The Narrative of the Rebirth and Recovery of a Community Through War, “Yuch'ungnyŏlchŏn”

This study noted that the importance of war has not been discussed while “Yuch'ungnyŏlchŏn” has been supported by two axes, family and state, and is read in a way that the former is more dominant. That's because if Yu Ch'ungryŏl's tragedy of losing his family before the war was limited to personal unhappiness, people who lost their family members and had to leave their homes through the war were mass-produced, and this shared experience became the driving force to move toward a new community. To analyze this in detail, in Chapter 2, the changing patterns of the relationship between individuals and communities were examined step by step. “Yuch'ungnyŏlchŏn” showed a change in the relationship between unhappy individuals and communities as the narrative progressed. First, individual unhappiness is limited to a special situation, and the community is in a peaceful state regardless of it. Yu Ch'ungryŏl and the people around him who suffer represent individuals in desperate situations. Next, as war breaks out, a community in crisis needs a hero, and it's the stage where Yu Ch'ungryŏl appears. At this time, the relationship between him and the community remains superficial. However, the shared experience of losing a family member and anger toward a common enemy naturally strengthened community ties. Later, a new community was born through harsh revenge and collective mourning. In this text, war created the possibility that individuals who were marginalized in a peaceful community could unite. The shape of the hero larval sequence, which has been pointed out as contradictory, can also be explained in that the community wanted a hero who knew what suffering was. Now, after the war, what is left is recovery. “Yuch'ungnyŏlchŏn” took harsh revenge against the person representing the war, and those left mourned the collective. However, at this time, it was confirmed that mourning was centered on thoroughly recoverable wounds. In order to overcome the war and enjoy a peaceful period, one must not focus too long on irreparable damage. This text is wary of staying in grief for a long time by deliberately restraining emotional expression of irreparable damage. The question of how a community that has experienced tragedy can seek a healthy future is not limited to classical novels. On the other hand, the existence of unfortunate individuals in social blind spots also has great implications. In that respect, this text shows a path to community rebirth and healing.