Early Korean Literature

Selections and Introductions

David McCann

• Publisher: Columbia University Press
• Year: 2000
• Topic: Literature
• eBook ISBN:
  9780231505741
• Subtopic: Asian Literary Collections
• Index: Literature

Preeminent scholar and translator David R. McCann presents an anthology of his own translations of works ranging across the major genres and authors of Korean writing—stories, legends, poems, historical vignettes, and other works—and a set of critical essays on major themes.

A brief history of traditional Korean literature orients the reader to the historical context of the writings, thus bringing into focus this rich literary tradition. The anthology of translations begins with the Samguk sagi, or History of the Three Kingdoms, written in 1145, and ends with "The Story of Master Hô," written in the late 1700s. Three exploratory essays of particular subtlety and lucidity raise interpretive and comparative issues that provide a creative, sophisticated framework for approaching the selections.

PART 1

An Anthology of Korean Literature

THE SAMGUK SAGI (1145)

The Samguk sagi, History of the Three Kingdoms—Silla, Paekche, and Koguryŏ—was written at royal request by Kim Pu-sik (1075–1151). The sagi was modeled on the dynastic histories of China, which meant, among other things, that it was organized into sections such as history, biographies, and notable events; it tended to present the state officials as the principle actors; and, of course, it was written in literary Chinese, the same literary language as was used in China for such records.

Kim Pu-sik enjoyed a high reputation as a government officer, historian, and writer. (One of his poems is included in the Chinese poetry section of this anthology.) He and his work have suffered at the hands and minds of modern historians, however, who find too much deference to China in his approach to the history project.

“Song of the Oriole”

In October of that winter, Queen Song passed away. The king, Yuri, found two women and took them into his service. One of them, the royal concubine Hwa, was the daughter of someone from Kolch’ŏn, while the other, Ch’i, was the daughter of a Han (Chinese) man. The two were jealous, and relations between them were not good.

It happened that the king went out to Kisan and for some time did not return. The jealous feelings between the two did not improve in the interval. At one point, in her anger, Concubine Hwa taunted Ch’i, saying “You are nothing but a Han house slave turned concubine. That’s all you are!” Ch’i was mortified. Unable to bear the resentment she felt, she returned to her home.

The king heard of this and tried to get her to change her mind, but Ch’i could not forget her sense of humiliation and did not return.

The king happened to be resting by a tree and noticed the orioles fluttering around each other affectionately. He composed a song about his feelings. The song was as follows:

Fluttering, the orioles
male and female together, so.
Reminded of my loneliness;
with whom will I ever go?

THE SAMGUK YUSA (1285)

The Samguk yusa, Remnants of the Three Kingdoms, was compiled over a period of several years by the Buddhist monk Iryŏn (1206–1289). Quite deliberately assembled as a supplement to Kim Pu-sik’s Samguk sagi, the yusa draws together a wide assortment of myths, legends, genealogies, histories, Buddhist tales, observations by the compiler, and other materials. Of key significance among these, fourteen hyangga, native songs, are transcribed as Korean-language texts, using Chinese characters to convey meanings, sounds, and grammatical inflections, embedded in the literary Chinese narrative. In the following stories, “The Flower Offering Song” in “Suro,” Ch’ŏyong’s song, and Sŏdong’s in “King Mu” are all examples of hyangga. Additional song texts in the yusa such as the sea spirit song in the story of Lady Suro, like the “Song of the Oriole” from the Samguk sagi, were recorded in Chinese translations.

The yusa of the title—“remaining matters,” or “miscellany”—can be read as a reference to Kim Pu-sik’s work, meaning those historical details and oral, vernacular materials that the earlier work omitted. The phrase might also be read as making a contemporaneous, thirteenth-century reference to Korea’s precarious situation following the devastating Mongol invasions that began in 1231 and ended in 1259.

Book 1: Tan’gun (Ancient Chosŏn)

In the Wei shu there is the following. Two thousand years ago, Tan’gun Wanggŏm, selecting Asadal as the capital—in the classics also referred to as Muyŏpsan, or as Paegak, in Paekchu; also said to be east of Kaesŏng, but right where present-day Paegakkung is located—founded the nation. He named it Chosŏn. This was in the time of Yao.

In the Old Record there is the following. In ancient times, Hwanung, the son of Hwanin, set his mind constantly on the human world, wishing to bring order to human life. Knowing his son’s intentions, the father went to Samwi T’aebaek Mountain, deciding this location would be the most advantageous for human affairs. He gave his son three heavenly seals, telling him to go down and take charge of human affairs.

With three thousand attendants, Hwanung descended to a place below the holy altar tree on the peak of Mount T’aebaek, now known as Mount Myohyang. He named this place City of God, did Hwanung the heavenly king. He led the Earl of Wind, the Master of Clouds, and the Master of Rain, and allocating the three hundred areas of governance according to the categories of agriculture, existence, illness, law, and morals, he domesticated human affairs.

At that time a bear and a tiger were living in a cave. They prayed constantly to Hwanung to be turned into humans. At last he gave them a wick of wormwood and twenty garlic cloves and told them, “If you eat these and for one hundred days avoid the light of the sun, you will become human.”

The bear and tiger took them and ate. The bear, after twenty-one days of avoiding the sun, turned into a human, but the tiger could not avoid it and failed to become human. The bear that had become a human could not find a mate, and so by the holy altar tree prayed to become pregnant. Hwanung thereupon changed for a while into human form, and joined her in marriage. She became pregnant and gave birth to a son. He was named Tan’gun Wanggŏm.

In the year of Kyŏngin, the fiftieth year of the reign of the Yao king—though because it is not certain what the foundation year of Yao was, it is not entirely certain that it was the fiftieth year—Wanggŏm moved the capital to P’yŏngyang—present-day Sŏgyŏng—and, as noted, named the country Chosŏn. Then he moved the capital again, to Asadal at Paegak Mountain. The place is also called Kŭmmidal, as well as Kungholsan, according to the region. He ruled the land for 1,500 years. In the Kimyo year, when King Wu of Chou enfeoffed Kija with Chosŏn, Tan’gun moved to Changdan’gyŏng. However, he returned later and hid at Asadal as the mountain god. He was said to be 1,908 years old.

In the T’ang book of Paegu there is the following. Koguryŏ was originally known as Kojuk—present-day Haeju—but when Kija was enfeoffed, it became known as Chosŏn. The Han state divided this into three administrative districts, Hyŏndo, Nangnang, and Taebang, the Northern Belt.

Book 2: The Story of Lady Suro

In th...

Table of contents

• Cover 
• Half title
• Title
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Epigraph
• Contents 
• Preface
• Part 1: An Anthology of Korean Literature
• Part 2: Negotiations in Korean Literary Culture
• Notes
• Bibliography
• Index of Names and Titles
• Subject Index