Hong Gildong jeon (Korean: 홍길동전) is a Korean novel, often translated as The Biography of Hong Gildong, written during the Joseon period. The novel is considered an iconic piece of Korean literature and culture.
Hong Gildong, an illegitimate son of a nobleman and his lowborn concubine, is the main character of the story. Gifted with supreme intelligence and supernatural abilities, he steals from rich and corrupt aristocrats. Historical sources point to the existence of a bandit named Hong Gildong who was arrested in 1500,[1] but the historical inspiration for the character was the Korean bandit and folk hero Im Kkeokjeong, who lived in the early 16th century.[2]
"During the 15th year of King Sejong's reign in the nation of Joseon, there was only one prime minister[3]outside of the doors of Hong Hee-mun; his surname was Hong and his given name was Mun...[4]"
This is the first sentence of the novel, introducing the main character, Hong Gil-dong's father. It is the beginning of the complete 36-chapter edition of Hong Gildong-jeon. Among the various editions of Hong Gildong-jeon, this is the most widely used edition in academia. It is a different edition (이본/異本) written much later than the original.
Hong Gildong jeon can also be referred to as just 'Hong Gil-dong', abbreviating the word jeon (전/傳), meaning 'novel' or 'story' in Hanja.
Plot
Various versions of Hong Gildong jeon exist, each including different details but following the same skeleton and timeline. The story is usually divided into three equal parts, each occurring in different settings.[5]
The first part is set in the residence of the Hong Family. After waking from an auspicious dream, the High Minister, Hong Mo, lies with a lowborn maid and conceives Hong Gildong. The story then shifts to Gildong's childhood where he masters his physical, mental, and magical abilities. The first part concludes with Hong Gildong stopping an assassin's attempt on his life and then leaving the Hong residence, unsatisfied with his status as a secondary son.
In the second part, Hong Gildong becomes the leader of a band of outlaws whom he names Hwalbindang ("league of those who help the impoverished").[6] Gildong and his band steal from locations where wealth is held throughout the country, like storehouses and temples. As his robberies become bolder and more frequent, he draws the attention of the King and ultimately ends up leaving the country in self-imposed exile.
The third part takes place in the country of Yul. Hong Gildong starts over with the Hwalbindang at the island of Jae and then overthrows the King of Yul to become King. He rules as a benevolent king and begins his own family at Yul, in which he treats his secondary and primary sons equally.
Many aspects of Hong Gildong-jeon are very similar to that of other heroic novels, featuring noble lineage, abnormal birth, extraordinary abilities, crises, and the overcoming and conquering of those crises—also the typical elements of Korean and other East-Asian classic novels. However, it presents more developed themes compared to other rather simplistic entertainment novels of the Joseon era, which mainly centered around characters trying to achieve success and fame.
Literary context, themes and history
Hong Gildong is often viewed as a reflection of its time. Depending on the Heo Gyun authorship model or the one that Kang proposes, this perspective differs. Kang suggests that peace and prosperity in 18th century Korea under the rule of Yeongjo and Jeongjo allowed for increased social mobility and literacy. This led to the development of a market for popular fiction, and Hong Gildong jeon is exemplary of these kinds of novels.[6]
There are more than 34 existing manuscripts of Hong Gildong jeon. Scholars are uncertain which, if any, is the original manuscript, but some evidence suggests that the pilsa 89 manuscript is the oldest surviving version.[7]
Debates
Authorship
The original author of Hong Gildong remains a debate.
The debate centers largely on two sides, with one believing that Hong Gildong was written by a 16th-century Korean scholar and thinker, Heo Gyun (1569–1618), and the other believing that it was written by a unknown author whose name is lost.
