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Literature of Korea in the XII-XIV centuries.

Literature of Korea in the XII-XIV centuries.

06.03.2019

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Koreans and books

Unfortunately, the modern Russian reader knows almost nothing about South Korean literature. This is largely the result of the prohibitions that have existed for several decades in USSR to any, even the most seemingly harmless contacts with South Korea. Meanwhile, Koreans are a reading nation, and Korean writers have created in recent decades very interesting literature, about which, however, nothing is really known even to specialists in the USSR / RF / CIS.

However, today I will not talk about modern Korean literature, its features and problems. I myself am not very competent in this, and I can only hope that this gap in the perception of Russians about Korea will be replenished sooner or later. Our topic is different - not Korean literature or the book industry in itself, but the role that books (both fiction and otherwise) play in the everyday life of Koreans.

Although I started the article with the statement that Koreans are a "reading nation", statistics show that in terms of the number of books read, Koreans are inferior to the inhabitants of some developed countries. However, I am not going to go back on my words. The fact is that, although the country has social groups, whose representatives cannot imagine life without a book, not all Koreans read a lot. The statistics, first of all, are "spoiled" by representatives of the stronger sex, aged 25 to 55, that is, working Koreans. Indeed, a working Korean reads little, if any, and it would be strange if things were different: after spending 8-11 hours at work and then another 1-2 hours in a crowded subway or in a car that makes its way at a snail's speed through countless traffic jams, a person returning from work is unlikely to pick up a book. At best, he will limit himself to a TV and a newspaper, but rather, having exchanged a few words with his wife and children, he will go to bed.

The reading audience consists of that part of Koreans who, on the one hand, have an education and a taste for reading, and, on the other hand, have the leisure necessary for this occupation. Such people include, in particular, students (schoolchildren are too busy - they are preparing for entrance exams), teachers and lecturers, housewives and, in part, working young women who have much less burden and responsibility in their offices than their colleagues -men. The predominance of women in the Korean reading public is obvious (one of the local critics once stated that the proportion of women among prose readers in Korea is 80%).

Number of book titles published in Korea in 1996 it was exactly twice as much as in 1980 (26.674 and 13.062, respectively). The total circulation increased during this time even more significantly - three times. However, volume growth slowed down around 1990 and since then Korea Approximately 26-29 thousand titles of books are published per year. This is a good indicator. In terms of the number of book titles, Korea is only twice as USA(with a population five times smaller), and two and a half times greater than India(with a population 20 times smaller). IN Russia in 1994, 30,390 book titles were published, a little more than in Korea. At the same time, we must remember that our population is three times larger. Thus, Korean indicators are quite good.

Speaking of Korean books, one cannot fail to note their relative cheapness. Mass-printed paperback book, regular format, with good quality paper and print, approximately 300 pages, is worth Korea somewhere around 6-8 thousand won ($5-7). For a monograph or a limited edition in hardcover, one had to pay 15-25 thousand won ($12-20). This price may seem expensive to the Russian reader, but in fact, compared with the prices for similar books in Western countries, it is surprisingly low (a mass-produced book of the usual format costs America 15-20 dollars, and a special hardcover monograph - from 40 to 100 dollars).

What does a modern Korean city dweller read? If we talk about fiction, then in the seventies, the most popular books were serious ones, devoted to the philosophical issues of human existence. It is significant that this was the time of enthusiasm for classical Russian literature, the influence of which in those years reached its peak. In the 1980s, democratization and the relaxation of censorship led to the flourishing of the political and historical novel. This novel in South Korea was (and usually still is) left-wing, often even pro-communist. The heroes of the books were often strike organizers or communist guerrillas during the Korean War. Of course, such publications caused gnashing of teeth among the conservative part of the establishment, but they enjoyed considerable commercial success (the recent "forbidden fruit" is sweet), so that the publishing houses freed from censorship released them willingly.

In the nineties, the collapse of the socialist system and the depoliticization and de-ideologization of Korean society led to the fact that interest in these works, and in serious literature in general, decreased significantly by the mid-nineties. The era of the entertaining novel has come, the time has come for light reading. Real, "high" literature has also largely reoriented itself from the problems of society to questions individual life And inner world person.

Actually entertaining literature in Korea, that is, so to speak, "low genres", is represented mainly by translated American editions. Among entertainment genres, the detective dominates, both criminal and espionage-political. Although in Korea and there is a detective tradition, but the vast majority prefer translations Western authors. This applies to all kinds of thrillers and adventure literature, as well as to science fiction. Popularity science fiction V Korea generally lower than Russia or Western countries. If we talk about fashion in last years magical fantasy genre fantasy"), then he Korea generally resides somewhere in the back of the book market. At the same time, there are millions of urban housewives in the country, who form almost the only group of adults with free time. They create fertile ground for the spread of the "ladies'" love story here.

