This paper examines Damjeong(藫庭) Kim Ryeo(金鑢, 1766∼1821)'s literary and historical orientation that penetrates the entire work with the starting point of the Uman Gakshi(牛鄤閣氏) in the 120th poem of “Sayuakbu”(思牖樂府).
The term Uman appears in the “Sayuakbu”(思牖樂府), “Uidangbyulgo”(擬唐別藁), and “Gwihyeongwansicho”(䢜玄觀詩草). As analyzed in Chapter 2, Uman was the name of a goddess belonging to an immigrant tribe, regarded as the daughter of a barbarian king, and was the focus of a street ritual intended to ensure the safety of merchants traveling nearby. It was also a powerful tribe that invaded the northern region of Joseon(朝鮮), as well as the name of a valley located about 10 ri (里) north of Buryong(富寧).
As a Confucian writer, Kim Ryeo demonstrated a profound interest in beings that strongly embodied otherness, historicity, and shamanistic traits. This suggests that the representation of frontier history within the realm of “Sayuakbu”(思牖樂府) could take diverse forms.
Accordingly, the descriptive methods of poems depicting the great deeds of historical heroes who defended the northern frontier in “Sayuakbu”(思牖樂府) were analyzed. The analysis revealed that these poems generally draw upon geographical names, legends of heroes, anecdotes, shamanistic rituals, and folk customs. Moreover, the discourse often exhibited characteristics that at times contradicted official historical records, presenting narratives as if they were based on the perspectives or collective memory of the northern peoples, including immigrant groups.
Based on the results of this analysis, this paper concludes that “Sayuakbu”(思牖樂府) seeks to represent a history rooted in truth, dreams, imagination, mutuality, informality, and orality by resonating with the mentalité of the frontier people. In this context, the 120th poem can be interpreted as a foreshadowing, hope, and symbolization of an encounter with the other northern peoples’ world.