KOREAN LITERATURE

Written Report

In Partial Fulfillment of the Course Requirement in

Survey of Afro-Asian Literature

Prepared by:
Daño, Rhea Lou
Labador, Ana
Leyson, Vanilyn
I. Introduction to Korea
A. Geographical Location
a. Korea is a mountainous peninsula surrounded by the sea on three sides.
b. It measures approximately six hundred miles from its northern tip to its southern end.
c. It shares its northern borders with China and Russia.

B. Korea’s Writing System Throughout Time

a. Literary history of Korea was written in Hanja which is the Korean name for Chinese
characters.
b. A new writing system called Hangul was created by great King Sejong in 1446 which is now
the characters used for Korean language
c. Debate arose on what should be considered as Korean Literature; however, they arrived at a
common agreement to accept both Hanja and Hangul works.

C. Korean Dynasties
1. Goryeo/Koryo (918 CE to 1392 CE)
- Established by Emperor Taejo Wang Geon (founding father).
2. Joseon/Choson (1392 CE to 1910 CE)
- A Korean state founded by Taejo Yi Seong-Gye

II. Classical Korean Literature

– A great foundation of classical Korean literature were the Korean traditional folk beliefs and
folk tales.
– It is written in Hanja (Chinese characters), which was implemented when the Chinese script
arrived on the Korean peninsula, which causes arguments for some historians.
A. Hyangga Poetry
a. The word “Hyangga” can be translated to "native songs," from Korea, which is in
opposition to the Chinese songs.
b. Only twenty-five Hyangga survive.
c. It is the oldest poetic form of Korea, written in Korean but using modified Chinese
characters in a system called “Idu” (clerk's writings).
- Idu was a clever system whereby Koreans, who spoke a language much different from
Chinese, would use Chinese characters to express Korean.
- A subgroup of Idu is called the Hyangchal writing system
d. In terms of formal rules, the poems may consist of four, eight, or ten lines.
e. The themes that are predominantly present in Hyangga poetry are Buddhist themes.
f. Examples of Hyangga include the “Ode for Life Eternal” and the “Ode for Nirvana,” in
which the authorship is unclear.
B. Goryeo (Koryo) songs/Changga
a. These are addressed as long poems in poetic form and are considered the oldest Korean
songs.
b. They were first transmitted orally and later written down at the end of the fifteenth century
and at the beginning of the sixteenth century.
c. The Goryeo songs can be distinguished by their lack of clear form, and by their increased
length.
 d. The poetic form of the Goryeo songs is known as byeolgok, which has two forms, namely
Dallyeonche (a shorter form) and Yeonjanche (a more extended form).
e. The themes of these poems discuss a simple life that is close to nature, however, they focus
mainly on the theme of love. An example of this is “Samo Kok.”
C. Sijo
a. Sijo, which literally means “current tune", is a form of poetry that is also known as "tan-
ga.”
b. It is an opposition to "changga" since it is short and only made of three lines with a pause
in the middle of each line.
c. It was established in the late Goryeo period.
d. A common theme that can be found is the theme of loyalty, but other themes also include
regrets about aging, sorrow over spurned love or loss of power and honor, and reaffirmation
of loyalty to a lost cause.
e. The structure of Sijo can be determined as having three stanzas of four feet each.
f. It is an unrhymed Korean verse form appearing in Korean in 3 lines of 14–16 syllables.
g. Among the sijo most cherished by Koreans are the poems written by Chong Mong-ju.
D. Gasa.
a. It is a form of verse in which the content can include more than the expression of individual
sentiment, like moral admonitions.
b. It is a simple form of verse, with twinned feet of three or four syllables each.
c. The common themes that can be found in Gasa are nature, the virtues of gentlemen, or
love between man and woman.

