어린이 책으로 재탄생한 <운영전>에 대한 고찰

Abstract

Examined in this article is how the classical novel Un’yeong-jeon was rebornin the 2000s as a book for the children. And the meaning the book still retainstoday is examined here as well. Un’yeong-jeon is a tragic love story between Un’yeong, a lowly court lady whowas serving the royal family inside the palace, and a male who is referred to asJinsa Kim. But Un’yeong-jeon is not a mere love story between two people, andthere are other characters as well. There is prince An’pyeong Dae’gun, who lovesUn’yeong but does not reveal his true feelings, while there is also a Shaman femalewho is quite frustrated for not being able to win Jinsa Kim’s heart. And addedto those two characters there is also a servant who is very open in his expressionof desire and interest in females and money. These characters continuously intervenein the main characters’ love story and add fun to the overall story of Un’yeong-jeon. Also, we should remember the 10 court ladies who appear in Un’yeong-jeon aswell. They have a strong bond together, and also stand with each other even inthe face of prince An’pyeong Dae’gun to protect Un’yeong. It is quite a rare situationthat can be found from a classical novel, and not to mention an impressive sceneas well. Also the fact that the main narrator of the story of Un’yeong-jeon is noother than Un’yeong herself, is what makes Un’yeong-jeon a very special case inthe history of classic novels. Then, what would have been the intention of the modern writers who redesigned this book Un’yeong-jeon for the children recently? Such intentions may have differedaccording to the diversity of the characters of the writers involved in the redesignas well as their individual interpretations of Un’yeong-jeon. Examined in this articleare total of 4 versions of Un’yeong-jeon published in the 2000s as a children book,which informs us of what kind of issues and formats should be considered fora classic novel’s transformation into a modern children book.