21 Century Literature

st

from the Philippines

and the World
Lobo Senior High School – Grade 11
 03
Korean Literature
➢ Identify the characteristics of Korean Literature
and some notable authors and their works
 Facts about Korea

01 02
Confucianism tradition
Korea is located in the
has dominated Korean
East Asia and regarded
though, along with
as the “Land of the
contributions by
Morning Calm”
Buddhism, Taoism, and
Shamanism
 Facts about Korea

03 04
Korea is divided into two
sovereign state;
South Korea’s capital is
1. South Korea (Republic of Seoul, while North
Korea) Korea’s capital is
2. North Korea (Democratic Pyongyang.
People’s Republic of Korea
 Facts about Korea

05 06
Korean is written almost
Korean is the official exclusively in the script of
language of both the Korean alphabet
North and South (known as Hangul in
Korea. South Korea and
Chosungul in North
Korea)
 Korean Literature
▪ Korean literature, the body of works
written by Koreans, at first in Classical
Chinese, later in various transcription
systems using Chinese characters, and
finally in Hangul.
 Korean Literature
▪ Hangeul or Hangul (한글)
It is the alphabet used for Korean
language, and was made by Sejong the
Great, the 4th king of the Joseon dynasty
in 1446, and it is still used up to this day.
 Korean Literature
▪ Hanja ( 한자 )
It is the Korean name for Chinese
characters. More specifically, it refers to
the Chinese characters borrowed from
Chinese and incorporated into the Korean
language with Korean pronunciation
Traditional Forms and Genres
Literature written in Korea falls into three
categories:
▪ works written in the early transcription
systems
▪ written in Hangul
▪ written in Chinese
 Traditional Poetic Forms
Four Major Traditional Poetic Forms
▪ hyangga (“native songs”)
▪ pyŏlgok (“special songs”) or changga
(“long poems”)
▪ sijo (“current melodies”)
▪ kasa (“verses”)
 Hyangga (“native songs”)
It was written in four,
eight, or 10 lines; The poets were either
comprising two four- Buddhist monks or
line stanzas and a members of the
concluding two-line Hwarangdo.
stanza
 Pyolgok or Changga

The theme of most of

The poems were sung to
these anonymous poems
musical accompaniments
is love, the joys and
chiefly by women
torments of which are
entertainers known as
expressed in frank and
kisaeng.
powerful language.
 Shijo or Sijo

Shijo may deal with

It is an unrhymed Korean
Confucian ethical values,
verse form appearing in
but there are also many
Korean in 3 lines
poems about nature and
of 14 to 16 syllables.
love.
 Kasa (“Verses”).
During the later period
the poem tended to be
Poems were usually a
longer and to
100 lines long, and dealt
concern itself with moral
with such subjects as
instruction, travel
female beauty, war, and
accounts, banishment,
seclusion.
and the writer’s personal
misfortunes.
 Early Korean Literature
▪ Early Korean Literature was heavily
influenced by Buddhism, Shamanism, and
Confucianism.
▪ In the 4th century CE, the Korean peninsula
was politically divided into 3 kingdoms;
Baekje (백제), Silla (신라), and Goguryeo
(고구려)
 Early Korean Literature
▪ Korean prose literature can be divided into
narratives, fiction, and literary miscellany.
▪ Narratives include myths, legends, and
folktales found in the written records.
▪ This is the period when parable –like stories
were published.
 Modern Korean Literature
▪ The first period of the modern Korean
literature is often called “Enlightenment”.
▪ Many biographical works were published,
the main character was often depicted as a
hero.
▪ The first complete edition of Bible in Korean
was published in 1910.
 Modern Korean Literature
▪ The first printed work of fiction in Korea was
John Bunyan’s Pilgrims Progress or
Cheonno-yeokjeong 1893.
▪ Often linked in the development of Hangul
which helped increase working class
literacy rate
Contemporary Korean Literature
▪ During the Colonial Korea 1910 – 1945 free
speech and press were restricted, thus
influencing the literature.

▪ Many novelist experimented with new

literacy style and techniques.
Contemporary Korean Literature
▪ In 1919, Kim Tong-in and Kim Hyok founded
a literary magazine “Changjo”.

▪ Korean literature was directly affected by

the Japanese government strengthening
ideological coercion during 1930s.
21 Century Literature
st

from the Philippines

and the World
Lobo Senior High School – Grade 11