Early Korean Literature: Ŏch'ŏn Ka (1445-47 "Songs of Flying Dragons")

Gheo R.
Lanaban SHS 12 – ICT
KOREAN LITERATURE
Korean literature written before the end of the Joseon Dynasty is called "Classical"
or "Traditional". Literature written in Chinese characters (hanja), was established at the
same time as the Chinese script arrived on the peninsula. Korean scholars were writing
poetry in the classical Korean style as early as the 2nd century BC, reflecting Korean
thoughts and experiences of that time.
EARLY KOREAN LITERATURE

Classical Korean literature has its roots in traditional folk beliefs and folk tales of
the peninsula, strongly influenced by Confucianism Buddhism and Shamanism
Begin as an oral tradition. Good was rewarded and evil was punished. Values like loyalty
to the king, respect for elders, true friendship and chastity were emphasized. Korean
poems were called Hyangga. A new form of poem developed after the Goryeo dynasty
and was called shijo a three- line poem written in Hangul and gained wide acceptance.
MODERN KOREAN LITERATURE

The first period of the modern Korean literature is often called “Enlightenment”.
Introduced the Western-style schools and newspaper emerged. Many biographical works
were published, the main character was often depicted as a hero
Jayusi is the formation of modern free verse poetry. The first printed work of fiction in
Korea was John Bunyan’s Pilgrims Progress or Cheonno-yeokjeong 1893. The first
complete edition of Bible in Korean was published in 1910. Often linked in the
development of Hangul which helped increase working class literacy rate. Sinsoseol was
a novel that was written in hangul
CONTEMPORARY KOREAN LITERATURE

During the Colonial Korea 1910 – 1945 free speech and press were restricted, thus
influencing the literature.
Literature focused on self-discovery and increasingly on concrete reality. Many
novelist experimented with new literacy style and techniques. In 1919, Kim Tong-in and
Kim Hyok founded a literary magazine “Changjo”
The literary magazine appeared during 1920’s and 1930’s was the basis for the future
development of Modern Korean Literature.
Almost all the magazine was ordered to discontinue publication in the 1940s as
the Japanese tightened the grip with the spread of their aggressive war to the Pacific.
Many novels of the 1920s centred around themes of the suffering of intellectuals.
The Korean literature was directly affected by the Japanese government
strengthening ideological coercion during 1930s.
Traditional Forms of Literature
Poetry
There are four major traditional poetic forms: hyangga (“native

songs”); pyŏlgok (“special songs”), or changga (“long poems”); sijo (“current melodies”);
and kasa (“verses”). Other poetic forms that flourished briefly include the kyŏnggi style in
the 14th and 15th centuries and the akchang(“words for songs”) in the 15th century. The
most representative akchang is Yongbi ŏch’ŏn ka (1445–47; “Songs of Flying Dragons”),
a cycle compiled in praise of the founding of the Chosŏn (Yi) dynasty. Korean poetry
originally was meant to be sung, and its forms and styles reflect its melodic origins. The
basis of its prosody is a line of alternating groups of three or four syllables, probably the
most natural rhythm to the language.
The oldest poetic form is the hyangga, poems transcribed in
the hyangch’al system, dating from the middle period of the Unified Silla dynasty to the
early period of the Koryŏ dynasty (935–1392). The poems were written in four, eight, or
10 lines; the 10-line form—comprising two four-line stanzas and a concluding two-line
stanza—was the most popular. The poets were either Buddhist monks or members of the
Hwarangdo, a school in which chivalrous youth were trained in civil and military virtues in
preparation for state service. Seventeen of the 25 extant hyangga are Buddhist in
inspiration and content.
The pyŏlgok, or changga, flourished during the middle and late Koryŏ period. It is
characterized by a refrain either in the middle or at the end of each stanza. The refrain
establishes a mood or tone that carries the melody and spirit of the poem or links a poem
composed of discrete parts with differing contents. The theme of most of these
anonymous poems is love, the joys and torments of which are expressed in frank and
powerful language. The poems were sung to musical accompaniments chiefly by women
entertainers known as kisaeng.
The sijo is the longest-enduring and most popular form of Korean poetry. Although
some poems are attributed to writers of the late Koryŏ dynasty, the sijo is primarily a
poetic form of the Chosŏn dynasty (1392–1910). Sijo are three-line poems in which each
line has 14 to 16 syllables and the total number of syllables seldom exceeds 45. Each
line consists of groups of four syllables. Sijo may deal with Confucian ethical values, but
there are also many poems about nature and love. The principal writers of sijo in the first
half of the Chosŏn dynasty were members of the Confucian upper class (yangban) and
the kisaeng.
The kasa developed at about the same time as the sijo. In its formative
stage, kasa borrowed the form of the Chinese tz’u (lyric poetry) or fu(rhymed prose).
The kasa tends to be much longer than other forms of Korean poetry and is usually written
in balanced couplets. Either line of a couplet is divided into two groups, the first having
three or four syllables and the second having four syllables.
Immediately after the founding of the Chosŏn dynasty at the end of the 14th century
and the establishment of the new capital in Seoul, a small group of poetic songs
called akchang was written to celebrate the beginning of the new dynasty. In its earliest
examples the form of akchangwas comparatively free, borrowing its style from early
Chinese classical poetry. Whereas the early akchang are generally short, the
later Yongbi ŏch’ŏn ka consists of 125 cantos.
Prose
Korean prose literature can be divided into narratives, fiction, and
literary miscellany. Narratives include myths, legends, and folktales found in the written
records. The principal sources of these narratives are the two great historical records
compiled during the Koryŏ dynasty.
Oral Literature
Oral literature includes all texts that were orally transmitted from generation to
generation until the invention of Hangul—ballads, legends, mask plays, puppet-show
texts, and p’ansori (“story-singing”) texts.

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Gheo R.

Lanaban SHS 12 – ICT

EARLY KOREAN LITERATURE

MODERN KOREAN LITERATURE

CONTEMPORARY KOREAN LITERATURE

Traditional Forms of Literature

There are four major traditional poetic forms: hyangga (“native

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