KJCKorea
Journal Central

<Hong Kyongnae>, a historical drama written by Nam Gungman, describes the historical prospect after the independence from Japan through a revolution of some past figures. This paper examines recall matters of historical figures and events according to a specific historical context by focusing on the fact that 'Hong Kyongnae', a figure and 'The Hong Kyongnae Rebellion of 1812', an event were rediscovered/reinterpreted after the modern times. It is noted that 'Hong Kyongnae' was often represented by writers from Pyeongan-do or the north-western districts which were also bases of the Rebellion. Nam Gungman, who was also born in Pyeongan-do, created <Hong Kyongnae> with a specific intention during the Liberation period. Nam Gungman's <Hong Kyongnae>, a historical drama written before the system of North Korea was not yet established, exhibits some evidences that he strived to investigate historical events by referencing to 『Hong Kyongnae Jeon』of Hyeon Sangyun, which was published serially in Dong-A Ilbo in 1931. Different from the historical dramas during the Japanese colonial period, those during the Liberalization period engaged the history of struggle and resistance, and thus, the revolutionary face of 'Hong Kyongnae' also emerged as an important object on which desires of men of the theater belonging to the left wing line could be projected. Given that the 'Hong Kyongnae' of Nam Gungman was not a heroic figure like Yi Sun-sin, but a failed revolutionist, an another ideal was discovered and it might be a precursor of the 'noble realism' of North Korean culture realized after 1947. <Hong Kyongnae> may be regarded as a drama includes the objective view interpreting the history and the ideal of building a new nation because many representations of Hong Kyongnae after the Korean War highlighted an imaginative fiction rather than a reference to historical facts, and was inclined to excessively exposure to heroism for popular revolution.

Hong Kyongnae, Nam Gungman, Hyeon Sangyun, Pyeongan-do, liberalization period historical drama, noble realism