KOREAN LITERATURE

SOUTH KOREA
• The flag of South Korea, also known as the
Taegukgi, has three parts: a white rectangular
background, a red and blue Taegeuk in its
center, and four black trigrams one toward
each corner. The first pattern of Taegukgi was
made by Kojong.
NORTH KOREA
• The North Korea flag was officially adopted
on September 9, 1948. The two blue stripes
signify sovereignty, peace and friendship. the
white stripes signify purity, red represents the
Communist revolution and the red star is the
recognized symbol of Communism.
 EARLY KOREAN LITERATURE
• Early Korean literature was heavily influenced by Shamanism,
Buddhism and Confucianism.
• Began as an oral tradition
• Good was rewarded and evil was punished and values like loyalty
to the King, filial piety, respect for ones elders, true friendship and
chastity were emphasized.
• Korean writings were poems called hyangga.
ALPHABET
 GORYEO DYNASTY

• Korean dynasty established in 918 by Emperor Taejo.

• The name "Goryeo" is derived from "Goguryeo",one of
the ancient Three Kingdoms of Korea, which changed its
name to "Goryeo" during the reign of King Jangsu of
Goguryeo (in the 5thcentury)
• The English name "Korea" derives from"Goryeo.
EMPEROR TAEJO
• During Koryo period, hanshi, poems in Chinese characters,
developed to maturity, and toward the end of the dynasty, a new
form of poetry called shijo gained wide acceptance.
• Korean literature of the upper class, mostly written in classical
Chinese was characterized byan emphasis on philosophic
expositions on the Chinese classics, an art that was essential for
government service, the only respectable avenue to success
outside of teaching.
• The shijo, a short three-line poem written inHan-gul (the Korean alphabet),
remained popular throughout the Choson Dynasty.
• The Joseon period has left a substantial legacy to modern Korea; much of modern
Korean etiquette, cultural norms, societal attitudes towards current issues, and the
modern Korean language and its dialects derive from the culture and traditions
of Joseon.
 SHAMANISM

• is a practice that involves practitioner reaching altered

states of consciousness in order to encounter and interact
with the Spirit world. A shaman is a person regarded as
having access to, and influence in the world of benevolent
and malevolent spirits, who typically enters into a trance
state during a ritual, and practices divination and healing.
 BUDDHISM

• Buddhism is a religion indigenous to the

Indian subcontinent that encompasses variety
of traditions, beliefs, and practices largely
based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha
Gautama, who is commonly known as the
Buddha (meaning "the awakened one" )
 CONFUCIANISM

• is a Chinese ethical and philosophical system

developed from the teachings of the Chinese
philosopher Confucius
• Confucianism originated as an"ethical-sociopolitical
teaching" during theSpring and Autumn Period, but
later developedmetaphysical and cosmological
elements in theHan Dynasty.
 LINGUISTIC
• Linguistic expression and manner of transmission are issues of
utmost importance in the overall understanding of Korean
literature.
• Korean literature in Chinese was created when Chinese
characters were brought to Korea
• In the Koryo and Choson cultures, Chinese letters were central to
Koreans daily lives.
• The use of the Korean script began during the Choson period with
the creation of the Korean alphabet
• the creation of the Korean alphabet in the 15thcentury was a crucial turning
point in Koreas literary history.
• Korean script made possible the broadening of the literary field to include
women and commoners.
• The Korean script (Han-gul) assumed its place of leading importance in
Korean literature only during the latter half of the 19th century.
• As soon as the linguistic duality of "Chinese" and "Native" within Korean life
was overcome , literature in the Korean script became the foundation upon
which the national literature developed.
 HYANGGA
• The Hyangga poetry of the Shilla period signaled the beginning
of a unique poetic form in Korean literature
• The Hyangga were recorded in the hyangchal script, in which the
Korean language was written using "sound" (um) and "meaning"
(hun) ofChinese characters
• Fourteen poems in the Hyangga style from theShilla period have
been preserved in the Samgukyusa (Memorabilia of the Three
Kingdoms).
• This poetic form was passed down to the KoryoDynasty, and 11
poems from that period are preserved in the Kyunyojon (Tales of
Kyunyo).
• 4-line, 8-line, and 10-line poems.
• It is difficult to make general determinations about the
personalities of the Hyangga poets .But it is thought that the 4-line
poems with their ballad-like attributes may indicate that the poets
came from a broad range of backgrounds.
 KORYO KAYO
• The literature of the Koryo period is marked byan increased use of Chinese
letters, the disappearance of Hyangga, and the emergence of Koryo kayo
(Koryo songs) which continued to be transmitted as oral literature until the
Choson period.
• The new poetic form introduced by writers of the Koryo period was the Koryo
kayo called pyolgok.
• The Koryo Kayo are characterized by increased length and a free and
undisciplined form
• The bold, direct nature of the songs make themdistinctive. They deal with the
real world of humankind. Butbecause the songs were transmitted orally overa
long period and recorded only after thebeginning of the Choson period, there is
a strongpossibility that they have been partially altered.
 PROSE

• Korean prose literature can be divided into

narratives,fiction, and literary miscellany.
 ORAL LITERATURE
• Oral literature includes all texts that were orally transmitted from
generation to generation until the invention of Hangul (hangul)—
ballads , legends, mask plays, puppet-show texts, and pansori
("story singing") texts.
 COLONIAL PERIOD

• During Colonial Korea (1910–1945), free speech and

thepress were restricted, thus influencing the literature of
thetime.
• In 1919 Kim Tong-in and Kim Hyok founded a literary
magazine, Changjo ( 창조 Creation) marking the starting
point of contemporary Korean literature.
• The literary magazines which appeared during the
1920sand 1930s laid the basis for the future development
of modern Korean literature.