『을병연행록』과 여성 독자

Abstract

This study aims for the analysis of a travelogue, Eul-Byeong-Yonhaengrok(乙丙燕行錄) by Hong Dae-yong(洪大容, 1731～1783), writing under the pen name of Damheon(湛軒) from the view point of the relationship with female readers. Especially the analysis focuses on unraveling and identifying the uniqueness of this travelogue, as compared to his other travelogues, such as Yon-Gi(燕記). Eul-Byeong-Yonhaengrok, -estimated as one of his early works, was written for his female family members. In the travelogue, Hong Dae-yongstimulated an interest of female readers’-in Joseon(朝鮮), by describing a daily life of femalesin China. Even though a conservative view against female, womanly virtue in partic-ular, is found, it is a distinctive difference that he observed and wrote about Chinese females and their major interest. In addition, he achieved his own literary creativeness to effectively deliever what he experienced and observed in China to female readers in Korea through various writing styles. He described the Chinese products, of women’s interest in depth, annotated Chinese poem and difficult vocabulary, and cut down academic content. He also used the novelistic techniques to lively visualize his travel experience to China. His profound erudition of the Chinese novel, as Shui-Hu-Zhuan (水滸傳) made it possible. I think that the analysis of travelogues on China written in Korean needs to be performed in womens’ view point because travel essays written in Korean includingEul-Byeong-Yonhaengrok were the major reading matters for females in the late Joseon dynasty.