One of the features Korea is that all kinds of documentary and semi-documentary works are very popular among the local reading public: essays, popular science publications, travel essays. Unlike many other countries, these publications are Korea in terms of their popularity among the mass reader, they are not inferior to fiction. A significant part of such publications are translations, so that almost all notable Western works on history, politics, economics, philosophy, appear in Korean very soon after their release in the original.

Koreans are generally quite familiar with world literature, although its perception - the selection of books for translation, the authority of this or that writer - generally reflects American assessments and traditions, in many respects different from those to which the Russian reader is accustomed. Related to this is good knowledge Koreans American and in general English Literature, while much less attention is paid to writers from other countries. However, some of the traditional cultural ties have their effect, and, for example, Chinese historical novel, both classic and modern, are much loved by Koreans.

Russian literature has penetrated into Korea still in the colonial period (in secondary translations from Japanese or, more rarely, from English) and enjoyed considerable popularity there, especially in the sixties and seventies. IN last couple For decades, a decrease in interest in serious literature has led to the fact that the popularity of Russian authors has somewhat decreased, but it still remains quite high (president Kim Tae-jung, for example, considers his favorite authors Dostoevsky And Chekhov, which he once read a lot in prison). You can judge which works of Russian literature Koreans know best from the reference book "200 the best works world literature". Russian literature in it is represented by 5 names: " Brothers Karamazov", "Fathers and Sons", "Anna Karenina", "Mother", "Lady with a dog". For some reason it didn't get there, really," Crime and Punishment", which is also very popular in Korea.A.N. Lankov
01.01.1999

We often think in stereotypes. For example, quoting the immortal phrase that the East is a delicate matter, we mean the depth and originality of the Eastern perception of the world. And at the same time, we have a very vague idea of what is hidden in this depth. Try to name at least a few Asian authors last century or our contemporaries. At best, the Japanese of the second or third wave will be remembered: Abe Kobo or Kawabata, Haruki Murakami or the eccentric Mishima Yukio. But not only Japanese literature is distinguished by a variety of genres and plots, a special view of the world and an unexpected, fresh for us, perception of reality. We offer to make a short excursion into the colorful and exciting world of modern Asian literature.

Reflections on Feelings: Contemporary Korean Literature

Korean literature was opened to the Russian reader quite recently, as early as 15 years ago, translations of authors from this country were vanishingly rare. Today in Russian you can find original Korean melodrama, and poignant historical prose, and philosophical lyrics. Here are a few pieces that will give you an idea of the world of contemporary Korean prose.

Lee Seung Wu. secret life plants. A story about brotherly devotion and betrayal, about love and the meaning of life. Quite tough and biting, the book attracts attention with the development of the plot and rich language. Each character has his own secrets, because each of us has roots, like trees and grasses, but the understanding of these very roots, the attitude towards them can vary greatly even among members of the same family. Recommended for those who appreciate psychological dramas with a tense plot and good language.

Lee Moon Yeol. Collection of two stories“Our spoiled hero. Meeting with my brother. The name of the author is well known both in South Korea and in the world literary arena. He is perhaps the most published overseas Korean. It was not translated in Russia for a long time, and this book is the first experience. Lee Moon-yeol chose both stories for translation into Russian on his own. Their genre can be defined as everyday life. Bright everyday sketches, lively characters, soft humor, and in some places quite sharp satire. The book is especially recommended for those who are at least a little interested in the life of people from other cultures. Pleasant features include what used to be called humanism, love for people. The author clearly shows this feeling.

Chung Unyoung. How She Uses Her Tears (compilation of novels). Korean postmodern multiplied by oriental concentration and the ability to focus brought out a whole company of heroes with a difficult fate and even more complicated relationships. The vices, mistakes and delusions of a person, retribution and the twists of fate that follow it - all this is in the short stories of Chung Unyon. Literature lovers will find parallels with Burroughs and other postmodern classics. However, the Korean version is further deepened by an extreme fatality, an understanding of the inevitability of human destiny. In short, an excellent read for art house lovers.

Lee Hotchul. Southerners and northerners. great opportunity gain insight into the conflict between South and North Korea from the point of view of the direct participant. Academic reading will not work - too vivid memories, too fresh wounds. The author talks about the history of the country, passes it through the fate of one person. The novel is written quite rigidly in places, so it has age restrictions. Recommended for lovers of realistic literature with historical background.

One of the distinguishing features of Korean literature is the attention to the characters and feelings of the characters, through which they learn about the world around them and form their attitude towards it. This attitude is always in dynamics, it changes from day to day, just like the person himself.

Feelings, Realism, Allegory: Contemporary Chinese Literature

The literature of each country reflects its history and stages of development. In this sense, China is perceived rather one-sidedly, either as the birthplace of "red plays" glorifying the Party or as endless criticism of the same Party, which is carried out by writers who have left the country. Modern Chinese literature is much more complex and varied than many think. Here are just a few examples.

