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Struggles and Humorous Nature as a Way of Understanding Modern Proverbs

  • Korean Language & Literature
  • 2013, (87), pp.95-119
  • Publisher : Korean Language & Literature
  • Research Area : Humanities > Korean Language and Literature

kwak Eun Hee 1

1한남대학교

Accredited

ABSTRACT

The aim of this research is to examine the process by which modern proverbs are struggles and humorous nature formed and to analyze examples, using interpretation as a means of understanding them. Proverbs are explicated in theoretical terms through Wittgenstein’s concept of “language play” and Saussure’s concepts of the “signifier” and “signified.” In Wittgenstein’s formulation, language play is bound by rules, which vary between societies and subjects and thus do not possess any fixed truth. Saussure also viewed the signified as not being fixed, with the signifier viewed as the traditional concept and the signified as its modern transformation. For this study, the theoretical approach involves interpreting the ways in which prominent traditional Korean beliefs about “filial piety,” “mother­in­law/ daughter­in­law conflict,” and “the chaste woman” have been transformed by modern values. Chapter 3 examines the establishment of modern proverbs on these themes in terms of three categories：“Daughters ride in airplanes, sons ride the train,” “Why Korean apartments are given English names,” and “The first thing you pack when you move.” These were chosen because they were perceived to have a strong likelihood of fixation due to “chains of meaning.” Close literary analysis of the proverbs is used to examine the popular philosophical thinking that shaped them. In the case of filial piety, the focus is seen to have shifted from the son to the daughter. Possibly originating with the traditional story of Shimcheong, the idea has undergone a transformation that reflects other beliefs about a woman losing status as a member of her own family after marriage. For mother­in­law/daughter­in­law conflict, agency has shifted from the former to the latter, a phenomenon that is interpreted in light of the concept of the “dutiful daughter­in­law.” Finally, the “chaste woman” concept has shifted its focus from the male to the female­centered household, a change that is interpreted as a possible reaction against the traditional practice of abandoning “transgressive” wives. Chapter 4 interprets these modern proverbs in relation to the humor of Korea’s traditional talnori (mask play) rather than the inherent conflict. The roles and characteristics of the talnori style are used to explain the roles of the characters in the proverbs, with the personalities of modern characters compared to those of figures in the mask performance. A basis for interpreting and analyzing proverbs is adapted from the characteristics of the performance style, in which joy and sorrow are seen as undivided and addressed through humor. The results show a change from traditional values to more modern ones, with a shift in focus from the male to the female and from society to the family. The apparent structure of conflict is also found to lend itself to interpretation vis­à­vis the caricature structure in the talnori form. The modern proverb is seen as a way for the public to use humor to resolve feelings equating conflict with reconciliation and joy with sorrow within transformed versions of traditional regarding filial piety, mother­in­law/ daughter­in­law conflict, and female chastity. This quality is interpreted in terms of the characteristics of the modern proverbs.

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