訓民時調硏究

Abstract

A sijo(a Korean verse) has been a representative literature form to express emotions of our ancient people. There are two reasons why a sijo has maintained its life for a long time. One is a simple form which has three lines and six phrases. The other is a form which can express our interest and taste suitable for our racial emotions. In this paper, I examine the formative background of Hoonmin-sijo, study its characteristics in the content and the form and its enjoyable ways, and find out its significance in the literature history. Fist of all, I choose the following sijo for study; the six paragraphs of Ohryunga written by Ju Se-boong, which is thought to be representative of Hoonmin-sijo in the 16th and 17th centuries, the 16 paragraphs of Hoonminga by Jeong Cheol, and the 25 paragraphs of Ohryunga by Bark In-rho. Hoonmin-sijo was written by the aristocratic class(who was called the yangban) for the purpose of educating the common people with Confucian ideas, and was developed by an educating people policy during the Choseon Dynasty and the rural reform movement by Sarimpha. The contents of Hoonmin-sijo are classified into two groups; writings about the five cardinal principles of morality, and writings about general morality. In the first foot of the last line, substantives were used to convey their meanings easily because Hoonmin-sijo has didactic properties. The fourth foot of the last line ends in a volitional style, an interrogative style or an imperative style. The readers were mainly the common people. Furthermore, they enjoyed Hoonmin-sijo not in a singing style which was used by the contemporary noble men, but in a reciting style. In the development of the Choseon Dynastic poetry, Hoonmin-sijo had have a connection with Ohryunga in the form of Gyonggichega and Ohryunga in the form of Gasa. I find out that it has become a mode of the educational literature by playing an didactic role. When we go on studying the developmental mode of the times and their influence relations among writers, Hoonmin-sijo can establish a fair and important position in the history of the sijo literature.