KJCKorea
Journal Central

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>.

<Umssihyomuncheonghaengrok>, military tales(軍談), <Myeongjubowolbing> ･<Yunhajeongsammunchwirok>, serial reading, family