Sheng Kei. Sisters from the North. An unexpectedly frank story on a banal topic - conquest by provincials big city. Fresh presentation, humor, bright characters, a share of adventurism and growing intrigue turn ordinary story into a real adventure. The most appropriate definition for the work would be "a psychological female novel." The quality of the book was noted by numerous critics, the novel was nominated for the Asian Literary Award, which is also called the Asian Booker.

Mai Jia. CONSPIRACY. An action-packed book that tells about a special unit of the intelligence department, which was formed from people with special talents and abilities. Three parts cover the period of the 30s to the 60s. Fans of the genre will find here a light syllable, and adventure, and passion, and brilliant insights. In China itself, the book was a huge success - a TV series was made on it, and the author was presented to the highest literary prize countries.

Bi Feiyu. Collection "Moon Opera"- perhaps the most famous creation in our literary stores. Five stories, each of which - individual work, with its mood and that unique atmosphere that makes each book by this author both expected and popular. The collection includes stories about everyday life and love, about people of different social strata. Ordinary human feelings, ups, downs, hopes and dreams - all this can be found in the book. It is interesting to get acquainted with it, at least from the point of view of understanding modern Chinese reality.

Mo Yan. Wine country. The book, which came out from the pen of the Nobel Prize winner in literature, deserves attention in itself. And if the novel is a bright and sharp satirical thing in which fairy tales, reality, myths and allegories are strangely intertwined, then you should definitely read it. At least in order to understand what kind of term "hallucinogenic realism" was coined by Swedish academics specifically for the books of this writer. "Country of wine" is a strange thing, but bright. It is difficult to compare it with something, you need to make a personal opinion about it. In the center of the plot is the correspondence between a provincial graphomaniac and a capital writer. The former makes generous offerings of wine and vodka to his work, while the latter writes his reviews under growing doses of gratitude. However, this is far from the only plot line of the novel, but retelling the entire labyrinth of the plot is a useless exercise. This book requires a personal acquaintance in order to form your own impression.

In China itself, the genre of explicit women's novels, as well as a combination of realism and revolutionary romanticism, which is the official literary movement. In general, modern Chinese literature is a bizarre mixture of sensuality, harshness, fairy tale and drama.

Mysterious Reality: Contemporary Indian Literature

It would seem that everything should be easier with India than with Korea or even China. Many books have been written about this country, but it was not so easy to find samples of modern Indian literature translated into Russian.

Ananta Murthy. Samskara. The action of the novel takes place in a small Indian village, tells about the life and customs of the Brahmin caste. The new realities of today's world hardly penetrate into the rigid caste system India, but still changes occur and they have to be dealt with. The book is interesting from the inside view, a person who is built into this very system. A very worthy thing that will definitely appeal to those who want to better understand this amazing country and its people.

Rohinton Mistry. Family matters. This ordinary name hides a description of the life of the community of fire worshipers. The author himself is connected with them by the fact of birth, so his descriptions and plots are colorful, they live their own special, incomprehensible life, like any good text. Briefly describe the plot, then a novel about love, about obstacles in the way loving hearts which are erected by faith and religion. Well main question- what is a person ready to do in the name of love, and will love accept his sacrifice? Rohinton Mistry is very popular in Europe, and "Family Matters" is a Booker 2002 shortlisted nominee.

Anosh Irani. Song of Kahunsha. The young writer created his own version of the adventures of Oliver Twist, only in an Indian way. Chamdi, a homeless child, ends up in a huge Bombay, where he first finds friends, and then shelter, but at the same time gets into serious trouble along with a gang of criminals. True, critics prefer to compare history with another modern masterpiece- "Running with the wind." But this is not so important. The main thing is that the book turned out to be very bright, juicy, recognizable. It has drama, intrigue, characters, faith in man and a distinct taste of Indian measured fate - all living beings have their own destiny and we all have to fulfill it.

Modern Indian literature has a recognizable appearance, exotic, authentic, unusually bright. Here the focus is not just a person, but his connection with the world. The theme of fate or fate often arises, but an action is expected from a person, an active fulfillment of the appointed, which is very different Indian literature from the works of the eastern neighbors.

Asiatic literature gives great scope for the application of intellectual effort, but if you wish, you can always find easy, not too burdensome reading, which will acquaint you with the customs and mores of people who live not so far from us.

L. V. Galkina,

candidate philological sciences, professor, FENU

S. G. Zhang,

postgraduate student of the Department of Literature VKK FENU

MAIN TRENDS IN MODERN KOREAN LITERATURE

Korean literature, both poetry and prose, in the course of a century there has been a very difficult period from the stage of formation to the creation of modern philosophical systems (existentialism). This process was conditioned by the history of Korea's development from the first steps of capitalism and the emergence of antagonistic states in the north and south to the creation of a developed capitalist society in the south of the country.

Modern Korean literature, which began its course with romanticism and symbolism during the period of accelerated development of literature, has mastered other literary trends in a fairly short period of time, such as modernism, surrealism, realism, humanism, existentialism, etc.

