• (The)Study of the Eastern Classic
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• no.66
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• pp.129-162
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• 2017

This article examines the form of hell and the nature of literary works in the late Joseon period. 'Hoeshimgok(回心曲)' divides a sinner into a man and a woman, and presents a virtue of goodness to a man and an item of evil to a woman. The elements of virtue and malice are both Buddhist ethical norms and Confucian ethical norms. Hell-related novels have common features that emphasize the ethical norms that should be kept in daily life through the causes of hell, though the patterns of punishment and their reasons are slightly different depending on the works. And 'Hoeshimgok(回心曲)' and these works are generally shown by reducing the punishment pixel of hell compared to the cause of hell. This characteristic shows that the literary works of the late Joseon literature related to hell were mainly aimed at providing or educating ethical virtues centered on 'Samgangwol(三綱五倫)' through sanctions of 'Hell' widely known to the general public. The emphasis on Confucian ethics is not limited to works of literature related to hell. In the nineteenth century, when these works were created and circulated, there is a surge in the number of chapters and publications of books for Confucian Indoctrination, Didactic Gasa, and Goodness Books, which emphasize Confucian ethics. Such a strengthening of the Confucian ethical consciousness can be attributed to the crisis of the 19th century Joseon society about the social confusion that threatens the existing system. In particular, the creation and circulation of literary works related to hell in the late Joseon period is related to the dissemination and spread of Catholicism. In the end, the hell shape of the late Joseon literature reflects the crisis of social confusion faced by Joseon society in the nineteenth century. Therefore, it can be said that it has the character of literary response to the prevalent diffusion of Catholicism.