A Research on North Korea’s Modern Way of Accepting the Tale Chinegaksi (Centipede maiden)

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S/N Korean Humanities Vol.2 No.2 pp.17-36 ISSN : 2384-0668(Print)
ISSN : 2384-0692(Online)

Kim Jong-Kun, Feng Ying-Dun
k870010@hanmail.net
fengyingdun@gmail.com
The Institute of Humanities for Unification, Konkuk University
The Institute of Humanities for Unification, Konkuk University


Received June 30 2016; Revised version received July 31 2016; Accepted August 15 2016

Abstract

North Korean tale Ch’ŏngryongŭi poŭnn which was covered in this article is a representative folktale which was modified based on Juche Ideology. It is identical with Chinegaksi which is a representative folktale in the Korean penisula except for the ending part. The difference in the ending is whether the fortune given to the male protagonist is individual or collective in its nature. This difference seems to be due to modification with the influence of collective morality and Juche ideology of North Korea. To assess the literary value of the modified narrative, this article learned about the identity and value of this tale based on the pre-division era records. And by comparing how modern tales in South and North Korea from a similar period and status accept archetype of this tale, this article aimed to analyze the narrative value of this tale. North Korean tale Ch’ŏngryongŭi poŭnn will be regarded as an important material to understand the social culture of North Korea and an old story with the message of social integration in the future society of the unified Korean peninsula. This tale is a story about two different beings trusting each other and working toward a better future. In other words, it is a story about the value of “symbiosis” being realized in the dimension of “group.” Despite the modification intention behind this literature which is based on the North Korean view of history, this tale is an important literary work that shows what kind of life “we” as a group should pursue in a modern society filled with suspicion and fear.


Key Words : The Korean peninsula, Chinegaksi, Ch’ŏngryongŭi poŭnn, symbiosis, folktale modification method of North Korea

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