전근대 한국 문학 속의 자연재해 ―18세기와 19세기의 자연재해를 중심으로―

Abstract

This paper analyzes the various portrayals of natural disasters in pre-modern Korean literary works. The focus is on the 18th- and 19th-century disasters. In pre-modern Korea, natural disasters were recorded in detail in official court and other historical records. In-depth studies of these writings have been carried out by scholars in relevant fields. However, there is also an abundance of references to natural disasters in literary works; they have not received much attention. This paper examines literary works that are specifically about the frequently- occurring natural disasters, such as severe weather, great famine, great flood, and storms. The paper argues that the literary works are rich in information that complement archival writings about the natural disasters. For works dealing with 18th-century disasters, the paper examines writings by local scholars living in rural communities. In particular, it examines “Imgyetan” (壬癸歎, “Black Rat Black Ox Lamentation,” author unknown), a long poem written in Hangeul. The poem laments miseries caused by a severe famine that ravaged the Jangheung area, Jeolla Province in 1732 (the Year of Black Rat) and 1733 (the Year of Black Ox). The paper argues that this work shows a local intellectual’s perspective and sensitivity to the pains brought on by a great natural disaster. The paper also examines dozens of hansi --poems in Classical Chinese-- written about the great famine of 1782 by YU Gyeong-jong (1714~1784), an Ansan-area yangban. Here the perspective of a wealthy man of letters is examined. For the 19th-century disasters, this paper examines mostly works by government officials who lived in Seoul. SEONG Hae-eung describes the outbreak of cholera following the great flood of 1821; he focuses on the enormous scale of damages and the prevalence of fear and worries. SEO Gi-su describes the great flood of 1832; the focus of his writing is on exposing the corruption and incompetence of public offices. The various writers take on different perspectives, some that of a victim, others that of a sympathetic yet neutral witness. These literary writings are detailed records of and witnesses to the natural disasters of the times, and yet they also contain active emotional responses, such as fear and anger. Some of them also have the characteristics of an exposé on the man-made nature of the disasters. Thus this paper highlights an aspect of the literary works dealing with natural disasters that distinguishes them from official and archival records.