One of the first romantic poets was Lee Sang-hwa, who proclaimed in his poems the era of an active attitude to life:

The time will come when, by creating new world,

With one of your lines, with this one, you will wake everyone up Poet, the meaning of your life is

So that people know about you when you are no longer in the Universe. Your voice should be like the cry of a green frog on the canals that irrigate the fields in a drought.

Let from the so-called world

Will only appear musical instruments where soul and body live separately.

Poet, your life is

So that, no matter how hard it was, you still continued your work. And when the darkened sun rises, will you lose the desire to create?

Poet, your glory is

So that you become the undivided soul of a child who bravely overcomes obstacles. Whether by day or by night.

When the verses go with quick steps, may you be given the opportunity to see a beautiful butterfly, flying up, dying, to a candle.

Big role in the work of romantic writers, the works of Na Dohyan and Kim Donin played, raising the problems of a love triangle - the relationship of a man and a woman (The stories "At the Mill", "Ditch the Pears", "Potatoes", etc.). “Modernism that came to Korean literature in the 1930s. to replace romanticism, was interesting because he created non-standard images and situations. For example, in the work of Li San, a poet and prose writer, such situations are found both in poetry (“Mirror”, “Morning”) and in prose (“Wings” story).

Lee San lived a very short life - 27 years. He graduated from the architectural institute, but, having contracted tuberculosis, he abandoned his chosen specialty. He knew that his days were numbered, and this left an imprint of hopelessness on his whole life. He stopped looking after his appearance, his poems were permeated with the experience of his own doom.

Dark air harms the lungs.

Soot sits on the surface of the lungs.

I suffer from fever all night long.

How many countless nights I spent!

I cut and stretch them and forget about the dawn.

Morning refreshes the lungs too.

I look around to see if anything has been lost since the night.

I discovered the habit of moving in the opposite direction.

How many pages have already been turned in my beautiful book.

The morning rays of the sun write down the words

To finish the worn out pages. So, as if without a nose

the night would never come back again.

Of course, not all poets had such a fate as Lee San, but hopelessness, inner emptiness are characteristic of many major poets of this period. If the lyrical hero of the 20s. mourned in the depths of his fate and the fate of his homeland and did not want to live the way reality forced him, then the lyrical hero of the 30s. couldn't even cry.

Modernism prepared two contrasting directions: romanticism and sentimental romanticism that arose at the end of the century, on the one hand, and on the other, the opposite. In addition to these areas, in the 30-40s. humanism, classicism, realism appear in literature, and in post-war years- existentialism. Researchers modern literature The Republic of Korea draws attention to the influence of Western philosophical currents in shaping the appearance of Korean prose in the 60-70s. Existentialism occupies a special place among these ideas.

Indeed, when reading the stories of Kim Tonny (1913-1995), Choi Inhun (b. 1936), Kim Seung-ok, you notice that, as a rule, the characters in them are lonely, alienated from the outside world, and all their attempts to

relationships with other people fail. On the example of Kim Seung-ok's story “Trip to Mujin. Travel records” Russian literary critic A.F. Trotsevich tries to show how Western existentialism fits into the Korean "cultural landscape".

The story is written from the point of view of the hero. These are diary-type entries about what they saw, about meetings and impressions. There are four main events in the story, arranged in time sequence and defining the structure of the story - it has four parts: “Bus to Mujin”, “People meet at night”, “ Long road over a dam that stretches out to sea”, “You are leaving Mujin”.

The hero Yun Hee Jun, the director of a successful pharmaceutical company, married to a wealthy widow, goes to rest for a week in Mujin, the city of his childhood, to take his mind off things and change the situation. Mujin stands on the seashore, and there is nothing in it that attracts attention; its only attraction is fogs. Yoon Hee Jun Dating School Friends Who Admire Him successful career. In the house of one of them, he meets a music teacher, Ha Insuk. A romance begins. As a result of just a date, Yoon discovered that thanks to this girl, his former “pure self” returned, lost in worries about his career and well-being. Yoon realizes that they should be together and decides to take the girl to Seoul. But the next morning after the date, he is awakened by a telegram from his wife: the business of the company requires an immediate return to Seoul. In desperation, Yoon Hee Jun writes a letter. Insuk talks about love, about the impossibility of living without it, asks to believe him and promises that they will be happy together in Seoul. The letter was a sincere impulse of a man who had finally got rid of loneliness. The hero rereads the letter - reason kills the impulse: Yun tears up the letter and leaves Mujin.

The story is permeated with the idea of human loneliness in the modern world - a thought that is developed by the philosophy of existentialism.

The lonely hero arrives in the city of his childhood and sees old friends, but ties with them have long been lost, and the meetings bring Yun neither a sense of joy nor satisfaction. He is a stranger to them, an observer from the outside. Perhaps it is no coincidence that the author leads the hero through meetings with people who have not found a place in the social world. This is a meeting in Daegu with a crazy woman whom everyone laughs at and no one sympathizes with. This is a meeting with the dead body of a girl from a wine house who committed suicide from loneliness and hopelessness (according to the policeman, a common occurrence in Muji-ne). Only self-satisfied inhabitants who live according to generally accepted standards, like the hero's school friend, do not feel loneliness here. The “World of Mujin” has become so far away for Yun that even his mother’s grave evokes in him not feelings, but thoughts: here is a truly respectful son who came in bad weather to bow to his mother’s grave.

