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andrew_jw_ahn's review
Read a third of the way through before DNF. No real conflict in the story. No character development. No character flaws. Protagonist is perfect in every single way on Page 1, so what are the other 76 pages for besides repetition?
unnursvana's review
4.0
I was so fond of the kdrama Rebel Hong Gil Dong and I remembered that I had seen this book some time on goodreads. So I went and got it for my kindle. I have read some things about the legend of Hong Gil Dong before, but it was nice to get to know the history of the folktale a bit more. And also reading about how it came to be and how the legend ends and all that, because there are many adaptations of this story. I found this book very informative and fun to read.
sdiaz's review
3.0
An interesting romp through the fast pitched description of Hong Gildong, a hero with great powers and a great heart. The story is delightful and full of joy and wonder, but it is also really bare bones and there are never any stakes as it appears as if Hong Gildong's powers are infinite. They only moment you feel any sense of tension is when there are palace machinations about possibly having him killed as a child, after that point he is unstoppable. It was fun but in no way is it a must read.
arirang's review
3.0
"The ancients have said, 'Kings, lords, generals and ministers are not made from a special blood.' But for whose benefit was such a thing said? I have been born into a situation in which I am barred from following my ambitions, and I cannot even address my father as Father and my older brother and Brother."
(아버지를 아버지라 못 하옵고, 형을 형이라 못 하오니)
The Story of Hong Gildong (홍길동전) is, in the translator's words "arguably the single most important work of classic (i.e. premodern) prose fiction of Korea, in terms of not only its literary achievement but also of its influence on the larger culture," an iconic narrative that forms a key part of Korean culture, similar, but perhaps even more ubiquitous, to our Robin Hood or King Arthur stories.
Hong Gildong is born in the 15th Century to an important government official. Following a dream of a dragon and denied the attentions of his wife, the minister conceives a child with a concubine.
Hong Gildong grows up as a very talented child, indeed one with supernatural powers, as the dream foretold. But as an illegitimate child, he is denied, as the opening quote suggests, both full recognition in the family, although his father is very fond of him, and the ability to himself advance in government service. After he uses his special, magical, powers to thwart a plot by a jealous member to kill him, he takes leave of his father and mother:
"Because of his unfortunate fate, he wandered about like a floating cloud, making the whole world his home and finding uncomfortable rest wherever he could."
He eventually comes across a group of bandits, uses his supernatural powers to become their leader, renames them the Hwalbindang (활빈당, a translation would be "the league of those who help the impoverished") and sets out their mission statement:
"We will go forth across the eight provinces of Joseon and seize wealth that was ill-gotten, but we will also help the impoverished and the oppressed by giving them gifts."
Although unlike Robin Hood, they respect the Government and don't intercept legitimate tax revenues, only those from corrupt officials.
The story that follows flows well, although any narrative tension is rather lost given Hong Gildong's powers which suffice to overcome even the trickiest of situations, and the story wraps up nicely coming full circle with Hong Gildong attaining the status he sought, albeit in another land, reuniting with his family, and having children of his own, including those through his concubines which he gives equal status.
The translation by Minsoo Kang is excellent, preserving a distinctively Korean flavour while being easy accessible to the English reader.
I would particularly endorse his comments on using the modern official Romanization system "I have found the new system to do a better job of expressing the sounds of hangeul characters. It also does away with the diacritical marks of McCune-Reischauer, which gave transliterations a technical look that is intimidating to readers unfamiliar with Korean literature and scholarship."
He also provides an interesting introduction, in which he attempts to dispel what he regards as misconceptions around the story's origin, for example that it was written in the 16th Century and the first story ever to be written in the new hanguel system (see also his article here https://muse.jhu.edu/article/505136) as well as providing detailed notes to help the Western reader.
The story itself perhaps only merits 2.5 stars as a stand alone tale, but as a historic part of Korean literature, and with the excellent top and tailing from Minsoo Kang, 4 stars overall.
(아버지를 아버지라 못 하옵고, 형을 형이라 못 하오니)
The Story of Hong Gildong (홍길동전) is, in the translator's words "arguably the single most important work of classic (i.e. premodern) prose fiction of Korea, in terms of not only its literary achievement but also of its influence on the larger culture," an iconic narrative that forms a key part of Korean culture, similar, but perhaps even more ubiquitous, to our Robin Hood or King Arthur stories.
Hong Gildong is born in the 15th Century to an important government official. Following a dream of a dragon and denied the attentions of his wife, the minister conceives a child with a concubine.
Hong Gildong grows up as a very talented child, indeed one with supernatural powers, as the dream foretold. But as an illegitimate child, he is denied, as the opening quote suggests, both full recognition in the family, although his father is very fond of him, and the ability to himself advance in government service. After he uses his special, magical, powers to thwart a plot by a jealous member to kill him, he takes leave of his father and mother:
"Because of his unfortunate fate, he wandered about like a floating cloud, making the whole world his home and finding uncomfortable rest wherever he could."
He eventually comes across a group of bandits, uses his supernatural powers to become their leader, renames them the Hwalbindang (활빈당, a translation would be "the league of those who help the impoverished") and sets out their mission statement:
"We will go forth across the eight provinces of Joseon and seize wealth that was ill-gotten, but we will also help the impoverished and the oppressed by giving them gifts."
Although unlike Robin Hood, they respect the Government and don't intercept legitimate tax revenues, only those from corrupt officials.
The story that follows flows well, although any narrative tension is rather lost given Hong Gildong's powers which suffice to overcome even the trickiest of situations, and the story wraps up nicely coming full circle with Hong Gildong attaining the status he sought, albeit in another land, reuniting with his family, and having children of his own, including those through his concubines which he gives equal status.
The translation by Minsoo Kang is excellent, preserving a distinctively Korean flavour while being easy accessible to the English reader.
I would particularly endorse his comments on using the modern official Romanization system "I have found the new system to do a better job of expressing the sounds of hangeul characters. It also does away with the diacritical marks of McCune-Reischauer, which gave transliterations a technical look that is intimidating to readers unfamiliar with Korean literature and scholarship."
He also provides an interesting introduction, in which he attempts to dispel what he regards as misconceptions around the story's origin, for example that it was written in the 16th Century and the first story ever to be written in the new hanguel system (see also his article here https://muse.jhu.edu/article/505136) as well as providing detailed notes to help the Western reader.
The story itself perhaps only merits 2.5 stars as a stand alone tale, but as a historic part of Korean literature, and with the excellent top and tailing from Minsoo Kang, 4 stars overall.
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