2026, Vol., No.72

Variations of the Heaven-Ordained Union(天定緣) in Classical Korean Fiction : Focusing on Ssangcheongibong and Myeonghaengjeonguirok

KO EUNIM | 2026, (72) | pp.5~30 | number of Cited : 0

This article analyzes variations of the heaven-ordained union(天定緣), a recurrent narrative motif in classical Korean fiction traditionally associated with marital destiny and harmonious resolution, focusing on Ssangcheongibong and Myeonghaengjeonguirok. In earlier scholarship, the heaven-ordained union has been understood primarily as a narrative device that legitimizes romantic relationships by transcending parental opposition and social or status-based constraints, thereby ensuring the successful culmination of marriage. However, these two late Joseon- period works present distinct departures from this conventional function. In Ssangcheongibong(18th century), the heaven-ordained union compels the female character Sowolhye to enter and sustain an unwanted marriage, producing a prolonged experience of conjugal suffering rather than emotional fulfillment. The motif thus operates as a narrative mechanism that restricts female agency and frames marital hardship within a fatalistic logic. By contrast, Myeonghaengjeonguirok (19th century) depicts the female character Soyeoju’s deliberate fabrication and appropriation of a heaven-ordained union in order to achieve self- arranged marriage(自媒), a practice normatively prohibited for upper- class women. In this case, the heaven-ordained union functions not as an unquestioned expression of transcendent will but as a manipulable discourse mobilized to authorize individual desire. Through comparative analysis of these two works, this article demonstrates that the heaven-ordained union is not a fixed ideological construct but a flexible narrative element subject to transformation. The observed variations highlight how classical Korean fiction generates new meanings through the repetition and modification of familiar motifs, while also engaging with contemporary marital norms and gendered social constraints.

Imagining Non-Infectious Diseases in Chosŏn Ghost Tales

YOUME KIM | 2026, (72) | pp.31~56 | number of Cited : 0

This study examines ghost tales involving non-infectious diseases in Chosŏn-period p’ilgi and yadam literature, focusing on narratives in which ghosts are presented as the direct cause of illness. It explores how non-infectious diseases were imagined and narrativized within the medical and cultural context of the time. Such ghost tales most frequently appear in cases of mental disturbance or illnesses whose causes were difficult to determine. This suggests that ghosts were not invoked as a uniform explanatory device for all diseases, but were selectively mobilized for conditions that exceeded the diagnostic limits of contemporary medicine. In these narratives, human resolve, medical knowledge, and personal capability are strongly emphasized, and stories of successful cure are relatively common. This tendency reflects the characteristics of non- infectious diseases, which allowed direct human intervention and therapeutic attempts due to the absence of contagion risk. Ghosts, though identified as the cause of illness, are rarely depicted as objects of absolute reverence or terror; rather, they are often portrayed as beings that can be subdued by force or controlled through human-led negotiation. The figures who overcome disease-causing ghosts are typically endowed with the ability to perceive supernatural beings and with exceptional physical or mental strength, although such requirements gradually become less strict in later periods. Moreover, these tales frequently depict solidarity between patients and surrounding individuals, human-initiated negotiation, and even humorous or satirical attitudes toward ghosts. The active social interaction surrounding the patient and the varied hierarchies that structure human–ghost relations can be understood as narrative consequences of a medical condition that does not threaten the entire community with contagion. In this respect, non-infectiousness functioned not merely as a medical attribute but as a significant structural condition shaping the narrative logic and cultural imagination of disease-related ghost tales in Chosŏn Korea.

‘Father-Daughter Conflict’ and ‘Romantic Union’ as Archetypal Narratives : Reading the Folktale Living by My Own Fortune through the Web Novel Under the Oak Tree

