<석촌별곡(石村別曲)>에 나타난 현실 인식과 그 의미

Abstract

Seokchon Byeolgok is the work of Jeong Hae-jeong (1850-1923), also known by the courtesy name of Jangil as well as the pen names Bangsil and Seokchon. The creation of Seokchon Byeolgok was inspired by two factors. First, Jeong Hae-jeong, who, as a descendant of Songgang Jeong-cheol, actively enjoyed Songgang’s gasa and was familiar with the tradition of gasa, considered gasa a means of consoling one’s grievances. Secondly, he desired to express his opposition to the clothing reform. The clothing reform called for official attire to be simplified. Jeong Hae-jung believed that the clothing reform undermined tradition and threatened Joseon's identity as ‘Little China’. The most significant feature of Seokchon Byeolgok is that it imitates the external form of gihaeng gasa(travel poetry), narrating a journey in chronological order and detailing the emotions inspired by the journey, but the sentiments evoked by the incredible views are rooted in the narrator’s internal turmoil and sense of melancholy caused by the problems of reality. Jeong Hae-jeong overtly expressed his anger over the problems of the real world and clearly displayed his desire to withdraw from reality into nature and stick firmly to his beliefs. By doing so, he created a work that displays an acute consciousness of contemporary issues in a literary form based on the gasa of the preceding era, arguably the model standard of gasa. Though the sentiments portrayed in Seokchon Byeolgok may seem conservative and outdated in the context of the late 19th century, a fast-changing era due to factors such as the collapse of the feudal system and the invasion of foreign powers, Seokchon Byeolgok is meaningful in proving that gasa was still effective as a means of responding to personal events and the demands of the times in a literary way.