부산대학교 도서관

This article argues that the Geumosinhwa(金鰲新話)’s formatting is realised through the bifurcation of the known and unknown approaches to reality, and that this is related to the attitude of truth-seeking pursued by Confucianism. Firstly, in order to give conviction to the negative reality from the perspective of the writer, Siseup Kim(金時習) utilizes the unified methodology of internal and external succession presented by Confucian psychological theory, which is based on a step-by-step approach to knowledge, as the principle of narrative composition. This is confirmed through the stages of development, deepening, and synthesis of the ‘warring’ motif in Manboksa-jeopo-gi(萬福寺樗蒲記), Yisengguijangjeon(李生窺墻傳), Chwiyu-bubyeokjeong-gi(醉遊浮碧亭記), and Namyeom-buju-ji(南炎浮洲志), which are the personal, national, historical, and academic levels. However, Siseup Kim did not halt at identifying the negative causes of reality, but wrote Yonggung-buyen-lok(龍宮赴宴錄), which has a playful atmosphere and a calm tone. It was partly an attempt to find solace after a period of intense anger, and to answer questions left unanswered in his previous works. He needed an explanation for why the Tao(道), which enriches the heavens and earth, was revealed through the virtues and abilities of the Dragon King(龍王), but not in reality. In contrast to the focus on uncovering the devastation and causes of negative realities at the level of knowledge, Yonggung-buyen-lok’s narrative unfolds in such a way that the answers and prospects for the future rely on Li(理), or Heavenly Destiny(天命), to provide answers and prospects. By dealing with both what we can know and what we cannot, the film attempts to give credence to the negative reality and the way things are. At this point, another perspective of Confucianism's pursuit of truth is confirmed: Truly, that it is knowing to say that one knows what one knows and admit that one does not know what one does not know. Siseup Kim may have been attempting to paint a picture of the intellectual as helpless in the face of powerful forces that crush reality, while finding solace in the respect and acceptance of the unknown.