@article{ART002074153},
author={SHIM, CHI-YEOL},
title={The Realism of Death and the Loss of Revival in Sugyeongnangja-jeon},
journal={The Research of the Korean Classic},
issn={1226-3850},
year={2015},
number={32},
pages={515-539}
TY - JOUR
AU - SHIM, CHI-YEOL
TI - The Realism of Death and the Loss of Revival in Sugyeongnangja-jeon
JO - The Research of the Korean Classic
PY - 2015
VL - null
IS - 32
PB - The Research Of The Korean Classic
SP - 515
EP - 539
SN - 1226-3850
AB - Sugyeongnangja-jeon is a romance novel which is related to Heaven and immortal spirits, and it was very popular back in those days. This thesis is based on a manuscript of Sugyeongnangja-jeon which clearly explains the whole process of revival: water burial-revival-Heaven. In this story, Sugyeong’s resentful death, Seongun’s sadness who faced her death, and even their children who shows their existence are delicately described. Also, even though Seongun and Sugyeong come down to earth because of their sins, they break laws again, and this offers a unique story line. Seongun and Sugyeong have two children and spend 8 years happily. The children, however, stay around their mother who kills herself, and they become a main story reaching the sad climax. In classical novels, children rarely express their feelings while leading stories. That is, this novel is the only novel in which children reveal their existence. Especially, these young kids standing next to their mother’s corpse, which is disturbing and shocking, show their grief repeatedly. In this process, the matter of death is naturally connected to salvation, which is revival.
In this work, however, the revival is extraordinary. Depending on texts, endings can surely vary, so this does not commonly happen in Sugyeong- nangjajeon. It is because after her revival, she takes her husband, Seongun, and her young children back to Heaven. As soon as she revives, she says goodbye to her parents and goes back to Heaven, and this indicates there is neither time to waste nor reason to stay. This can be interpreted that she recognizes how important the Jade Emperor’s rules are and how strict they are since she has defied his rules twice and experienced his punishment. Meanwhile, Seongun is more passive than Sugyeong and not desperate for Heaven as she is. He gets agitated when he loses her, but he is not susceptible to Heaven’s rules. The other reason why is he was born on earth and became their parents’ son, so when he goes to the court of Heaven, he misses his parents. That is, he takes a completely different position for a person who accepts his sins.
After all, the revival in this work satisfies Sugyeong, but it causes other characters, particularly the parents who continue to live on earth, to feel such a huge loss; and this is equivalent to losing their children. Not only their children, but also their grandchildren go back to Heaven and the sadness of the parents who face this situation lingers at the end of the story.
KW - Heaven;two children;resolution;sense of realism;revival;sense of loss
DO -
UR -
ER -
SHIM, CHI-YEOL. (2015). The Realism of Death and the Loss of Revival in Sugyeongnangja-jeon. The Research of the Korean Classic, 32, 515-539.
SHIM, CHI-YEOL. 2015, "The Realism of Death and the Loss of Revival in Sugyeongnangja-jeon", The Research of the Korean Classic, no.32, pp.515-539.
SHIM, CHI-YEOL "The Realism of Death and the Loss of Revival in Sugyeongnangja-jeon" The Research of the Korean Classic 32 pp.515-539 (2015) : 515.
SHIM, CHI-YEOL. The Realism of Death and the Loss of Revival in Sugyeongnangja-jeon. 2015; 32 : 515-539.
SHIM, CHI-YEOL. "The Realism of Death and the Loss of Revival in Sugyeongnangja-jeon" The Research of the Korean Classic no.32(2015) : 515-539.
SHIM, CHI-YEOL. The Realism of Death and the Loss of Revival in Sugyeongnangja-jeon. The Research of the Korean Classic, 32, 515-539.
SHIM, CHI-YEOL. The Realism of Death and the Loss of Revival in Sugyeongnangja-jeon. The Research of the Korean Classic. 2015; 32 515-539.
SHIM, CHI-YEOL. The Realism of Death and the Loss of Revival in Sugyeongnangja-jeon. 2015; 32 : 515-539.
SHIM, CHI-YEOL. "The Realism of Death and the Loss of Revival in Sugyeongnangja-jeon" The Research of the Korean Classic no.32(2015) : 515-539.
