Lesson 4

The Literature
of Korea
Survey of Afro-Asian Literature
 Background
The Korean peninsula is situated in northeast
Asia between China and Japan. Korea, one
country for more than 1,000 years, has been
divided between North and South since 1945.
The South is officially called the Republic of
Korea (ROK) and here after referred to also as
Korea. Korea had a population of 47,275,000 as
of 2000 (KNSO 14).
Read more: South Korea - History Background - Education, Korean, Koreans, and
National - StateUniversity.com heart
 Early Korean literature owes a great debt
to China in terms of themes or style.
The literary language was written in
Chinese ideographs.
Hangeul alphabet
- new language & writing system.
- 15th century
- King Sejong
- remained neglected by the literati and
were considered useful only for women and
for low class people.
 King Sejong
THE GREAT
4th monarch of Joseon dynasty.
regarded as one of the greatest
rulers in Korean history
invented Hangul (native Korean
alphabet) that appropriately
reflected the Korean language and
was easy to learn, even by the
uneducated general public.
Additional Infos:

Hangeul- Only one in the world for which the name of its creator
and date of founding are known.
A unique script with no equal in the world.
Hunminjeongeum- "correct sounds for the instruction of the
people," was also Hangeul's original name.
founded in 1443, published in 1446.
has 24 letters (originally 28), including 14 consonants and 10
vowels.
5 primary consonants were modeled after human vocal organs.
Vowels are made in the shape of sky, earth and people.
Korean writing system
Under the Japanese occupation from 1910
to 1945 some Korean scholars at
recovering what was purely Korean in
language and literature.
They hoped to remove what was foreign.
After the liberation others tried to focus on
what was the true spirit of Koreans
without excluding the works written
in Chinese characters.
Today there is a common agreement to
accept both types of works in Chinese
characters and in hangul as part of the
Korean literature heritage.
Korean literature was first orally
transmitted and sometimes written much
later either mixed form, like hyangchal, or
hangul.
Although Korean modern literature,
particularly in its form of short novel, is much
more appreciated today and translated into
foreign languages.
Like in other world literature, poetry was one
of the first literary forms.
Koreans always loved to sing and dance and the
first poems were sung.
Other literary Gentry like historical and
autobiographical appeared around the
13th century but the novel genre slowly
took shape only around the 15th century.
Sirhak scholars played a role in infusing
new ideas through satirical short stories
opening people to modernity.
Women were also very creative in poetry
and autobiographic genres and made the
feminine voice heard particularly from
the beginning of the 20th century.
The appreciation of Korean literature
requires a balance in the exploration of
classic, modern and contemporary
literature, various genres as poetry,
autobiographies and novels. Some long
novels, although they are not known, are
of great value.

Koreans have excelled in certain genres

like Sijo poetry and short novel that
express more adequately their mind and
emotion.
 Korean songs and K-dramas are very popular nowadays. Can you list down
three titles of these songs or stories and cite possible reasons why these are
popular?

Titles Reasons for popularity

1.

2.

3.
 Sijo
short lyric verse.
invented in mid-18th century.
by musician-singer Yi Se-ch’un
The traditional sijo is similar to the
Japanese haiku in that it consists of
three brief lines
Has forty to sixty syllables. In the
English translation, however, more
syllables or lines have to be added.
Sijo Composers
mostly scholars, retired statesmen, and
Kisang who were trained to entertain
with song, dance, and poetry.
Hwang Chin-I, author of the first sijo
below, was the greatest poetess of
Korea in her time.
Chung Cheol, poet of the second sijo,
is one of the best-known sijo poet
today.
 Sijo 1
Hwang Chin-i
Translated by Peter Lee

Blue mountains speak of my desire,

Green waters reflect my Lover's love;
The mountains unchanging,
The waters flowing by,
Sometimes it seems the water cannot forget me
They part in tears, regretting, running away.
 Sijo 2
Chung Cheol
Translated by Chung Chong Wha

Could I but carve out my heart and

make a moon of it,
I would hang it aloft the vast sky
To shine where my beloved Lord is.
 Sijo 3
Unknown
Translated by Peter Lee

I received my heart one day, and

Found a piece of it missing.
I have not fasted nor wept,
But... was it taken off by itself?
Think, love, you produced this sickness;
You can cure me, you alone can.
The Crane
by Hwang Sun-Won
tr: Kim Se-young
 What is your concept of a true friend?
What are you willing to do for your friend?
 SYPNOSIS
The short story “Cranes,” published in 1953.
was written by Hwang Sun-won, a prominent author in
the Korean literary canon.
The story is set during the Korean War in a small village
along the 38th parallel.
Tokchae, one of the story's main characters, was the vice-
chairman of the Farmers’ Communist League, but he was
forcibly removed from his home and is now a prisoner. He
is to be escorted by the police to another police station in
Ch’ongdan.
One of the officers, Songsam, realizes that Tokchae is his
childhood friend, so he volunteers to serve as escort.
Songsam thinks of offering Tokchae a cigarette, but he
thinks the timing is bad.
Then Songsam reminisces on the times when, as children,
Tokchae shared chestnuts with him.
Songsam changes his mind and decides to offer a cigarette.
Along the way, Songsam feels a sudden burst of anger and
asks Tokchae how many men he has killed in the war.
Tokchae remains silent. Songsam presses him, but
Tokchae will not speak.
Songsam asks Tokchae why he did not run away instead of
becoming part of the war.
To persuade Tokchae to break his silence, Songsam tells him,
“You’re going to be shot anyway.”
Tokchae then says that he became part of the league because he
was a hardworking farmer; he did not run because his life is
wrapped around working the land.
Tokchae has a wife who is carrying their child, and he tells
Songsam that it is not so easy to just run away.
Songsam compares this to his own situation—he left behind his
family and all that was important to him to escape and go into
hiding.
Eventually the two men come upon a field where as children
they tied up a crane.
The boys feared that they would be caught and punished, so they
untied the crane, which was weak and appeared hurt.
But the crane suddenly took flight, and the boys watched it ascend
to the sky.
Now Songsam unties Tokchae’s hands and asks Tokchae to
help him flush out a crane.
At first Tokchae fears that Songsam will shoot him, but then
he understands that Songsam is giving him an opportunity to
run to freedom.
In the end, “Cranes” suggests that friendship may overcome
ideological differences.
Themes:
Friendship: Despite their ideological differences, Songsam and
Tokchae share a childhood bond.
Humanity: Songsam offers Tokchae a chance to escape,
emphasizing their shared humanity.

Symbolism:
Cranes: As children, they once tied up a crane. Now, Songsam
unties Tokchae’s hands, giving him an opportunity for freedom,
suggesting that friendship transcends political beliefs.
 들어 주셔서 감사합니다
deul-eo ju-shyeo-seo gam-sa-ham-ni-da
Thank you for listening!