Premodern texts & concepts: Korea

*This Web page is related to multiple class sessions.

Topics

*No class period covers all of these topics. Some versions of this course will skip some of the below topics.

Terms
❖ jeong-han

Texts & films
❖ Nine Cloud Dream (구운몽•九雲夢, Kuunmong, Kim Man-jung, late 17th c.)
❖ "The Song of the Faithful Wife, Ch'un-hyang" multiple Korean authors writing in Chinese and Korean, 17th-18th century, set in the 1600s)
❖ Chunhyang (Korea, 2000)

Some comments on these premodern Korean texts, and the film

On Nine Cloud Dream:

We consider the cultural context in terms of Buddhism, Confucianism (the official state religion) and the specifics of the author's life. When we consider romantic narratives and what cultural ideas inform them, we nearly always are encountering a negotiated and uneven distribution of widespread and local ways of thinking, the writer's understanding, the readers' expectations and the pressures brought to bear by literary traditions and possible genre constraints, not to mention the linguistic environment. (Note: some of the content of Nine Clouds preexists Nine Clouds as independent oral and written stories that have been pulled into the Nine Cloud narrative.)

We look at the Confucianism in this story, the status of Buddhism, and the tension between the iconic male figure (Confucian virtuous gentleman) junzi (君子) and the pre-figured male of the caizi jiaren (才子佳人 talented scholar-beautiful woman) romantic genre of Qing China. We also talk briefly about the role of dreams and deception in this work, time permitting.

On transitioning to the discussion of films:

Our work with Chunhyang represents a turning point in the class, as we leave the direct study of premodern concepts and begin to take up questions of how they are and are not represented in modern films. Chunhyang is unique among the films screened in this class in that it is a relatively "straight" interpretation of a specific premodern text. This simplifies things for us some, and gives us a chance to transition into the analysis of modern films.

On Chunhyang (Korea, 2000):

"Dual track" in films:

• It seems to me that this movie is designed to appeal to an older crowd (shown as the appreciative audience), who love the story of Chunhyang, but also to a younger crowd (with Chunhyang, the heroine, modified in some ways to be more acceptable to young people).
• What does this "dual audience" mean for core values in the film? It seems to create a blend of embracing traditional views while embedding some more modern values. It tries to, and probably succeeds in, having it both ways. This, I think, is pretty typical of the world of film.

Screening details for Chunhyang (Korea, 2000)

*If I screen this film in class, I might screen it in segments, so below I've presented the details in those segments.

*DVD menus scene numbers do not correspond to chapter marker numbers on control panel info windows. They correspond to "Scenes" as given by the DVD selection screen.

• Segment 1: DVD menu scenes 1-6 (0:00:00-0:39:00, elapsed time 0:39)
• Segment 2: DVD menu scenes 7-12 (0:39:11-1:14:36, elapsed time 0:36)
• Segment 3: DVD menu scenes 13-20 (1:14:36-1:54:22, elapsed time 0:40, then end credits)

Screening details are provided to help me in running the class and to help you cover material in case you miss a class.

See film modules for film availability.

Readings related to Korean culture in general, "The Song of the Faithful Wife, Ch'un-hyang", Chunhyang (Korea, 2000), and Nine Cloud Dream (Kuunmong)

*You are to have completed a careful reading (see Key Concepts & Terms) of Nine Cloud Dream OR "The Song of the Faithful Wife, Ch'un-hyang" in full by the FIRST session that we discuss it. You are encouraged to read or skim whichever of these two texts is not the required text (so, read one carefully in full and read look over the other one). It is important to read the entire assigned work since we look at narrative development (outcomes of choices, etc.) and expressive styles that only can be captured by seeing the work as a whole, or at least large segments of it. Reading summaries of the work does not provide the necessary perspective.

Bibliography

Nine Cloud Dream

• Nine Cloud Dream (bSpace, PDF; see syllabus for other options)

"Ch'unhyang" (premodern text, bSpace, PDF; see syllabus for other options)

*The below titles match the premodern text to the DVD film scenes.

• "The Song of the Faithful Wife" Introduction. On bSpace as Chunhyang-A Introduction.
• "The Song of the Faithful Wife" Part One. On bSpace as Chunhyang-B Part01 Scenes 1-6.
• "The Song of the Faithful Wife" Parts Two and Three. On bSpace as Chunhyang-C Parts02&03 Scenes 7-12.
• "The Song of the Faithful Wife" Part Four. On bSpace as Chunhyang-D Part04 Scenes 13-20.

Chunhyang (Korea, 2000) film modules (onsite Web pages):

• General Comments, Director, Characters
• Modules 01-03

Pansori:

• Chunhyang (Korea, 2000)—Pansori Prologue lyrics (bSpace, PDF)
• Chunhyang (Korea, 2000)—Pansori Prologue (bSpace, m4v)

Jeong-Han readings

• "A Complex Feeling Tugs at Koreans" Los Angeles Times, January 05, 2011, by John M. Glionna.
• "The Exploration of the Inner Wounds: Han by Jae Hoon Lee, reviewed by David Asomaning in Journal of Religion and Health, 36:4 (Dec., 1997): 383-384.
• "Han The Soul of Korean Literature" by Alex Kroman (Sept, 2000).
• "Jeong-han as a Korean Culture-Bound Narcissism" by Yohan Ka in Pastoral Psychology 59:2 (April 2010): 221-231.
• "Significance of 'Jeong' in Korean Culture and Psychotherapy" by Christopher K. Chung, M.D. & Samson Cho, M.D. — Harbor-UCLA Medical Center
• "Psychology of Korean Han" Korean Times (Online), March 22, 2009 by Jon Huer
• Indigenous and Cultural Psychology: "SELF & PERSONALITY — Naive Psychology of Koreans' interpersonal Mind and Behavior in Close Relationships" (locate through Oskicat search using "Available Online" as the limiter—the drop down menu—and typing into the search window "Indigenous and Cultural")
• American University Studies VII : Theology and Religion, Volume 282: Korean Preaching, Han, and Narrative by Sangyil Park (New York: Peter Lang, 2008) eBrary book

Other cultural readings

• "Feminism and the discourse of sexuality in Korea: Continuities and Changes" Young-Hee Shim, Human Studies, 24:1/2, Intertexts: Philosophy, Literature and the Human Sciences in Korea (2001): 133-148.

Links for Chunhyang (Korea, 2000)

• imdb for the film
• koreanfilm.org on Chunhyang
• English site on Namwon City
• Pansori (the chanting during the film)--includes sound files and comments on characteristics of this type of singing

Other, related to the premodern text and film version of Chunhyang

"Master Lee" in the film is the premodern reading's "Young Master Yi Mong-nyong"

Other, related to Nine Cloud Dream

If interested here's a 7:35 YouTube video "Nine Cloud Dream" described as:

AsianArtMuseum: "Uploaded on May 28, 2009 Digitized from VHS, this video re-tells a popular Korean folktale using a beautiful Korean screen from the collection of the Asian Art Museum."

*UNDER CONSTRUCTION: If this red font phrase underneath the session title has not been erased it means something on this page is incomplete. Perhaps I want to recheck information or perhaps I haven't converted the page from the version of the previous class. It is available but should be taken dubiously.

*ABOUT THIS SESSION: My hope is that you look at this portion BEFORE a session. If there is content here it might help you focus on the main points of the day. However, I add various things here at various times. When I feel I haven't succeeded in class stating something clearly, I might restate it here. Of if it is a difficult concept in might be given in written form here. I will assume that you have read and rechecked for changes this session in preparation for any midterm or test.