Lonely Ha Insuk. She languishes in the provincial wilderness, where she is mistaken for a "decoration", which also sings hits well. And she loves the classics, her favorite aria "Madama Butterfly" remains unclaimed here. Insuk is a beautiful, smart girl, but

she cannot be married: she is a nobody in her social status (in any case, this is how Cho, Yuna's school friend, evaluates her). The heroine dreams of getting to Seoul with friends, she is afraid that this provincial town is simply crazy. Maybe the suicide girl at the seaside that Yoon saw is a hint of Insuk's possible fate after all. forgotten hero stories in this wilderness.

Yoon Hee Jun, cold and indifferent to people, suddenly experiences his "being in the world" at night. The hero sees off a beautiful, outstanding girl after the party. He and Ha Insuk walk along the river bank. From the rice fields he hears the loud croaking of frogs, and suddenly he has the feeling that the voices of the frogs rise up into the sky and turn into twinkling stars. The sounds, as it were, disappeared and became the visible radiance of the stars, which approached him and took on clear, bright outlines. Yun felt like he was going crazy, that his heart was about to break. This feeling of "I" in the Universe, which the hero of the Korean story experienced, is very reminiscent of the description of the feeling of unity with the cosmos of the heroine of Albert Camus's story "The Wife": a lonely woman in a strange world, night, desert, countless stars sliding towards the horizon, and - suddenly a sense of communion with the movement of the stars and the vastness of the sky, a feeling that brought her peace. Meeting Insuk brought back the lost world of love and pure relationship to Yoon. And here is the telegram. She brings the hero back: the stars went out, the experience of his pure, unique "I" disappeared, he is again the manager of a successful company, the same businessman as the others.

“It seems that in the story of Kim Seung-ok, the ideas of Western existentialism are intertwined with Korean cultural ideas, and in particular with Buddhism. Thus, the scene of the hero’s sudden discovery of the endless expanses of space is very reminiscent of Buddhist enlightenment, and the story itself is modeled on the Buddhist parable about a lost monk who wished to return to worldly life. In Korea, the plot of such a parable in the 17th century. Writer Kim Manchzhun wrote an entire novel Cloud Dream of the Nine. Worldly life is presented here as a dream-meditation, in which the mentor plunged the hero. Having experienced joy and suffering, the hero thinks about the meaning of earthly existence, about the values of wealth, fame and love. As soon as he had such thoughts, the teacher appeared and woke him from his sleep with a blow of the staff. The estate, the beautiful wives disappeared in swirling clouds, and the hero again saw himself as a young monk in a mountain monastery.

In Kim Sonok's story, as well as in Kim Manchung's novel, two spaces are given - the true reality and the world of delusions (in clouds and fogs). Misconceptions are connected with Mujin. The city itself is unreal, it was invented by the author. In reality, such a city does not exist, so the title says "Journey to Mujin, travel notes" immediately says that here we will talk about a journey into unreality. At the beginning of the story, it is reported that Mujin is famous for its fogs, moreover, the word "Mujin" is written in hieroglyphs "fog" and "crossing", i.e. the city is called "foggy crossing". Fog and clouds have always served in the Far Eastern literature as symbols of delusion.

niya and illusory. It seems that the meaning of “double illusoryness” is laid here: not only the space itself is an illusion, but also the opportunity to get into it. In the night Mujin (“foggy crossing”), shrouded in fog, the hero finds his “pure self” and the freedom to live according to his will. Foggy Mujin is thus marked with a sign of true value, in contrast to Seoul, where generally accepted ideas reign: the main thing for a person is to succeed (Yun is married to a rich widow, and this provided him with a high position and a prestigious position in society). The true values in the story turn out to be fleeting and transient, like a dream and fog, while the vain world of passions is connected with reality. Zen Buddhism views the transition of consciousness from delusion to reality as an instantaneous act - a sudden awakening. In the story, the hero is awakened from sleep by his wife's telegram, which brings him back from the world of illusions to reality. Functionally, the telegram is the same blow with the staff of the monk-instructor, which is discussed in the novel "Sleep in the Cloudy Heights"2.

Yoon returns to Seoul. The happiness of unity with the cosmos, love - everything was swallowed up by Muzhinsky's fog. So Sim Son, giving the Buddhist division into two spaces, changes the understanding of the value of these spaces: it is not the world of passions that is illusory, but the desire of a person to find his “pure Self”. Worldly life, money - this is the "true reality" in which a person is given to live. The breakthrough to the freedom of the "I" is ephemeral, like a fog, and can only happen in an imaginary Mujin, in a dream, in a fog. The modern pragmatic world, the alienation of man correct Buddhist ideas in the story. So, Buddhism leaves a person with hope: he can go beyond the vain world of suffering and find harmony. The story of Kim Sonok ends tragically: the hero is doomed to stay in an endless cycle of career, prestige, wealth. He is too weak and unable to break out of this cycle to become himself.

