• Journal of Korean Classical Literature and Education
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• no.32
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• pp.63-118
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• 2016

The purpose of this study is to examine the change in literary materials in secondary school Korean textbooks and literature textbooks as per the 2009 revised curriculum. Literary materials in secondary school Korean textbooks have increased student awareness of literary canons because these have been taught and learned through public education. Seodongyo, Gemangmega, and Gasiri in classical poetry and the tale of Heungbu, Pongsan Mask Dance, the Tale of Ch'unhyang and the tale of Honggildong(by Heo Gyun) in classical prose are published in secondary school Korean textbooks and literature textbooks as per the revised curriculum of 2009. A three-verse Korean ode and a classical novel are the most chosen genres in classical literature.

• Sijohaknonchong
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• v.25
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• pp.49-73
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• 2006

The poetic theme is a unified principle of which a poet writes poems out in his work. Theme is a poet's central thought expressed in his works. And it was described on the basis of writer's view of the world and life. In this study, I divided the themes of modern Sijo into three kinds according to the materials for a poem. Especially I am interested not so much in the poems taking outer problems of human life for the subject of a poem as in poems dealing with fundamental problems of human life such as self-consciousness, death, God's presence. Firstly, in modern Sijo which deals with poet's self-reflection and self-consciousness as a poet, poets examine himself. And he intends to write poems more severely. The more poet reflects self-consciousness, the more earnestly he tries hard to write good poems. As a poet. he feels complication between real-self and ideal self, so he tries to conquer the shame made in the gab of them. And he takes writing poems into his divinely appointed work in life. A kind of meta-Sijo is written in this circumstances. Secondly, there are modern Sijo, which shows deep concerns in death problems of human life. Thanatopsis expressed in modern Sijo is connected with poet's personal experiences. In most cases, poet describes fragmentary thoughts, sorrows and agony after death of his intimate persons. In Sijo, however, poets don't dig Into the death problem deep enough because of the characteristics of genre. But it is very significant work to take various materials of death into poetic themes in Sijo in that it makes us to reflect of human attitude of life. Thirdly, the poetic themes of dealing with fundamental problems of human and God are expressed in Sijo based on Christian view of the world. In such a poems, poet complains to God who looks in illogical human situations as a spectator of vulgar realities of life. But ultimately. poet expresses deep affirmation and obedience of God in his poems. So he manifests Christianity by the poetic paradox. Such poems change over the theme of modern Sijo the superficial Problems of reality to the deep situation of life.

• Cross-Cultural Studies
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• v.35
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• pp.155-184
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• 2014

The present study aims at exploring in detail the Buddhist worldview and aesthetics of humor in Jo O-hyeon's literary works. This includes the same context as an elucidation of the ways in which his poems closely correspond in expressive forms and thematic contents. It is because, in Jo's literary world, where short poems and prose poems form a contrast, the expressive forms and thematic contents sharply differ depending on the ways in which prajnapti (provisional designation) is either foregrounded or backgrounded. In his literary world, when such a view of language and a worldview based on prajnapti are foregrounded, works that either inherit or play a variation on the fixed structure of the sijo emerge; and when they recede to the rear and are backgrounded, verses in the form of the prose poem are formulated. In addition, in Jo's literary works, where such a worldview of prajnapti and an aesthetics of secular humor intersect together, the thoughts on bheda-abheda(difference-non-difference) and the madhyama-pratipad (middle way) are formed. Such thoughts have considerable significance because they not only harbor a possibility of deconstructing and overcoming the opposition of the sacred/profane but also present a vision of a new unity.

• Sijohaknonchong
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• v.24
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• pp.5-46
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• 2006

Korean verse has flexibly changed its form and contents according to the historical background of the times. This fact arouses reader sympathy because it has reflected ideas, historical aspects and realities of the times. However, korean verse has kept its own characteristics in some ways, allowing it to exist today. It holds its form as 3 verses of three by three or four meter and three letters of the last of three verses. It makes every different version which has specific aspects of each times in the same 'sijo' area. 'Sijo' in Korean poems, is the first form that has been changed from formal to private functionally. As a result of that common verses in the Goryeo to Joseon eras were going with the stream of the times. Verse was the plate for justice so that there was no double meaning, symbols, or technical sentences. It had to show the idea of Myungchundo Jwonginryun. The theme was commonly fitted within certain areas. such as blessings, fidelity, devotion, etc. Around the end of the Joseon era, there was activation of private verses - a form of sijo with no restrictions on the length of the first two verses. Some ideas had been changed because Sarimpa gained power, domestic conflict, and the introduction of practical science. These things had an effect on the form of Sijo. After all, it shows the ideas of collapsing feudalism, resistance of confucian ideas, equality of the sexes, and opposition to the group who rule the government. Thus Sasul Sijo seems to have the tendency of resistance to reality. It was a specialty of realism poetry It explained our life in detail and reflected real life by being an intermediary of realism. This met and represented the demand of a reader's expectations. After 1905, there was new form of sijo that is very different, in form and content, from the previous versions. It was even different in areas of what people accepted. They started to think sijo was not the form of lyrical verse that is once was. It became a 'record of reading'. The form changed to 'hung or huhung' that satirized the times and the ending of a word in the last verse. Although this form could deliver the tension in statement, it was too iu from the original form. Therefore, it didn't last long, and its position got smaller because of the free verse that had western influence and was emerging in the times. In the middle of 1920, there was a movement of Sijo revival. It was lead by Choinamsun. He wrote poems and Sijo which were effected by western ideas in his early works. Although he worked with that, he took the lead in the movement of Sijo revival. He published the collection of Sijo $\ulcorner$Baekpalbunnwoi$\lrcorner$ that has one major theme-patriotic sentiment. He thought an ancient poem was a part of racial characteristics so that he expressed the main theme which represented the times and situations of his era. Modern Sijo is difficult. Sijo has to have modern and Korean verse characteristics at the same time. If it considers a modern aspect too much, it could not be distinguished from sijo and free verse. If it overly leans toward Sijo. it would seem to be too conservative which it then could be said to have no real charm of a poem. In spite of these problems, it is written constantly, because it has its own specialty. It has been focused on some works because they reflect awareness of modern times, the democratic idea, and realism. Overall, the authors of Modern Sijo express various themes by using different forms. The more what we can guess in this work, Sijo will exist permanently because of its flexibility. Furthermore, one special characteristic-flexibility of the korean verse will make it last forever and it will be a genre in Korean poetry.