KimJuongHee | 2026, (72) | pp.57~92 | number of Cited : 0

This study analyzes the narrative correlation between the Korean folktale “I Live by My Own Fortune” and Kim Suji’s web novel “Under the Oak Tree” to examine patterns of modern inheritance and variation of traditional folktale narratives. “I Live by My Own Fortune” is a representative classical Korean narrative structured around father- daughter conflict and male-female union. In this tale, the third daughter’s process of achieving independence through confrontation with her wealthy father unfolds through a structure of latent conflict, overt conflict, triumph, and forgiveness. In the latent conflict phase, the wealthy father’s confirmation and display of control over his daughters plants the seeds of conflict between himself and the third daughter. In the overt conflict phase, the father’s demands become explicit, and the third daughter’s refusal emerges openly. The father-daughter conflict reaches its climax when the wealthy father coercively exercises his control by forcing the third daughter into marriage. In the triumph phase, the third daughter’s success and the wealthy father’s downfall are depicted. This triumph belongs to both the third daughter and her husband, the charcoal-burner. In the forgiveness phase, the third daughter forgives her father. The father pays the price for his wrongdoing, and the third daughter forgives him after he has suffered the consequences. The web novel “Under the Oak Tree” shares the structure of latent conflict, overt conflict, and triumph from the folktale “I Live by My Own Fortune”. As in the folktale, during the latent conflict phase, the wealthy father Duke Croyso treats his two daughters as instruments for fulfilling his own desires and displays his control over them. In the overt conflict phase, Maximillian Croyso, corresponding to the third daughter, is forced by her father Duke Croyso to marry Riftan, a knight of humble and impoverished origins, and relocates to Riftan’s barren territory. In the triumph phase, Maximillian and Riftan’s struggles to transform the barren territory into a prosperous one are depicted, and their efforts succeed. While Riftan’s territory grows powerful, Duke Croyso’s influence diminishes and weakens. Throughout this process, Maximillian contributes to building the territory as Riftan’s equal partner. The daughter, who believed herself incapable without the wealth and power inherited from her father, transforms through marriage into a competent ruler. However, significant differences also exist between the two works. In “I Live by My Own Fortune”, the third daughter forgives her fallen father and restores their relationship, whereas in “Under the Oak Tree”, Maximillian does not forgive her father. This narrative choice reflects a contemporary orientation that presents complete separation from an unjust parent as the fulfillment of personal growth. Thus, the comparison of these two works demonstrates that the narrative of “I Live by My Own Fortune” maintains its popular appeal today, while also revealing that contemporary narratives do not simply replicate it but vary it according to present-day sensibilities. This confirms that oral folktales are not relics confined to a specific genre form that have disappeared, but living narratives that are continuously transmitted and recreated through new media and narrative forms.

Beyond Another Bias in Care Discourse : Recovering Caring Men

Nam Kimin | 2026, (72) | pp.93~121 | number of Cited : 0

A Study of Cheon Habek, a Lower-Class Female Hero in Namgarok(南柯錄) - Focusing on the Process of Establishing Her Status within the Patriarchal Order

park, heain | 2026, (72) | pp.123~157 | number of Cited : 0

This article examines CheonHabeak in Namgarok, a Long Novel Written in Classical Chinese, in order to explore how a Lower-Class Female Hero secures and consolidates her position within a patriarchal society. As a Female Character who is simultaneously a Lower-Class Woman, CheonHabeak embodies the tension between social marginality and heroic agency. In Namgarok, CheonHabeak first appears as one of three sisters living as bandits in the Oknyosan region, positioning her outside the patriarchal order. Although she demonstrates the qualities of a Female Hero, the narrative frames her and her sisters as women seeking marital ties with established male heroes. Consequently, their final reward culminates in their becoming secondary wives to elite male figures. In this context, concubinage functions as the only institutional position through which a Lower-Class Woman can be incorporated into the patriarchal system, while remaining an inherently unstable and socially vulnerable status. In the latter half of the narrative, however, CheonHabeak transcends this limited position. After the death of her husband, Choi Seokhong, she succeeds him as Grand Commander and emerges as both savior and leader. Through these achievements, she receives apologies from royal and elite male figures, thereby attaining full recognition within the patriarchal order and inheriting her husband’s authority. Thus, in Namgarok, CheonHabeak rises from a marginalized Lower- Class Woman to a recognized Female Hero. Her practice of female virtue (yeol) is not merely an act of submission but a strategic performance that enables her to appropriate upper-class authority and normative values. By mobilizing her heroic competence alongside the symbolic authority of male power, CheonHabeak consolidates her status within the existing system. Although she appears to be absorbed into the patriarchal family structure, she simultaneously exposes its ideological tensions, demonstrating the narrative possibility for a Lower-Class Female Hero to be acknowledged as a legitimate heroic subject.

