Narrativizing History, Historicizing Narrative: Rumor, Political Plots, and the Reinvention of Hong Gyeong-rae

This study examines the rumors circulated in Hanyang (present-day Seoul) during the Hong Gyeong-rae Rebellion in early 1812, investigating the mechanisms through which a historical event is transformed and reproduced as narrative. Approaching rumors not merely as channels of information but as narratives embodying the collective unconscious and desires, this research diachronically traces how these narratives were inherited and reshaped in subsequent literary texts. The analysis first confirms that the rumors generated during the rebellion functioned as primal narratives reflecting the collective psychology of the era. Furthermore, these rumors evolved into concrete political plots, such as the rumor of a plot to enthrone Prince Eun-eon's family, which directly intervened in politics and demonstrated the power to impel individual actions, as evidenced in the “Cheon O-jang Incident.” These narratives, having become historical assets, underwent a distinct paradigm shift in later periods. The commercial novel Sinmirok, published after the rebellion, established the first framework by excluding these rumors for commercial and ideological reasons and defining Hong Gyeong-rae as a “traitor.” Subsequently, intellectuals during the Japanese colonial period directly criticized this frame and reinterpreted him as a “hero or revolutionary.” Finally, contemporary writers after liberation attempted to restore the multifaceted nature of the event through polyphonic and complex narrative structures that transcended this binary. This research is significant in that it demonstrates the influence of rumor as informal discourse on official historical accounts and literary representations. Moreover, by showing how a single historical figure is reinvented within different political and cultural contexts, it illuminates both the constructed nature of historical writing and literature's function in interpreting history.