조선후기 현실비판가사 연구

Abstract

The criticism of the present status of the current period in the form of verses were continuously written beginning from the period of the Japanese invasion of Korea in 1592 through the reformation period toward the modern times. They reflected the living modes of the people with the changes of time, enriching the literary world of the Korean verses(or gasa in Korean). The reason why the reality-critical verses endured better than other types of gasa was that their characteristics were progressive and inclined to modernity, realistically reflecting the living modes and having the fundamentals that were able to fulfill the requirements of the essential roles of literature. This book has studied and analyzed the reality-critical verses and extracted the elements of the verses for each era and delved into the aspects of criticism and the characteristics. The period covered is from the Japanese invasion of Korea in 1592 through the time right before the modern period. The book noted the sense of crisis, scholars' awakening, formation of social foundations, continuity of creativity, and its realization and enjoyment, and examined the various aspects of the reality-critical verses. It also separated the coverage into several aspects, changes in society during the author's era, expansion of enjoyment, and embodiment of the criticism of the reality, and studied the process of change. Based on these, this book has been able to elevate the standing of the critics in the history of Korean literature. As can be noted in Gogongga, Gogongdabjuinga, Tangungga, and Nuhangsa, the gasa or verses took the historic and social reality as the issue and criticized the reality but then accepted the reality and illustrated it in many different modes. More than anything else, the authors experienced wars and subsequently observed the realities of life and described the living modes of people, giving a sense of reality to literature. The eighteenth century reality-critical verses featured the continuity of the previous stage and the change in the succeeding stage simultaneously. Inasmuch as the scholars of nobility created works that reflected their views of the world and as the previous ruling structure was being dismantled, the works displayed commoners' ideologies and sentiments during the period. As the literary work increased in terms of the number of works, they drew pictures of miserable living conditions of the people as there were a greater diversity of subjects, multifaceted changes to enjoyment, and the resultant supply and change in the view of the world. The aspects of change in the reality-critical verses can be initially found in the social characteristics of the authors. The seventeenth century authors were mostly scholars of nobility who were limited in their perceptions of the realities of life in describing them. Inasmuch as they were concentrating their study on Confucianism, they lacked the insight and the sense of history and realities of life to be able to portray the experiences during the Japanese invasion and the period of reforms. After then, most of the reality-critical verse authors were of provincial nobility, but due to their meager economic wherewithal they were no different from ordinary farmers. As they came together with the provincial commoners sharing their common ground, they eventually took on the roles of representing the latter as progressive intelligentsia and shared solidarity with the commoners, becoming their leaders in anti-government movements. The objects of the criticism of the reality were governmental rulers and provincial officials. The reality-critical verses initially carried a patriotic note but later condemned the ruling class and governing officials' ineptness and corruption. As such they displayed defiance toward the establishment and did not hold back criticism. However, the authors' concepts of the king were not to deny the need for his presence. Rather, they believed in the need for the king's existence and presented limited criticism of the establishment as they hoped for benevolent governance. The subjects of the criticism were the system of grain loans, its abuse, and the system of collection. In the latter period of the Joseon Dynasty, the feudal system was being dismantled and the aristocratic class usurped their rights on the commoners to extort them. But as social and economic changes took place, the class system collapsed and as the idea of realism advanced the commoners became more aware. Such contradictory reality gave rise to idea of injustice and idea of criticism, and they led to criticism of the three systems of farming, military, and grain(samjeong), which had been the material foundations of society. Sitansa, Hapgangga, Hyangsanbyeolgok, Imgyetan, and Gapminga, Geochangga, Nocherneuga, Ubuga, Yongbuga treated samjeong and its problems in depth. On the other hand, the authors were not complacent adhering to Confucianism and were no longer in contentment with poverty and took delight in the Taoist way. On the contrary, they created works that displayed greater enmity. The conflict between the ideal and reality that arose from the destitution in the present life, which, they regarded, was not attributable to themselves but to the existing ruling class's oppression. The authors expressed great dissatisfaction with the present and blamed the provincial officials' oppression as the cause of the poverty, and criticised the ruling status quo. The modernity found in the reality-critical verses can be traced to the author's recognition of the reality. Right after the Japanese invasion in 1592, the general mass of the Joseon Dynasty were critical of the reality. On top of that, the attitude of the scholars of nobility transcending the status quo was much more pressing. The recognition of the reality became more intense as it passed down to the commoners because of time and political changes. Furthermore, as women joined the movement, all classes of people came to criticize and indicted the current conditions, and the Joseon society came to a transition period toward the modern times. Most of the authors of the reality-critical verses were provincial nobility, who held the view that the rural province was no longer a conceptual or idealistic world but one that faced problems of the reality, which caused them to share common grounds with the commoners. With this recognition laid in their foundation, the reality-critical verses treated the rural problems in the provinces in their social background. They were works that presented communality and thus encouraged solidarity. They were created within the provinces and circulated in them, which then caused the people to grasp and share a common recognition, taking on a communal characteristic. This can be seen as a modern characteristic of the reality-critical verses. As the authors of the verses remained anonymous, the villagers came to sense a stronger bond with the authors. Within the content itself, the reality-critical verses found their themes in people's everyday living and the subjects were common people, which made them appear to take on modernity. The lives that appear in the works and the usage of the verses relatively concretely described people's lives, bestowing a value to the importance of living, which makes the reader to elicit the modern characteristics from the works.