''Chunhyangjeon'' (; lit. ''The Story of Chunhyang or'' ''The Tale of Chunhyang'') is one of the best known love stories and folk tales of Korea. It is based on the

pansori ' () is a Korean genre of musical storytelling performed by a singer and a drummer. The term ' is a compounds of the Korean words and , the latter of which means "sound." However, ''pan'' has multiple meanings, and scholars disagree on which ...

Chunhyangga ''Chunhyangga'' () is a '' pansori'' folktale from Korea''.'' Being a pansori, ''Chunhyangga'' is a narrative art form, and is traditionally performed by two people: a singer and drummer. There is also a story based on the ''Chunhyangga'' pansori ...

'', the most famous of the five surviving

tales. William E. Skillend Kodae Sosol Date of composition and author are unknown and the present form took shape between 1694 and 1834.

Main characters

* Seong Chunhyang () (Spring Fragrance) is the main female character,

gisaeng ''Kisaeng'' (), also called ''ginyeo'' (), were enslaved women from outcast or enslaved families who were trained to be courtesans, providing artistic entertainment and conversation to men of upper class. First emerging in Goryeo dynasty. were ...

Wolmae's daughter. She is very beautiful and also talented in poetry and arts. She falls in love with Yi Mongryong. * Yi Mongryong () is the main male character who is the son of a government official (Magistrate). He is an intelligent and handsome man. He falls in love with Chunhyang at first sight. * Hyangdan () is Chunhyang's servant. She is devoted to Chunhyang. * Bangja () is Mongryong's male servant. * Wolmae () (Moon Plum) is Chunhyang's mother who used to be a

. * Byeon Hakdo () is the replacement official of Mongryong's father.

Plot summary

Yi Mongryong, who always studies hard, goes out to get some fresh air. He sees Chunhyang on a swing and he falls in love with her at first sight. He orders his servant, Bangja, to ask Chunhyang to come to him but she refuses. Yi Mongryong then goes to talk to Chunhyang's mother, Wolmae, to ask permission to marry Chunhyang; Wolmae gives her permission and the two young people marry that day. Yi Mongryong's father, a government official, has to move to Hanyang (Seoul now) so Yi Mongryong has to leave Chunhyang to follow his father. Chunhyang gives Yi Mongryong a ring as a token of her love for him and promises to stay faithful to him and wait for him to come back in the future and take her to Seoul. After he leaves, a replacement for Mongryong's father comes to Chunhyang's village. The new replacement is Byeon Hakdo, a greedy and selfish person who wastes his time frolicking with gisaengs. Chunhyang, renowned for her beauty, is summoned by the new magistrate. Although Chunhyang is not a gisaeng, Byeon treats her like one because her mother was a gisaeng. Byeon orders Chunhyang to work as a gisaeng for him, but Chunhyang refuses, stating that she has one true love. Byeon gets angry and imprisons her. He decides to punish her on his birthday. Yi Mongryong wins the first place in a state examination and he becomes a

secret royal inspector The secret royal inspector in Korea was a temporary position unique to the Joseon Dynasty, in which an undercover official directly appointed by the king was sent to local provinces to monitor government officials and look after the populace whil ...

, or Amhaengeosa, who investigates and prosecutes corrupt government officials as an undercover emissary of the king. Under disguise, he returns to Chunhyang's village and finds out what has happened to Chunhyang and Byeon's abuse of power. Yi impersonates a beggar to conceal his identity, but despite this, Chunhyang still loves him and asks her mother to take good care of him. Yi Mongryong barges into Byeon's birthday celebration uninvited and makes a satirical poem about Byeon's misconducts, but Byeon does not understand the poem. Yi discloses his real identity and punishes Byeon. At first, Chunhyang cannot recognize Yi and he tests her fidelity by asking her to be his gisaeng. Chunhyang, who still cannot recognize him, refuses him as well. Deeply moved by her faithfulness, Yi orders a servant to show her the ring Chunhyang gave him. She was shocked that it is actually Yi and they live happily ever after.

Important features

* Love between Courtesan's daughter and Government official's son * The selfish lord being punished by Mongryong * Chunhyang, who keeps her integrity until the end Like any other literature, The Tale of Chunhyang also reflects its society. Although the author is unknown, it is deducible that every nation was involved. The common people might get vicarious pleasure from the main characters who get over the difference of social standings and punish the greedy lord. Also keeping female's integrity is the traditional Korean's conservative moral.

References

:The text of this article from main characters onwards is translated from the Korean Wikipedia article, which itself is based on the contents of ''Global World Encyclopedia'' which is distributed by Daum Communication. 본 문서에는 다음 커뮤니케이션에서 GFDL 또는 이에 준하는 라이선스로 배포한 글로벌 세계 대백과사전의 내용을 기초로 작성된 내용이 포함되어 있습니다. {{Authority control Korean folklore Love stories Works by Joseon people Korean novels adapted into films