Narrative
Chun Yang
춘향전
Anonymous · 1750
Synopsis
At Namwon, in Jeolla, Yi Mong-ryong, a nobleman's son, falls in love with Chunhyang, daughter of Wolmae, a former courtesan; according to the versions, the young woman is herself a courtesan or the natural daughter of a notable. They love each other, but the difference in station separates them, and the young man must leave. A new magistrate, Byeon Hak-do, arrives in Namwon and claims to impose his will on Chunhyang, who remains faithful to the man she loves.
Context
The story was first sung in pansori before being fixed in writing. The oldest known document, a version of 1754 transmitted in Chinese, predates more than a hundred and twenty variants, which are grouped into two families: that of Seoul, including a manuscript copied in the 1860s, and that of Jeonju, including the version in eighty-four chapters published in the last years of the nineteenth century, the most widely read. The Jeonbuk Ilbo notes that the heroine changes character from one to the other, proud in one, virtuous in the other. The French translation follows the Jeonju edition.
Who it is for
A short narrative, to be read in the translation by Choi Mikyung and Jean-Noël Juttet, reissued in 2008 and in 2025.
Prizes and reception
Translated into Russian as early as 1960; a French adaptation, Printemps parfumé, had appeared as early as 1892.