The Realism and Transcendence Manifested in Samguk Yusa

The Samguk Yusa (Memorabilia of the Three Kingdoms), while influenced by Chinese texts such as the Goseng Zhuan (Biographies of Eminent Monks), goes beyond a mere religious or historical record. It is a multifaceted work that blends history, legend, poetry, and song, creating a narrative that interweaves the real, the mythical, and the transcendent. Especially in the Gii and Heungbeop sections, its legends maintain strong ties to historical and social realities. Thus, unlike typical legends or myths that may present transcendence as an escape from the suffering of history, Samguk Yusa insists on the necessity of balancing both—acknowledging the pain of historical existence while aspiring toward something beyond it. In this sense, it offers a more integrated and human-centered approach than Mircea Eliade’s view of myth, which often emphasizes transcendence and the return to cosmic origins to overcome historical suffering. This duality, though paradoxical, reflects the complexity of human existence. Humans are grounded in specific temporal and spatial realities but also seek universal truths and spiritual meaning. The text shows that history and myth, the temporal and the eternal, are not mutually exclusive but are interdependent aspects of human life. Even in its poetic or lyrical elements, Samguk Yusa rarely detaches from historical context. It avoids presenting pure emotion or transcendence unanchored from the real world. Thus, the work suggests that true lyricism and mythic value arise not from escaping history, but from being rooted in it. Poetry and legend are meaningful only when connected to lived human experience. Ultimately, Samguk Yusa proposes a vision in which literature, myth, and history are not separate domains but form a unified whole. In doing so, it challenges rigid divisions between the historical and the mythical, offering a more nuanced understanding of the human condition—one that embraces both the limits of time and space and the aspiration for something beyond.