Here are some of the salient masterpieces of korean literature

1. Masterpieces of
Korean Literature
Kathleen Y. Paras
BSED 2-d1

2. The Story of Hong Kiltong
• By Ho Kyun
• The first Korean vernacular novel
• It is a satire in which commoners outdo the upper class.
• Hong Kiltong (protagonist), leader of a band of thieves who set
up classless community on an isolated island and succeed in
getting along without the yangban and their laws and
priviledges.

3. Hwangjo ka
• 17 bce; “Orioles’ Song”
• composed in Chinese
• the first lyric poem in Korean literature
• evokes the personal loneliness of the unfortunate Koguryŏ king
Yuri

4. Samguk sagi
• 1146; “History of the Three Kingdoms”
• compiled by Kim Pu-Shik
• departed from the practice of stressing supernatural legend
over human history
• attempts to use the methods of what might be considered
modern historiography in its efforts to establish a Confucian-
based ideology of governance

5. Yongbi ŏch ŏn ka
• 1445–47; “Songs of Flying Dragons”
• early Chosŏn Period
• a dynastic narrative poem that praises the heroic achievements
of the founders of the Chosŏn kingdom
• these texts were intended to accompany court music and to
celebrate the inauguration of the new dynasty, were composed
in the vernacular and culminated in the work of Chŏng To-Jŏn
and Sangjin

6. Hanjung nok
• “Record of Sorrowful Days” or “The Memoirs of Lady Hyegyong”
• most famous court novel by a woman
• is an elegant account of the tragic experiences of Lady Hong,
princess of Hyegyŏng Palace, and carries on a tradition of palace
memoirs written by Korean women.
• written in diary form

7. Ch’unyang-jŏn
• “Spring Fragrance”
• Is one of the best known love stories and folk tales of Korea
• A good example of p’ansori genre
• Young lover’s dilemma, their tragic separation
• The story was popular enough to be sung and told in forms
other than p’ansori

8. Land
• Pak Kyong-ni
• national epic
• comprises 21 volumes
• tells of the great revolutions in Korean society in the first half of
the 20th century
• more than 700 characters are introduced