In this paper I tried to formulate the characteristics of resistance shown in Hong Gil Dong Jun from the comparative viewpoint of the western picaresque novel and the Chinese knight errant novel which depict "on the road" episodic adventures of heroes...
In this paper I tried to formulate the characteristics of resistance shown in Hong Gil Dong Jun from the comparative viewpoint of the western picaresque novel and the Chinese knight errant novel which depict "on the road" episodic adventures of heroes.
Hong Gil Dong Jun can be said to be first novel dealing with resistance in Korea if we limit its meaning to the protest of the established convention, even though the hero Hong Gil Dong had never plotted coup d'etat or even tried to society. Gil Dong, as an anti-hero, like a picaro and night errant, is an outlaw wandering on the fringes of society. He, renowned for prowess, is different from a picaro who is forced to live by his wits. In many ways Gil Dong is more similar to the Chinese hero than to the western one, but he also differs from the knight errant in the respect that the former pays a great deal of attention to family morality while the latter stresses justification of his act. The resistance of Hong Gil Dong seems to be a proper Korean one descending from tradition.