In the story of Kim Sonok "Bogatyr" (written in the form of a monologue heard from a random interlocutor in the park), one can see another example of the loneliness and hopelessness of a person in the modern world. The author deliberately does not introduce the reader to the biography of the protagonist: no name, no exact age, no events from the past before he came to Seoul. There are only two short periods of time: his life in the poor Changxing area and his life in a Western-style house. These are two completely different realities, which the hero cannot perceive as two sides of the same whole; it seems to him that one of them is correct, and the other is not. Young man (20+ years old) higher education) rents a room in the Changxing district, with no steady income, lives on the money from the sale of his scripts and plays, if, of course, they manage to sell them. Very different people live next to him: the similarity that unites them all is that last line, to which they have reached, descending to life in these slums.

From the boredom and hopelessness of his being, he is forced to spend every evening in a drinking establishment, in the company of desperate people like him. The problem is that the hero, being an outstanding person and a creative person, cannot but be aware of all the hopelessness of his position (lack of roots as a result of

date of the civil war of 1950, lack of money, because everything has already been spent on his studies at the university) and his slow but inevitable plunge into that abyss of despair in which all the people of this area live. These people spend their rare leisure every evening in the dim light of a drinking establishment with a glass of rice vodka, drinking almost all the daily earnings. In everyday life, the hero inevitably has to communicate with his housemates, understand their life tragedies, thanks to which they ended up in the slums, "on the other side" of life. Life in these slums seems to him the standard of hopelessness. He himself passively goes with the flow, not trying to change anything until a compassionate friend invites him to live in the house of his distant relatives in a more prosperous area. Like most Koreans who preach Confucianism, his friend believes that the problem of a young man is the lack of a family that would take care of him, giving valuable life advice and guidance, forcing him to live in reverence and obedience to his elders.

Yielding to persuasion, the hero moves to his relatives, who live in their own house, built in the Western style. A large family lives there: an old man, who holds a high position in the enterprise, with his wife, their daughter, a high school student, their son, who works as a lecturer at the university, his wife, a little daughter and a cook.

At first glance, the family seems to the young man impeccable and worthy of all praise. But, looking closely, he sees mutual indifference, hidden behind ostentatious care and strict observance of external decorum: life according to a strict schedule written once and for all, which does not allow any changes and amendments. Life in this house reminds him of a movement in a vicious circle devoid of any development, where every day everything repeats again, and all the activities of family members are strictly regulated and even timed. Every day at the same time, the same melody is heard, performed by the daughter-in-law on the piano - “For Eliza”. Daily repeated sounds first surprise the hero with their monotony, begin to irritate him little by little, and then frighten him and "drive him crazy", making him hate these faceless people. Even the old man set aside time for him to play the guitar, from ten in the morning for an hour. Needless to say, after that, the young man never once had a desire to pick up a guitar, in his own words, "there was no inspiration."

From the loneliness and monotony of life, he involuntarily begins to remember the residents of that house, in the Changxing district, where he used to live. This is the Yongya prostitute, who often lent him money for alcohol and smoking in hard times. Her dream was to get to a good fortune teller who would choose her a name that would bring good luck. According to her naive delusion, a person's life depends on the name given to him, and if at birth you were given a bad name, then it is worth changing it - everything will change for the better.

He also remembers a crippled man with a thin, not for his age vertically challenged daughter of nine years old, whom he spent all his free time teaching something in his gloomy room, without ceasing to shower her with blows of a rod, to which the girl reacted only

in a continuous stream of tears flowing profusely down her emaciated cheeks, and covered her head with almost transparent palms, but not once did she cry out in pain. Only once did the hero witness his father's love, accidentally seeing his eyes filled with anxiety when the girl fell ill.

The young man realized that no human feelings were alien to these people, whose only similarity was only that they rented rooms in the same house, in the city slums. Each of them has some kind of illusory dream that warms their dull existence, giving them hope for a better life.

Most often, he recalls a man named So, his strange gift - a fantastic power passing from generation to generation, and how he proudly disposed of it. This hero, who easily lifts huge stones, had a very strong influence on him.

It seems to a young man that the people from the Changxing area are much more interesting and humane than these well-fed and prosperous people from a Western-style home. And he comes to the understanding that the main thing in a person is his inner essence, his free from all "I", and not a brilliant external "form". He feels sorry for this family, and he tries to help them realize the futility of their actions. In order to somehow convince them to retreat from the daily way of life and think about their place in this world, he decides to resort to the help of tranquilizers, adding them to the drink. But this did not change anything: none of them dared to break the ingrained habitual way of life or try to talk about this topic. He is in complete confusion, not knowing whether he was right in doing this and in general, which of them is wrong, which of these two realities he needs more. He cannot understand this, he does not understand himself and feels only his endless loneliness in this world. He does not feel himself in his place in either reality and therefore is doomed to a constant search and comprehension of his "I".