III. The Evolution of Korean Literature

A. Historical Writing
1. Cunfusian Kim Pu-sik (1075-1151)
– A minister in the Koryo dynasty government who wrote the earliest Korean history.
– His monumental work was the Samguk Sagi or History of the Three Kingdoms (1145)
with 50 chapters fact-oriented book.
– Intended to promote the Silla Kingdom as the orthodox ruling kingdom of Korea, and
legitimize the Goryeo state as Silla’s rightful successor.

2. Buddhist monk Iryeon (1206-1289)

- Compiled a historical record called Samguk Yusa or Memorabilia of the Three Kingdoms
(1281) that consists 5 volumes, 2 books, and 9 chapters.
- His book is a collection of legends, folktales, and historical accounts relating to the three
Kingdoms. (Goguryeo, Baekje, and Silla)
- Intended to preserve anecdotes from antiquity and to demonstrate that the tales of Korea’s
ancestors were of equal significance with those of China.

B. Biographical Works
1. Tongmunsôn, Eastern Korean Anthology of Literature (1478, 1518)
- it has various texts such as memorials, inscriptions, and critical writings.
2. Kongbangjôn of Im Ch’un (1170)
- Chuk puinjôn, the story of Madame Bamboo of Yi Kok (1297-1351) speaks of objects or
animals as if they were human beings.
- A way to criticize the king’s court and social problems.
 C. The Birth of Korean Novels
– First spoken not of novel but of “romance”
1. Kim Si-sup (1435-1493)
- He was an eccentric monk.
- His works are often tales of wonder and love affairs between mortals and ghosts and dream
journeys to the underworld or to the dragon palace.
- Kûmho sinhwa, new stories of Kûmho, among them the story of Student Yi Peers Over the
Wall.

2. Hô Kyun (1559-1618)
- He wrote the story of Hong Kilton, which was considered as the first real Korean novel,
however it is closer to a short story.
- It is the fictive biography of the bastard of an aristocrat, in the style of a Chinese story.

3. Kim Man-jung (1637-1692)

- He wrote the story A Nine Cloud Dream.
- It was popular not only for the many adventures, amorous encounters, but also for its
poetry.
- The story carried two contradictory dreams that usually people have, one for wordless
success and the other for a withdrawal from the world to find serenity and peace.

IV. Role of Women in Literature

– Women before were discouraged to get educated like men, even in the Yangban families.
– However, among few women who showed their talents in writing, two of them were notable
in writing the expression of Korean emotions.

1. Ho Nansorhon (1562-1590 suicide)

- A very talented young woman who suffered to be constantly left alone by her yangban
husband.
- In despair, she poured out her sorrows and dreams in her poetry.
- One of her famous poems was The Poor Woman

2. Lady Hyegyong (1735-1815)

- Known worldwide for her Hanjungnok (Records Written in Silence)
- The death of her husband traumatized her which made her try to commit suicide; but then
worked at protecting her son’s life.
- Only in 1805 was she able to face the horror of the past and to tell the truth through her
memoirs that the king's son (her husband) had been really murdered.

V. Korean Literature Abroad

- Until the 1980s, Korean literature was largely unknown outside of the peninsula.
- Flowers of Fire was one of the first anthologies of Korean literature published in
English.
- The increased popularity of Korean film has increased interest in Korean literature.
 REFERENCES
Hajimirsadeghi, A. (2021). Introduction to Korean literature: Authors and resources. Personal Blog. Retrieved
from https://www.ashleyhajimirsadeghi.com/

Kwon, D., Lee. P. H., Chong, B. (2022). Korean Literature. Britannica. Retrieved from
https://www.britannica.com/art/Korean-literature

Laine, A. (2022). The samguk yusa and samguk sagi. Aurelienlaine. Retrieved from https://aurelienlaine.com/the-
samguk-yusa-and-samguk-sagi/

Lew, Y. I., Yu, W., Hahn, B., Im, H., and Lee, C. (2024). South Korea. Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved from
https://www.britannica.com/place/South-Korea

New World Encyclopedia (2020). Korean literature. Retrieved from

https://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Korean_literature