Arguments for Heo Gyun's authorship
Authorship of the novel is sometimes attributed to Heo Gyun, a radical intellectual who long dreamed of changing Korea into a fair society with fewer strict class hierarchies. The first attribution to Heo Gyun is from the writings of 'Taek-dang'[8] Yi Sik (이식 李植 1584–1647), his former student,[7] in his art collection 'Taek-Dang-jip',[9] or 'The works of Taek-Dang', compiled by himself and the help of others.[10] In the 15th kwon, or script, of the separate collection of Teak-Dang-jip, 「산록(散錄)」, It is written that Heo Gyun wrote Hong Gildong with homage to Water Margin.[11] Proponents of this theory, alongside speculating that Heo Gyun might have wrote the book during the late 16th or early 17th century with inspiration from the Chinese novel Water Margin,[12] believe that this possibility is likely as Yi Sik, being Heo Gyun's pupil, and only being 15 years apart, would have known him firsthand, making him a reliable witness.[13]
Notable advocates of this theory include Sim-Jae[14] (심재 沈梓, 1624 - 1693) and Hong Han Ju (홍한주 洪翰周, 1798- 1868), Who both wrote in each of their own books 송천필담(松泉筆譚) and 지수점필(智水拈筆) that Heo Gyun wrote Hong Gil Dong, Citing Yi-Sik's Taek Dang Jip. Sim-Jae was an extremist Nam-in, and Hong Han Ju was the grandson of the cousin of Hong Guk-yeong, a Sedo (세도) family-man of early Jeongjo's rule, which can serve as proof that Yi Sik's testament was convincing to some contemporary figures, regardless of political parties and background.[15]
Furthermore, Heo Gyun is said to be the author because of his radical ideas of political revolution, which are projected in Hong Gildong's journey from secondary son to king.
Arguments against Heo Gyun's authorship
Academics, who argue against Heo Gyun's authorship on the other hand, attribute the authorship to another figure or a lost individual.
Professor Lee Yoon-suk argues that even though Heo-Gyun lived in the late 16th to the early 17th century, Jang Gil-san [ko], a late 17th-century figure, who was a bandit in real life, and Sun-hye-chung, 선혜청(宣惠廳), an 18th-century institution, appears in the novel, making it impossible for him to have written it, alongside the circumstantial evidence of all other pure Hangul novels emerging in the late 18th century.[16][17] Instead, he argues that the original of Hong Gil Dong Jeon was written by 'Ji so'[18] Hwang il Ho (황일호1588∼1641), as Noh hyuk Jeon (노혁전 盧革傳), in Jiso-sunseng-mun-jip (지소선생문집), or the works of the scholar Ji-So.[19] Lee goes to emphasize that In Noh hyuk Jeon, or the story of Noh Hyuk, Hwang Il Ho states early on that "Noh-Hyuk's original surname is Hong, and his given name "Gil-Dong", and (he) truly is from a notable family in our nation...", making sure that the character was Hong Gil-Dong.[20]
In a 2013 article in Azalea: Journal of Korean Literature & Culture, Minsoo Kang argues that the claim for Heo Gyun as author of the novel is based on flawed and biased scholarship. He proposes instead that the extant version of the novel was written around the mid-19th century, or not long before that, "by an anonymous writer of secondary or commoner status".[7]
Controversy over its status as the first 'Only Hangul' novel[21]
Cultural legacy
In addition to its reputation as a literary work, Hong Gildong jeon has become widely known in Korean culture through various adaptations across different mediums. The story has inspired films, TV shows, comics, literary re-tellings, and video games, and continues to be frequently adapted. Korean rapper G-Dragon makes several references to him in his lyrics. For example, in "Knock Out," he says, "They call me Hong Gildong". There is a Hong Gildong theme park in Jangseong County,[22] traditionally thought to be the character's birthplace, and a Hong Gildong festival is held in Jangseong each year.[23]
The character of Hong Gildong has become a mainstay of Korean culture and literature. In Korea today, Hong Gildong is a common placeholder name, similar to John Doe in the United States.[24][25] Charles Montgomery of the website Korean Literature in Translation explains, "In Korean literature Hong Gildong is legion. He is a fixture from one of the most important early novels in Hangul – he is the first truly 'Korean' main character".[26] Professor Minsoo Kang writes in the foreword to his translation, "The Story of Hong Gildong is arguably the single most important work of classic (i.e., premodern) prose fiction of Korea, in terms of not only its literary achievement but also of its influence on the larger culture".[6] NPR's Ari Shapiro explained on Fresh Air, "Sometimes, a single character can help define a country's sense of self. Here in the U.S., you might think of Jay Gatsby in The Great Gatsby or Superman. In North and South Korea, it's Hong Gildong".[27]
The similarities of the plot of Hong-Gildong being a folk bandit has drawn him comparisons to famous bandits like the English folk hero Robin Hood and Australia's Ned Kelly.
