, and the cadre is revisiting the events that brought the couple to the brink of crisis in order to resolve his own emotional pending issues. The comparison of the two stories shows that both ‘telling’ and ‘not telling’ can be ways of preserving trust, depending on the context of the situation. In conclusion, the message of the comparison between the two stories is that building and maintaining trust in a relationship is not reducible to a single method, and that true trust is demonstrated through a process of building over time.

A Study on the Characteristics of Discourse in Nogye-gasa

Park, Sang-Young | 2025, (69) | pp.135~180 | number of Cited : 0

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This study analyzes the discursive aspect of the entire Nogye-gasa in a macroscopic manner, in terms of temporal and spatial characteristics and the subject-Subject relationship. As a result, in the works of the first period (<Taepyeongsa>, <Seonsangtan>), ‘the subject’ shows the will to overcome situational anxiety after the war, but the characteristics of the ‘anti-identification discourse’ characterized by suspicion, separation, and distance, which still fails to reconcile with ‘the Subject’, are discovered. In the works of the second period (<Sajegok>, <Nuhangsa>, <Dokrakdang>, <Soyujeongga>), a form of discourse that includes ‘distance’ is discovered. In other words, although it appears to be unified with ‘the Subject’ on the surface, behind it, it actually reveals the aspect of ‘the subject’ recognizing his own problems and objects of admiration in his own way within the greed of Confucian ideology. Meanwhile, in the works of the third period (<Sangsagok>, <Gwonjuga>, <Nogyega>, <Yeongnamga>, <Ipambyeolgok>), both aspects of the first and second periods are mixed, that is, fatalistic compliance and reflection on life are found in the discourse of distance & anti-identification and the discourse of unification & identification. Among these, in <Sangsagok> and <Gwonjuga>, a form of discourse that is distanced is found through the absence of the beloved by the ‘subject’ and the misaligned emotions and the perception of disconnection from life and death, whereas in <Yeongnamga>, <Nogyega>, and <Ipambyeolgok>, a form of discourse of unification and identification is found. <Yeongnam-ga> looks favorably on Yeongnam, which has been reborn with a positive image by the new magistrate, and focuses on a person who has practiced good governance rather than Confucian ideology; <Nogye-ga> presents an attitude of comprehensively reflecting on one’s own life along with the appearance of becoming one with the beautiful scenery (Nogye); and <Ipambyeolgok> perfectly embodies ‘Ipamjeongsa’ as a secluded space for mental cultivation, and expresses a wish to live like Jang Hyeon-gwang who stayed there, all of which show an accepting and contemplative attitude. In this way, Nogye Gasa revealed the discourse characteristics of ‘anti-identification → distanced unification/identification → mixture of anti-identification/identification’ by period, within a series of processes of ‘reality of war → exploration of Confucian ideology → reflection on and adaptation to life’, and in this process, the literary characteristics of Nogye Park In-ro, such as the use of many ancient texts, repetition of similar phrases, transition from negative to positive description, discourse composition centered on situation and space, and separation of situation and the subject, are also discovered.

A Study on the Military Tales(軍談) of <Umssihyomuncheonghaengrok> - Focusing on Comparisons with <Myeongjubowolbing> and <Yunhajeongsammunchwirok>

Junghyeon Seo | 2025, (69) | pp.181~224 | number of Cited : 0

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In this paper, we focused on the “military tales”(軍談) in the Korean novel <Umssihyomuncheonghaengrok>, and compared their existence and characteristics with the previous and original works, <Yunhajeongsammunchwirok> and <Yunhajeongsammunchwirok>, and then attempted to derive their literary historical significance. The military tales in <Umssihyomuncheonghaengrok> took up a considerable amount of space, two volumes based on the 30-volume Naksunjae(樂善齋) version, and not only showed uniqueness that distinguished them from other works, but also strongly revealed continuity with the previous work. In addition, it was confirmed that the creative process of the work took into account the readers’ intention to read the three works consecutively, and therefore it was deemed necessary to deeply examine the issue of the description of the military tales. Through a comparative review of the military tales between the works, it can be confirmed that in the process of retelling the narrative of the previous work, <Umssihyomuncheonghaengrok> expanded and mutated the content corresponding to the military tale, that the military tales, which total 19 times including the previous work, were differentiated from each other through variations in the form of antagonistic characters and the method of confrontation, and that while the activities of the characters corresponding to the direct line of the Um clan were abbreviated or omitted, the activities of the characters of the other clan (他門) who are relatives were specified, weakening the narrative centered on the single clan(一門). Based on the above points, it can be confirmed that the military tales of the three works including <Umssihyomuncheonghaengrok> and <Yunhajeongsammunchwirok> were created with careful consideration for the readers’ ‘continued reading’ of the three works and the heightened interest unique to military tales. In addition, it was inferred that while military tales can be sufficiently attractive stories in the enjoyment of Korean long novels, they can also be factors that divide opinions or reduce interest depending on the reader’s taste and creative style. Finally, considering that the military tales in the work show the direction of strengthening the interrelationship and continuous reading among the three works and the weakening of the narrative centered on one sentence, it was revealed that it is more appropriate to define <Umssihyomuncheonghaengrok> as a trilogy of novels that follows <Yunhajeongsammunchwirok> and <Yunhajeongsammunchwirok>.

KJCKorea
Journal Central

The Research of the Korean Classic 2023 KCI Impact Factor : 0.9

2025, Vol., No.69