The Inclusion and Significance of Allen’s Tales in The Korean Repository

Seo Hye-Eun | 2026, (72) | pp.159~209 | number of Cited : 0

A Study of the Structure and Formal Characteristics of Sasikyeonggi-ga as a Wollyeongche Gasa

Lee Sang-suk | 2026, (72) | pp.211~231 | number of Cited : 0

This paper investigates the thematic characteristics and literary significance of Sasikyeonggi-ga, which is a gasa work in the wollyeongche style. As a wollyeongche gasa, Sasikyeonggi-ga not only celebrates the four seasons but also depicts the seasonal customs of specific months throughout the year. In this respect, the work embraces all conventional classificatory categories applied to gasa literature, demonstrating multidimensional content. Sasikyeonggi-ga consists of a total of 96 lines, primarily composed in the 4･4 rhythmic pattern. While the work encompasses all four seasons of the year, it differs from conventional compositions that begin with spring by adopting a cyclical structure that starts with winter, proceeds through spring, summer, and autumn, and concludes again with winter. The text is divided into twelve sections: sections 1–4 depict spring, sections 5–7 summer, sections 8–10 autumn, and sections 11–12 winter. It portrays the beauty of each season, celebrates seasonal customs, and presents scenes of daily life within them. In describing seasonal beauty, the portrayals of spring and summer employ vivid perspectives, shifting from the micro to the macro and then returning to the micro. In particular, in the sections depicting seasonal customs such as the seventh night of July and the full moon of August (sections 6–10), the narrator repeatedly contrasts those who enjoy everyday pleasures with those who remain alone. The last section presents a scene of people gathering in a warm room and joyfully singing the folk song Yangsando, thereby completing the theme of embracing and enjoying life in the present. Through its systematic organization and repeated thematic contrasts, the work emphasizes the beauty and value of the present moment amid the joys and sorrows of life and death. The authorship and date of composition of Sasikyeonggi-ga are not easy to trace due to a lack of extant sources. However, based on the content of the work and the period during which Yangsando was popular, this study estimates that the text was composed in the late nineteenth or early twentieth century by a woman who valued the traditions of the Yeongcheon region. In this regard, the literary significance of Sasikyeonggi-ga can be summarized as follows. First, it inherits and transmits the gasa literary tradition of the Sasiga lineage that had continued since the Joseon Dynasty. Second, it achieves thematic expansion by accommodating the cultural changes of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

The Narrative Significance of Emotion in Manboksajeopogi : Focusing on the Body Shaped by ‘Loneliness’

LimJungmin | 2026, (72) | pp.233~268 | number of Cited : 0

This study aimed to reexamine the narrative meaning of ‘loneliness’ in 〈Manboksajeopogi〉 through the lens of the latest affect theory, known as the ‘affective turn’. It particularly focused on how the emotion of ‘loneliness,’ traversing the entire narrative, induces practical changes in the subject’s body and relationships. Chapter 2 analyzes the operational mechanisms of loneliness and its corresponding bodily manifestations across three dimensions. First, it demonstrates that the encounter between Yangsaeng and the woman transcends mere coincidence, becoming an inevitable meeting driven by affective attraction between subjects, based on the process of bodily contact rooted in the homogeneity of emotion. Second, based on the asymmetry of emotion, it examined how the process of bodies being distinguished leads to differences in how loneliness is imprinted on the body, resulting in differing attitudes toward the other and positioning the two characters’ bodies on distinct ontological layers. Third. Based on the layering of emotions, it analyzed how individual isolation is amplified into collective affect through the process of bodies connecting, binding the characters’ bodies into a single emotional current. This process demonstrates that ‘loneliness’ is a practical energy mediating between bodies. Chapter 3 discusses the narrative significance of ‘loneliness’ in 〈Manboksajeopogi〉 based on this analysis. ‘Loneliness’ possesses a ‘mediating agency for subject transformation,’ compelling Yangsaeng to imprint the suffering of others onto his own body, abandon worldly values, and retreat to Mount Jiri. Furthermore, ‘loneliness’ is not merely a motif consumed sporadically at specific narrative junctures; it forms circuits of affective economy and secures the ‘concreteness of literary form’ that grounds the narrative’s overarching inevitability. In conclusion, this study holds significance in elevating emotion within classical novels from an accessory accompanying a character’s circumstances to a core principle that actively reconfigures the work’s worldview. This transcends existing discourse that perceived ‘loneliness’ in early novels as a homogeneous mass, opening new horizons for genre studies that focus on the micro-manifestations of affect and their differences.