In creativity Korean writer- a contemporary of Kim Sonok, the position of existentialism is clearly manifested: “Man is nothing, man has no “nature”. human being is "nothing", or, in this case, the same thing, the experience of freedom. A person has no other way out, except for the assertion of his "human" truth, except for the courageous opposition to the "non-human" world. Kim Seungok most fully reflected the ideas of his generation in Korean prose.

NOTES

1 Hangugy mansi songjip Soul.1987. P.113.

2 Ibid. P.87.

Ludmila V. Galkina, Sabina G. Chon

The Origination of New Trends in Korean Literature

The article tells us about new trends in Korean literature both in the 20s (symbolism, romanticism, naturalism, etc.) and in post-war 50s (existentialism). In connection with this the authors investigate the works of the great representatives of these trends: Li Sanhwa, Kim Dongin, Kim Sounok and others.

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Korean Literature: History and Modernity

The history of Korean literature goes back to ancient Korean folklore at the beginning of our era.

Until the end of the ninth century it was 2-lingual and was created as official language Hanmun and in Korean.

The oldest examples of literature in Korean, recorded until the middle of the 15th century. with the help of modified Chinese hieroglyphs, the so-called, the way I go is 25 small hyang verses dating back to the 7th-11th centuries.

The hyang poetry of the Silla period marked the emergence of a unique poetic form in Korean literature. Hyangga were written using a system that used the sounds and meanings of Chinese characters to write the Korean language. 14 hyanga of the period have come down to us.

Silla, which are contained in the Korean chronicle Samguk-yusa Forgotten deeds of the three states.

In the XII-XIV centuries. the hyang tradition was continued in the so-called Koryo kayo (koryo songs). The literature of the Goryeo period is characterized by a wider use of Chinese characters.

Choi Choi Won (b. 857) played an outstanding role in the development of hanmun poetry, and it reached its highest peak in the lyrics of Lee In No (1152-1220), Lee Gyu Wo (1180-1241) and Lee Je Hyun (1288- 1367). Early prose is represented by those written in hanmun, “Buddhist Kyunge” (1075) by Hyon Nyong Jong, infused with Confucian ideas.

“Historical Records of the Three States” (1145) by Kim Bu Sik (1075-1151) and “Buddhist Biography of the Monks of the Country Lying East of the Sea”. (1215).

Gradually, fiction is separated from historical literature, i.e. from chronicle. Yasa appears, for example: “Forgotten deeds of the three states” (end of the 13th century Iryong (1206-1289) and paesol).

The short story genre was laid down by Kim Si Sip (1435-1493) in his collection New Stories Heard on the Mountain of the Golden Turtle.

In 1478, Seo Lo John (1420-1488) compiled an extensive Oriental Anthology (130 books), which included the best examples of prose and poetry in hanmun. The satirist Im Ji (1549-1587) spoke with allegorical stories, such as "The Mouse under Judgment", "The History of Flowers", "The City of Sorrows". One of the turning points in the history of Korean literature was the creation of the national alphabet Hangul.

The first work in the Korean alphabet was "Ode to the Dragon Flying in the Sky" and musical score to this work. The development of the national alphabet Hangul, in turn, contributed to the development of the Korean language and literary criticism.

Poetry of the Joseon era 12 is represented by the sijo genre. This poetic form has developed since the Goryeo period, but it reached its peak during the Joseon Dynasty. In the XVI-XVII centuries.

Literature was dominated by landscape lyrics (the so-called poetry of rivers and lakes) imbued with Taoist motives for leaving the world, singing of nature and wine. Outstanding masters sijo and kosa (large poems) in Korean were Jeon Chul (1536-1594) and Yun Seong-do (1587-1671). A direct response to the events of the Imjin War of Liberation (1592-1642) was the patriotic lyrics of Pak In No.

Poetry in Korean was collected in the anthology Unfading Words of the Country, Green Mountains (circa 1727) and Songs of the Country Lying East of the Sea (1763).

Love lyrics flourished in the work of Sin Je Hyo (1812-1884), who also has a great merit in the development of folk musical drama.

In the 17th-19th centuries, the stories in Korean sosol, the heroic epic "Imjin Chronicle" (XII century), the socio-utopian "The Tale of Hong Gil Don" by Ho Gyun (1569-1618), the lyrical "The Tale of Sim Cheon ”(XVIII century), “The Story of the Loyalty of Chung Hyang” (XVII century), the satirical “Tale of the Hare” (XVIII century) and other anonymous and author's works. The first novel "Cloud Dream of the Nine" by Kim Man Jun, "The Dream of the Jasper Tower" (XVIII century), etc., appeared.

