야담의 정본화와 연구 지평

초록

This paper was written on the occasion of the publication of The Standard Collated and Annotated Complete Collection of Late Joseon Yadam (校勘標點定本韓國夜談全集; 10 vols.), a newly standardized edition of yadam narratives from the late Joseon period. It offers a preliminary reflection on the future direction of yadam research. This collection marks the first scholarly attempt at dynamic standardization, serving both as a comprehensive compendium of late Joseon yadam and as a pioneering contribution to the field of textual collation studies. Through this project, critical editions of original yadam texts have been completed, enabling future comprehensive and interdisciplinary approaches to the genre. To frame this discussion, the author revisits several contextual considerations. In particular, the paper emphasizes the need to reposition yadam within a broader literary and historical framework by examining the internal and external conditions of the mid-to-late eighteenth century, the period widely regarded as the peak of yadam production. This approach aims to overcome the research inertia that has resulted from a narrow focus on yadam as an isolated phenomenon. The paper also assesses the current stagnation in yadam studies, identifying the causes of this decline and proposing practical strategies for revitalization. These include a more holistic engagement with the entire body of late Joseon yadam, comparative study with other literary genres, interdisciplinary dialogue, and expansion of the research horizon to East Asian and global contexts. To achieve meaningful progress in these areas, the author calls for a fundamental reorientation of research methods and interpretive perspectives. Specifically, scholars must move beyond meticulous reading (ggomggomhan ilkki; 꼼꼼한 읽기) and the conventional focus on the affirmative aspects of society and human emotion, instead adopting critical reading as a way to uncover the “shadows” of the era—those elements that remain obscured or unspoken. As a case study, the paper examines the geomnyeo(檢女) narrative, which emerged with notable frequency in the mid-to-late eighteenth century, during a transitional period for revenge narratives and revenge theory. The geomnyeo, an extreme and marginalized figure, enacts private vengeance that dramatizes the harsh reality of commoners—especially women—who were excluded from the protection of legitimate state authority. At the same time, the geomnyeo’s revenge can be interpreted as a reflection of the mentalité of the marginalized populace. In this light, the narrative exposes the underside of late eighteenth-century Joseon society, a period otherwise celebrated as its most splendid.

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