This study examines the poetic world of Baekgok Kim Deuk-sin (1604~1684) with a focus on the printed editions of Baekgokjip, and aims to contribute to identifying his poetic characteristics, thereby laying a modest groundwork for reassessing his pos...
This study examines the poetic world of Baekgok Kim Deuk-sin (1604~1684) with a focus on the printed editions of Baekgokjip, and aims to contribute to identifying his poetic characteristics, thereby laying a modest groundwork for reassessing his position in the history of Korean literature. Previous studies on Baekgok’s poetry have been conducted primarily on the basis of the descendant-held manuscript, while no research has undertaken a comprehensive bibliographical examination with the printed editions as the principal object of analysis. Recognizing that a full understanding of Baekgok’s poetic world cannot be achieved without a study of the printed editions, this dissertation reexamines materials related to Baekgokjip with an emphasis on the printed editions, and seeks to reilluminate Baekgok’s poetic world through the translation and interpretation of poems newly discovered in these editions.
Chapter II surveys Baekgok’s family background and life, and examines the aspects of his life with a focus on his inner sorrow. Baekgok was born into a family in which three successive generations passed the civil service examination; his grandfather rendered distinguished service during the Imjin War, and his family had long resided in the Chungcheong region. The pride and sense of responsibility formed within this environment exerted a profound influence on his life and poetry, manifesting as an attitude that acknowledged reality while simultaneously compelling persistent effort. By viewing his life in conjunction with his family background, this chapter confirms the deep sorrow reflected in Baekgok’s poetry.
Chapter III begins with a reexamination of the commentary on Baekgokjip in the Hanguk Munjip Chonggan, which has led to misunderstandings in previous bibliographical studies. A total of eleven versions of Baekgokjip, including copies held by the National Library of Korea, the Jonggyeonggak Library, and the descendant family, are surveyed and their textual lineages classified. As a result, four printed editions belonging to the same lineage are identified. Among the manuscripts, four belong to the same lineage as the extant printed editions, one is a manuscript copy transcribed from a printed edition that is no longer extant, and two belong to lineages different from the printed editions. In particular, the discovery of the Yeungnam University Library copy, a variant of the descendant-held manuscript, demonstrates that the descendant-held manuscript is not a unique surviving copy.
This chapter further examines the publication process of the printed editions and raises questions regarding the hypothesis proposed in previous studies that Baekgokjip was published in Daegu by Bak Mun-su. An analysis of the “Gi-mun-nok” included in Baekgokjip Buruk, together with an investigation of publication sites, confirms that the place of publication of Baekgokjip can be identified only as Jeonju. The Daegu publication hypothesis is interpreted as a survival strategy adopted by Baekgok’s descendants to avoid political suspicion in the aftermath of Yi In-jwa’s rebellion. In addition, it is confirmed that the National Library of Korea copy is not a final corrected version by Bak Se-dang, but a manuscript produced in the nineteenth century.
Moreover, forty poems found exclusively in the printed editions are identified, demonstrating that the prevailing view—that the descendant-held manuscript was compiled on the basis of the printed editions—cannot be sustained. Using the fire that occurred at Kim Ga-won’s house in 1725 as a reference point, this study distinguishes the printed editions as having been produced from materials predating the loss, whereas the descendant-held manuscript is understood to have been compiled from materials organized after the loss.
Chapter IV translates and interprets all works discovered in the printed editions. The poems are classified into dated and undated works. The dated poems focus on works composed from the time of refuge during the Manchu invasion of 1636 to 1666, examining Baekgok’s life and poetic world within this period. The undated poems are analyzed by categorizing them into poems of social exchange, poems of wandering, and other poems, through which Baekgok’s patterns of social exchange, inner sorrow, and wandering are identified. Rather than expressing emotions directly, Baekgok’s poetry recreates experience and emotion through vivid depictions of surrounding objects, a method closely connected to the creative attitude of go-eum (carefully wrought composition) mentioned in the preface to Baekgokjip.