『해동죽지(海東竹枝)』에 나타난 한국 음식문화와 사료적 가치

Abstract

Haedongjukji, written by Choi Yeongnyeon, is the last-published collection of jukjisa, a type of poetry originally intended to be sung, from the Joseon Dynasty to the Japanese colonial period. Haedongjukji was completed in 1921, 11 years after the start of the Japanese colonial period. At the time, Korea was undergoing a huge cultural meltdown as various cultures were gathered and mixed. Since Haedongjukji contains records of unique customs and cultures of pre-modern Korea, it has a significant value as a historical source to study traditional Korean food culture free from foreign influence. Choi Yeongnyeon, who was born in a low-rank official’s family, was a representative pro-Japanese Chinese- literature scholar, literature publisher, chief editor, and head of newspaper. Haedongjukji thus focused on descriptions of the culture of Joseon’s upper class called yangban that he directly or indirectly experienced. Haedongjukji consisted of a total of 557 jukjisas: 221 poems with 216 titles in the first volume; 203 poems with 203 titles in the second volume (66 poems for Sokakyuhui (Music and Amusements), 64 poems for Myeongjeolpungsok (Holiday Customs), and 73 poems for Eumsikmyeongmul (Food Specialties)); and 133 poems with 133 titles in the last volume. Among them, 99 poems were about food ingredients or foods. In this paper, Haedongjukji's jukjisas related to food ingredients and foods will be analyzed in order to study the Korean food culture in the early 1990s. Myeongjeolpungsok, contained in the second volume of Haedongjukji, covers seasonal customs for one year, including unique foods for each sub-season in the Korean lunar calendar. The agricultural base of Korea and its four seasons causing a regular growth-harvest cycle of various plants brought about the development of distinctive seasonal customs and creation of irreplaceable food for each sub-season. Eumsikmyeongmul of Haedongjukji covers all ingredients obtainable from various places such as mountains, fields, rivers, sea, and so on throughout the entire country. Eumsikmyeongmul comprises 31 ingredient-related jukjisas and 43 food-related jukjisas that clearly show specific regional features. When classified according to regions, 15 of these 43 food-related jukjisas described foods in the capital and Gyeonggi-do region. During the era of King Yeongjo and King Jeongjo of Joseon, the prohibition on alcohols was strictly imposed. However, in the late Joseon era, the prohibition was loosened, resulting in the drinking culture of enjoying alcohol with meals. The culture was prevalent among not only yangbans, but also ordinary people. Haedongjukji includes many poems about alcohol: 4 jukjisas with the theme of alcohol and 22 jukjisas describing the drinking culture. This shows the uniqueness of the drinking culture in the Joseon Dynasty. This study mainly concentrates on foods not described in the previous documents but first appeared in Haedongjukji. From Haedongjukji, a record of hyojonggaeng, a hangover soup and first delivery food, and a record of heojeban sold in Daegu’s market in 1920s, were found. Haedongjukji also introduces a recipe of doritang, which is similar, albeit different in ingredients, to the modern recipe of dakbokkeumtang (braised spicy chicken). It also describes gyulhyanggo, a kind of rice cake made of a mandarin. It is also notable that Haedongjukji is the first Korean document mentioning a China-derived dish called palboban. Haedongjukji contains important information about the Korean upper class’s – mainly yangban’s - food culture during the enlightenment and Japanese colonial period. Previous studies on Haedongjukji have mostly focused on Korea’s traditional games, holiday cultures, seasonal customs, and so on, rarely dealing with food cultures. This study is expected to lead to further studies on food cultures described in Haedongjukji in the viewpoint of food culture history, thereby shedding new light on traditional Korean foods.