Choe Cheok jeon
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Choecheokjeon (최척전 The Tale of Choe Cheok) is a Korean classical novel written in Chinese. It is also considered a biographical novel. Set between the late 16th and early 17th century in Joseon, Japan, China and Vietnam, the novel depicts a family's diaspora and reunion during the turmoil of wars that swept East Asia. It is a poignant story of how Choe Cheok and Ok-yeong overcome the atrocities of war and reunite.
Authorship and publication
Jo Wi-han (趙緯韓, 1567–1649) published this Chinese-language novel in 1621. He served as an official during the reigns of Prince Gwanghae (r. 1608–1623) and King Injo (r. 1623–1649). He served his tenure while experiencing a series of tumultuous domestic and international historical incidents, including the Japanese Invasions of Korea (1592–1598), the Injo Restoration (1623), and the Qing Invasion of Joseon (1636). Choecheokjeon is said to have been written while he was staying in Namwon as a retiree from public service, after hearing about Choe Cheok's troubled life. Jo was close friends with prominent writers of the time, including Heo Gyun (許筠, 1569–1618) and Gwon Pil (權韠, 1569–1612). It is worth noting that the three writers have published masterful novels in an age when their society was highly critical of novels.
Plot
Choe Cheok is from Namwon, Jeolla-do Province. While studying at one of his father's friend's home, he falls in love with Ok-yeong. When he proposes to her, her parents object to it because he is poor, but Ok-yeong is able to persuade her parents, and they become engaged. However, days before their marriage, the Japanese invade Joseon. Then Choe Cheok joins a righteous army and goes to the front, while Ok-yeong's parents arrange her marriage with a rich man named Yang-saeng. At this, she tries to persuade her parents but to no avail, so she attempts to take her own life by hanging herself, which stops her parents’ insistence on her marriage with Yang-saeng.
Choe Cheok and Ok-yeong get married, have their son Mong-seok, and live a happy life together. Soon, however, the Japanese forces invade Namwon, and the family hides in Jirisan Mountain. While Choe Cheok is away from home searching for food, the Japanese come to their shelter and Ok-gyeong is caught and kidnapped by an old Japanese soldier named Don-u. Having lost his family, Choe Cheok experiences a mental breakdown. Then he moves to Ming China, following Yeo Yu-mun (余有文), a Ming dynasty general. In the meantime, Choe Cheok's father and Ok-yeong's mother have survived the war and return home to take care of their grandson, Mong-seok. They spend their days missing Choe Cheok and Ok-yeong.
Meanwhile, Don-u, who has kidnaped Ok-yeong but takes good care of her, disguises her as a man and they become merchants sailing around foreign countries on a trade ship, whereas Choe Cheok frequently visits Vietnam on a trade ship with his friend Song-u (宋佑). On one quiet night, Choe Cheok plays a bamboo flute at a port in Vietnam. Upon hearing the music, Ok-yeong, aboard a Japanese trade ship, recites a Chinese poem only she and her husband know about. The next day, Choe Cheok visits the Japanese trade ship and reunites with Ok-yeong, and all witnesses around the couple marvel at this miraculous event. Choe Cheok and Ok-yeong return home from China and have their second son Mong-seon, who later marries Hong-do (紅桃), daughter of Jin Wi-gyeong (陳偉慶), a Chinese soldier who was dispatched to Joseon during the Japanese Invasions of Korea.
Later when the Later Jin invades the Ming dynasty in China, Choe Cheok is drafted again to the Ming forces, saddening Ok-yeong, who fears that her husband may not return home alive. The Ming forces have a great defeat, and Choe Cheok becomes a prisoner of war. In the concentration camp, he miraculously comes across his eldest son Mong-seok, who has joined the Joseon forces (which have entered the war, following the request of Ming China) and become a prisoner of war after the defeat of his forces. With help of a sympathetic Later Jin soldier, Choe Cheok and his son safely escape from the camp, but face trouble when Choe Cheok develops abscesses on his back on the way to Namwon. Then they come across a Ming person named Jin Wi-gyeong who treats Choe Cheok well. Choe Cheok soon realizes that Jin is the father of Hong-do, his Chinese daughter-in-law. Together with Jin, Choe Cheok and his son return home, 20 years after leaving Namwon, thereby reuniting with the rest of their family in Joseon.
On the other hand, Ok-yeong, who has been separated from Choe Cheok and has left Joseon, prepares for a journey home, upon hearing the rumor that, even though the Ming forces have been defeated, many Joseon people have survived and returned home. Ok-yeong and her family are caught by a sea storm during the journey. They are stranded on a deserted island and lose their ship to pirates, but they are soon safely rescued by a Joseon trade ship returning from Vietnam. Ok-yeong, along with Mong-seon and his wife, returns to Namwon, reuniting with Choe Cheok and other family members. Likewise, the Chinese man Jin Wi-Gyeong reunites with his daughter Hong-do in Joseon, and they live happily ever after.
Features and significance
Among seventeenth century Korean novels, Choecheokjeon is regarded as the most realistic representation of society at the time because the work depicted atrocities of war that took place during the period of hegemonic shift in East Asia associated with the Japanese Invasions of Korea, the war between Ming China and the Later Jin, and other wars. The novel is also significant in that it expanded the narrative space from Korea to China, Japan, and Vietnam; that it created an archetype of an active and energetic woman through the protagonist Ok-yeong; and that it has a favorable view of international marriage (e.g. the marriage between Choe Cheok's second son Mong-seon and the Chinese woman Hong-do) and foreigners.
Choecheokjeon is a rare work among classical Korean novels as its author and publication date are known despite the conservative vibe of the Joseon society that was critical of novels. Depending on the perspective, the novel is considered a Buddhist novel, a historical novel, or a romance novel as it combines diverse story elements. Furthermore, the short story Hong-do (紅桃 The Tale of Hong-do) appearing in Eou yadam (於于野談 Eou's Unofficial Histories) written by Yu Mong-in (柳夢寅, 1559–1623) has a plot development similar to that of Choecheokjeon. Likewise, Gimyeongcheoljeon (김영철전 The Tale of Kim Yeong-cheol) written by Hong Se-tae (洪世泰, 1653–1725) is often mentioned along with Choecheokjeon because the former also deals with the issue of war and separated families.
Texts
Five transcribed copies of Choecheokjeon (Seoul National University edition, Korea University edition, Kim Mo edition, and Gan Ho-yun edition), along with one transcribed copy of its Korean translation (Yonsei University edition) and five transcribed copies of the abbreviated versions of the novel, have survived to the present day. Among these, the most well-known is the Seoul National University edition. Its front cover says 奇遇錄, or “record of a bizarre meeting,” and the first inner page says 崔陟傳, or “the tale of Choe Cheok.” The book consists of 32 pages, with each page featuring nine lines containing up to 30 letters.
References
- Jo, Wi-han. Korean Classic Stories Vol. 3 War & Exile. Translated by Ally Hwang. Seoul Selection, 2013. https://issuu.com/seoulselection/docs/war_exile.
- Encyclopedia of Korean Culture. “Choecheokjeon.” https://terms.naver.com/entry.nhn?docId=529431&cid=46641&categoryId=46641.