Premodern Korean Literary Prose

Michael J. Pettid is professor of Korean studies at Binghamton University. His publications include Unyong-jon: A Love Affair at the Royal Palace of Choson Korea, with annotations and introduction (2009, with Kil Cha). Gregory N. Evon is senior lecturer in the School of Humanities and Languages at the University of New South Wales-Sydney. He has published articles on premodern Korean literary and intellectual history. Chan E. Park is professor of Korean literature and director of the Korean Performance Research Program at The Ohio State University. She is the author of Voices from the Straw Mat: Toward an Ethnography of Korean Story Singing (2003).

Pettid, Evon, and Park have harnessed the talents of an impressive new generation of scholars and translators to edit an anthology with impressive range in time period and genre. Selections extend from Silla through Chosŏn, and include many prose genres heretofore poorly represented in English translation that combine to present readers with a fuller, more engaging, and more nuanced picture of premodern literary culture.

• AcknowledgmentsContributor AbbreviationsConventions for Names, Terms, and TitlesChronologyEditors’ IntroductionPart I: Pre-Koryŏ and Koryŏ Period Prose 1. Pre-Koryŏ Prose and Fiction 1.1. Anonymous, Tales of the Bizarre (殊異傳Sui-jŏn), Michael Pettid1.2 “Passion Surrounding the Pagoda” (心火繞塔Simhwa yo t’ap), Michael Pettid1.3. “Beauties in a Bamboo Tube” (竹筒美女Chuktong minyŏ), Michael Pettid1.4. “An Old Man Becomes a Dog” (老翁化狗Noong hwa ku), Michael Pettid2. Koryŏ Period Prose Works2.1. Im Ch’un, “The Tale of Mister Cash” (孔方傳Kongbang-jŏn), Sem Vermeersch2.2. Yi Kyubo, “The Tale of Master Malt” (麴先生傳Kuk Sŏnsaeng-jŏn), Michael Pettid2.3. Yi Kyubo, “Of Boats and Bribes” (舟賂說Churoe-sŏl), Michael Pettid and Marshall R. Pihl2.4. Ch’oe Cha, “Kim Kaein” (金盖仁), Michael Pettid2.5. Ch’oe Hae, “The Tale of the Hermit of Mount Lion” (猊山隱者傳Yesan ŭnja-jŏn), Michael Pettid2.6. Yi Saek, “The Tale of Mr. Pak” (朴氏傳 Pak-ssi-jŏn), Michael PettidPart II: Chosŏn Period Prose 3. Early Chosŏn Short Fiction3.1. Kim Sisŭp, “An Account of Drunken Merriment at Floating Jade-Green Pavilion” (醉遊浮碧亭記Ch’wiyu Pubyŏkchŏng-gi), Gregory N. Evon4. Chosŏn Long Fiction4.1. Anonymous, The Tale of Lady Pak (朴氏傳 Pak-ssi-jŏn), Jeongsoo Shin and Peter Lee4.2. Anonymous, A Tale of Two Sisters, Changhwa and Hongnyŏn (薔花紅蓮傳Changhwa Hongnyŏn-jŏn), Jeongsoo Shin and Peter Lee4.3. Anonymous, The Pledge at the Banquet of Moon-Gazing Pavilion(玩月會盟宴Wanwŏlhoe maengyŏn, excerpt), Ksenia Chizhova4.4. Cho Wihan, The Tale of Ch’oe Ch’ŏk (崔陟傳Ch’oe Ch’ŏk-jŏn), Sookja Cho5. Chosŏn Period “Unofficial” Histories5.1. Sŏ Kŏjŏng, Idle Talk and Humorous Stories in a Peaceful Era (太平閑話滑稽傳T’aep’yŏng hanhwa kolgye-jŏn)“The Guest Gets a Wife,” Michael Pettid“The Sage and His Affairs,” Michael Pettid“The Wailing Ghost,” Michael Pettid“General Kim Who Was Afraid of Ghosts,” Michael Pettid5.2. Yu Mongin, Unofficial Narratives by Ŏu (於于野談Ŏu yadam), Michael Pettid“Ghosts of the Sŏnggyun’gwan” (Sŏnggyun’gwan kwisin), Michael Pettid“Fox Pass” (Yŏu kogae), Michael Pettid“The Clever Trick of Pak Yŏp to Have an Affair” (Kkoe rŭl naeŏ sat’onghan Pak Yŏp), Michael Pettid“The Mother of Kangnamdŏk” (Kangnamdŏk moja), Hyangsoon Yi“The Kŏmun’go of Sim Sugyŏng and a Palace Woman” (Sim Sugyŏng ŭi kŏmun’go wa kungnyŏ), Michael Pettid“The Life of Chinbok, a Licentious Woman” (Ŭmbu Chinbok ŭi ilsaeng), Hyangsoon Yi“The Starving Thief” (Kumjurin tojŏk), Michael Pettid“Yi Yesun Who Devoted Herself to Buddhism” (Pulgyo-e Yi Yesun), Hyangsoon Yi5.3. Anonymous, Collection of Past and Present Laughs (古今笑叢 Kogŭm soch’ong)“Falsely Cutting the Narrow Hole” (佯裂孔窄Yangyŏl kong ch’ak), Michael Pettid“The Son-in-Law Who Ridiculed His Father-in-Law” (壻嘲婦翁Sŏ cho puŭng), Michael Pettid“Three Women Examine a Mute” (三女儉啞Samnyŏ kŏm a), Michael Pettid“Prerequisite Study for a Virgin” (處女先習Ch’ŏnyŏ sŏnsŭp), Michael Pettid“The Five Marvels That Shook the Heart” (五妙動心 Omyo tongsim), Michael Pettid6. Late Chosŏn Period: Autobiography, Social Commentary, and Philosophical Humor6.1. Pak Chiwŏn, “The Tale of Master Yedŏk” (穢德先生傳 Yedŏk sŏnsaeng-jŏn), Charles La Shure6.2. Pak Chiwŏn, “On Names” (名論Myŏngnon), YoungminKim and YoungyeonKim6.3. Yi Tŏngmu, “The Book of Ears, Eyes, Mouth, and Heart” (耳目口心書Immokkusimsŏ), Jamie Jungmin Yoo6.4. Lady Yi of Hansan, “The Record of My Hardships”(苦行錄 Kohaengnok), Si Nae Park7. Palace Literature7.1. Anonymous, Diary of the Kyech’uk Year (계축일기 Kyech’uk ilgi, excerpt), Kil Cha and Michael PettidPart III: Oral Tradition8. P’ansori, Narratives in Song, introduced and translated by Chan E. Park8.1. Song of Hŭngbo (흥보가Hŭngpo-ga, excerpt)8.2. Song of Sim Ch’ŏng (심청가Sim Ch’ŏng-ga, excerpt)8.3. Song of Ch’unhyang (춘향가Ch’unhyang-ga, excerpt)List of Contributors