This study aims to explore a new educational approach to Korean literary history that expands literary perspectives through comparative education with Chinese literary history, grounded in the theoretical framework of macro-comparative literature.
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This study aims to explore a new educational approach to Korean literary history that expands literary perspectives through comparative education with Chinese literary history, grounded in the theoretical framework of macro-comparative literature.
While traditional Korean literary history education has often been confined to a single-nation perspective centered on national literary theory, recent changes in the international environment and the goal of fostering regionally integrated talent necessitate an expansion toward “literary history as regional studies.” Accordingly, this research seeks a new direction for Korean literary history education by focusing on the “regional literature” level of Wang Xiangyuan’s macro-comparative literature methodology, which investigates mutual exchange and commonalities among national literatures. Korean and Chinese literary histories have interacted within the “East Asian Literary Sphere,” sharing a geographical proximity, the common written language (Classical Chinese), and universal ideologies such as Confucianism and Buddhism, while maintaining their respective developmental contexts. This study focuses on the dual identity of these two literary histories: as “national literary histories” with unique developmental patterns and as “regional literary histories” sharing civilizational universality.
To develop a methodology applicable to education, Chapter 2 establishes the “periodization,” “genre systems,” and “literary agents” as the three core units of the comparative framework. By analyzing on Cho Dong-il’s History of Korean Literature and Yuan Xingpei’s History of Chinese Literature, the study examines the distinctiveness of Korea’s Four part System’s theory and periodization versus China’s “Three Ancients and Seven Stages” periodization and traditional “literary style” centered descriptions. This analysis identifies the characteristics and key issues of the two literary histories at both the national and East Asian regional levels.
Chapter 3 designs specific educational content and directions based on these findings. It analyzes the differences in perceptions of the Middle Ages, the distinct settings of the common written language versus national languages, and the influence of universal ideologies on the evolution of genres in both countries. This proposes a dynamic literary history education that transcends mono-national narratives to simultaneously clarify the uniqueness of Korean literature and its interconnectedness with Chinese literature.
Chapter 4 details an experimental class conducted with 43 Chinese learners of the Korean language. The curriculum followed a three-stage procedure: “recognition of literary history description systems,” “enhancement of diachronic perspectives through comparison,” and “cultivation of community spirit through East Asian cultural awareness.” Based on learner responses, the study derived the following implications: first, variations in understanding occurred depending on prior knowledge; second, educational content needs to be focused to enhance comparative perspectives; and third, empirical examples of mutual influence are necessary to mitigate ethnocentric or uni-centric viewpoints. Consequently, the study presents specific educational paradigms (exemplars) categorized into: understanding the dual-language system, understanding the “Gyosul(a critical distinction, allowing for the inclusion of non-fiction and didactic forms like Gasa and Seol that do not fit western or purely Chinese poetic categories)” genre, understanding Confucian cultural characteristics, and understanding medieval literature as universal literature.
In conclusion, this study suggests that applying a macro-comparative perspective can expand the horizons of literary history education beyond the single-nation framework. The transition from a “History of National Literature” to a “Regional Literary History” offers a more comprehensive and objective educational model to help learners understand that while Korean and Chinese literatures developed their own unique values, they did so upon a shared universal foundation. This approach not only enhances literary knowledge but also fosters a sense of regional solidarity and critical thinking in an increasingly globalized world.