The ideas of sirhak 15 were reflected in the satirical short stories on hanmun by Pak Chi Bon 1737-1805. latest prominent representatives The ideologue Sirhak Chon Yak Yong (1762-1836), the wanderer folk poet Kim Sakkat (807-1864) and others were on the hanmun.

Chinese characters have been widely used in three states for decades. In this regard, the popularity of Chinese literature and Confucianism began to grow. For the interpretation and reading of hieroglyphs, special phonetic signs “I go” were used, brought into the system by a scientist and educator from Silla-Sol Chon.

In Pyongyang, the capital of Goguryeo, a taehak school was established to teach Confucianism.

In addition, schools were opened in many provinces in which young men studied Chinese characters. In Baekje. 5 professors taught students Confucian texts.

All three, the state sought to create its own history, in connection with which in Goguryeo, during the reign of King Aenon. Yi Moon Jin edited 100 volumes of departmental notes and submitted a five-volume history for publication. In Baekje, under King Geung Ho Gon, Koh Heung compiled "administrative notes, and in Silla, under King Chenghung, Ke Chil Bu wrote the history of the state.

also in early period development. Koryo (the end of the 9th century in connection with the development of Confucianism and the introduction of the state examination system (gwago)19, Chinese literature was very popular. At that time, the famous Confucian scholars Choi Chun, PakIn Nyan, Kim Bu Sik, as well as the outstanding poet Teng Ji San During this period, hyangi?nlla were popular, among which hyangi composed by a famous monarch stood out.

Kyunche (927 - 973), later the songs of the cycles "Sogyon Pyopgok", "Cheonsak Pyopgok", "Kashira" and others gained wide popularity.

IN last period Goryeo Chinese literature still dominated. famous poets of that time were Lee In No and Lee Kyu Po. The traditions of Goguryeo under King Dongmyeong aroused in the minds of the people a sense of the history of their country. A new literary genre, pyogwan, began to develop. With the development of Confucianism, famous calligraphers appeared. The names of Y. Sin, Than Yong and Choi Wu were put in Koryo.

Together with Silla calligrapher Kim Saeng, these masters became known as the "4 Writing Wise Men". At the end of the Goryeo era, the style of kole graphic writing gained wide popularity. Jamenbu Songsolche who penetrated the 1st of Yuan China. During the reign of King Chungean, Li Am was a great master of this style.

On early stage During the development of Joseon (the end of the 14th century), Chinese literature was also spread only after the creation of Hangul, the popularity of literature in the language gradually began to grow.

Representatives of the aristocracy were mainly fond of Chinese literature. So Seo Kye Jong compiled Dontunseong, a well-known anthology of poems by the country's most popular poets.

Literature in Korean developed in the form of "shiga" song poetry. The famous poet Teng Cheol was famous for his great lyrical epic poems and songs "Songan gaso", and the poet Yu Sang Do and poetess Hwang Jin Yi was famous for her short song poems with genre names.

Having overcome the consequences of the Japanese and Qing invasions (XV century), the situation in the country gradually stabilized, and the XVIII century became the century of the Korean revival. The development of industry, some improvement in the life of the people awakened their self-consciousness.

Narrative literature enjoyed great popularity among the people, folk tales and songs sung by the ancient traditional pansori chant. Social development almost did not affect women, however, authors of sichzho stories began to appear from among them. In the second half of the 18th century, literary movement representatives of the middle class, etc., striving to improve their socio-economic status. They studied and published the history of their estate, biographies of its prominent representatives, and published collections of poems Chenggu enu, handong kayo, and handong yudu. In the literature of the late Joseon, works for commoners appeared. These are various legends, stories, pansori-sasol (classical folk chant accompanied by dances and drum sounds). “Tendong yasung” (stories about the unofficial history of the great East) were published, “Theepyeong kwanggi” (translations of stories from Sung China) were published in hanmun, “The Tale of Hosen”, “The Question of the Tiger”, “The Tale of the Yangban” by Pa Chi Won. At the same time, the great works “Lady Sa’s Journey in the South” by Kim Man Jun, as well as a number of beautiful anonymous classical works “The Tale of Dyanhwa and Hongnen”, The Tale of the Daughters of the Concubine of the Yangban and His Wife Simgenden, Suk Hyangden, Chunhyangden were created in the native language at the same time. , Dekbaek, (Red Wall) "Simgyeong", "The Ballad of a Hare". These pansori in late Joseon enjoyed universal love and fame. The writer Sin Dia Hyo did a lot to streamline them.

Literature

1. Eremenko L., Ivanova V., Korean literature. Brief essay, M, 1964.

2. Nikitina M.I., Trotsevich A.F., Essays on the history of Korean literature until the 14th century., M., 1969.

3. Yoon Se Pyong, Haebanjong Joseon, Korean Literature before Liberation, Pyongyang, 1958. Literature Folklore Prose

4. Yang Joo Dong, Koga Young Gu, A Study of Ancient Korean Poetry, Seoul, 1954.

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