Adaptations
Shin Dong-wu created the South Korean Hong Gildong comic books in the 1960s, creating the iconic image of the hero in a blue shirt and yellow hat.[28]
The story was adapted into a South Korean animated feature film of the same name in 1967.[29]
A South Korean animated feature film sequel named Hong Gil-dong Janggun (홍길동 장군, "General Hong Gildong") followed in 1969.[30]
The South Korean 1983 animated feature film Uju Jeonsa Hong Gil-dong (우주전사 홍길동, "Space Soldier Hong Gil dong") takes the character into a science fiction setting.[31]
A South Korean action video game adaption, Hong Kil Dong, was released for Master System and MSX computers in 1990 by Clover.[33]
A South Korean role-playing video game, Hong Gil-dong jeon (홍길동전), was released for IBM compatible computers in 1993 by A+.[34]
A sequel to the 1993 game, the interactive movieHong Gil-dong jeon 2 (홍길동전 2), was released in 1995.[35]
Another South Korean animated feature film was released in 1995 with the title Doraon Yeongung Hong Gil-dong (돌아온 영웅 홍길동, "Returned Hero Hong Gildong").[36]
A platform game video game adaption of the 1995 animated feature film with the same title was released in December 1995 by LG for Windows.[37]
The 1995 South Korean role-playing video gameThe Romance of Forgotten Kingdom (망국전기~잊혀진 나라의 이야기, Mangguk Jeon'gi: Ichyeojin Nara-ui Iyagi) takes place in Yuldo, the country founded by Hong Gildong in the original story.[38]
The manhwa series Hong Gil-dong: Murim jeonsa rok (홍길동~무림전사록) by Oh Se-kwon (오세권) was started in 2004 and tells the story of Hong Gildong's return to Joseon in a fantasy world with cyberpunk elements.
A character from Hong Gildong was also adapted in the Shin Agyo Onshimanga as female bandit leader.
A South Korean TV series entitled Hong Gil-Dong, The Hero (a.k.a. Hong Gil-dong), first aired on January 2, 2008 on KBS2.
A modern-day film adaptation named Descendants of Hong Gil-Dong was made in 2009.[39]
In the 2010 musical Hong Gil-dong, Sungmin and Yesung of Super Junior played the historical figure. It played at the Woori Financial Art Hall at the Olympic Park from 18 February 18 April 2010.[40]
In the Seoul Broadcasting System TV series Running Man, Haha played 'Ha Gil-dong' (an adaptation of Hong Gil-dong) in a special superheroes episode, broadcast on 12 October 2014.
A comic action thriller, Phantom Detective, depicts a modern-day Hong Gil-dong as a detective.[41]
The Story of Hong Gil Dong. Seoul: The Korean Classical Literature Institute (Baek AM Publishing Company), 2000. Bilingual edition based on the gyeongpan 30 manuscript.
"Hong Kil Tong, The Adventures of an Abused Boy," translated by Horace Newton Allen. In Korean Tales: Being a Collection of Stories Translated from the Korean Folk Lore. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1889. 170-93. Loosely translated, verging on a retelling.
^The collection comprises 34 kwons/scripts (卷) and 17 books in total, and was first made in wood print (목판). The first ten scripts of the original collection (원집 原集) and the first four scripts of the sequel collection (속집 續集) were compiled and editied by Yi Sik himself, and the fifth and sixth kwons in the sequel collection were edited by Kim Su Hang (김수항 金壽恒, 1629-1689), consisting of Yi Sik's works after the age of 54. The special/separate collection (별집 別集) was edited by Song Si Yeol (송시열 宋時烈, 1607-1689). https://encykorea.aks.ac.kr/Article/E0059124
^Heo Gyun himself, in his poem collection '성소부부고(惺所覆瓿藁)', has mentioned Water Margin himself, claiming that 'it is a novel of quality that criticizes and betrays the corruption and hypocrisy of the time's society.' https://encykorea.aks.ac.kr/Article/E0029388
^DBDic.com (디비딕닷컴) (2001). Neo geugeo ani? 너 그거 아니? (Did you know that?). ISBN89-7075-229-3. Retrieved September 22, 2006 from Naver Books.
^Kang, Minsoo (August 23, 2016). "Hong Gildong: Classic Korean Fiction's Number One Hero". Asian American Writers' Workshop. Retrieved 2024-12-09. ... [W]idespread use of his name as the generic cognomen in the manner of 'John Doe.' Edited from the Introduction to Kang, 2016.