Heumseobaknon and Sim Dae-yun’s Criminal Law Reform Proposal

JANG, YOO SEUNG | 2026, (72) | pp.269~296 | number of Cited : 0

A Study on the Content Characteristics of the Opening Section of Exile Diary

Cho, Su mi | 2026, (72) | pp.297~323 | number of Cited : 0

Exile diaries are texts that come into being through the diarist’s urge to speak and to record—an impulse triggered by the extraordinary event of banishment. They typically display a fixed five-stage structure: “opening – journey to the place of exile – life at the place of exile – journey upon release from exile – closing” Among these, the opening is the section in which the intent and purpose of composing an exile diary are most clearly revealed, including the circumstances of the banishment and the writer’s attitude toward it. For this reason, elucidating the opening is crucial to clarifying the nature of the exile diary as a record. The content that appears in the opening can be summarized in three main points. First, the “reasons for exile and the process of punishment” exposes political intrigue and unjust procedures, while foregrounding the exile’s innocence and sense of grievance. Second, this is supplemented by a brief “account of one’s career in office,” recalling success in the civil service examination, service in official posts, and the sovereign’s favors, thereby emphasizing that the exile continues to maintain loyalty to the king. Third, scenes of confusion—being forced to depart before even completing preparations once the place of exile has been decided—and tearful farewells from family and acquaintances dramatize the very beginning of exile, portraying the banished person not as a criminal but as someone who receives the community’s sympathy and solidarity. In sum, the opening is always organized around the central axis of ① the reasons for exile and the process of punishment, combined with ② an account of one’s official career and ③ the turmoil just before departure for exile. Through this structure, the exile diary—despite its outward appearance as a private diary—can be understood as the product of writing that presupposes readers (including descendants), and as a work that strategically narrates the exile’s self-justification.

Aspects of the Figuration of Disability in Saseol Sijo and Its Significance

CHOI JIHYE | 2026, (72) | pp.325~354 | number of Cited : 0

This article examines the modes through which disability is represented in saseol sijo and, on that basis, investigates the significance of disability representation in literary works. In dictionary terms, disability is defined as “a condition in which a bodily organ fails to perform its original function, or in which there is a defect in mental capacity.” Historically, however, disability has often been perceived as abnormal or incomplete, and even as something repulsive or fear- inducing. In the realm of vernacular poetry, disability frequently appears as a problematic situation that falls outside the bounds of normative life: examples range from Docheonsu Daebiga, which earnestly expresses a desire for the restoration of sight in a blind child, to the gasa Nocheonyeoga, which recounts the story of an “old maid” unable to marry due to disability. The sijo tradition likewise contains works that figure disability, and a noteworthy point is that all of the texts considered here belong specifically to the saseol sijo corpus. Before turning to a full examination of the patterns and meanings of saseol sijo, it is necessary to consider perceptions of disability in the Joseon period. First, the Joseon dynasty employed a range of terms to refer to persons with disabilities, including dokjilja(篤疾者), pyejilja(廢疾者), janjilja(殘疾者), and bulseongin(不成人). Records in “the Seongjong Sillok” indicate that people with disabilities were regarded as socially vulnerable and thus as objects of communal care. Moreover, sources such as Jeong Yak-yong’s “Mokmin Simseo” and Park Ji-won’s “Balseungamgi” (髮僧菴記) suggest that Joseon society—particularly the yangban elite—exhibited an attitude of refraining from viewing or judging individuals through a distorted lens on the sole grounds of disability. The difficulty of finding representations of disability in pyeong sijo can likely be understood within this socio-cultural context. By contrast, saseol sijo presents a variety of disability figures. Such representations may function as material for humor, become targets of exclusion or ridicule, or serve as a device for reflecting contemporary social realities.

The Characteristics and Significance of the Writing of KimSsiNamjeonggi

Hur, Soonwoo , 劉冬麗(LIU DONGLI) | 2026, (72) | pp.355~384 | number of Cited : 0

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The Research of the Korean Classic 2024 KCI Impact Factor : 1.22

2026, Vol., No.72