Hangul 김만중 Hangul 서포 Died 1692 McCune–Reischauer Kim Man-chung Role Novelist | Name Kim Man-jung Hanja 金萬重 Hanja 西浦 | |
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Books The Cloud Dream of the Nine, A Nine Cloud Dream | ||
Revised Romanization Kim Man-jung | ||
Gim Manjung (1637–1692) was a Korean novelist and politician of the mid-Joseon period. He was the great grandson of Gim Jangsaeng and grandnephew of Gim Jip, eminent Neo-Confucian scholars of the Joseon period. He was the son of Kim Ikgyeom (김익겸, 金益兼) and his mother was from the Haepyeong Yun clan (해평윤씨, 海平尹氏). His father died during the Second Manchu invasion of Korea (병자호란, 丙子胡亂) before he was born and his mother as a single parent raised him and his brother Gim Mangi (김만기, 金萬基).
Life and work
A member of the yangban class, Kim passed the state civil service examination and rose through the official ranks to become a royal academic counselor and minister during the reign of King Sukjong. He was exiled twice for involvement in the political factionalism of the time As a man of letters his most renowned works were the novels Sassi Namjeonggi ("Record of Lady Sa's Trip to the South" 謝氏南征記) and the Guunmong ("The Cloud Dream of the Nine" 九雲夢). The former is a novel about family affairs set in China, but it is also a satirical depiction of the political reality of his day, and in particular a rebuke of King Sukjong's affairs with women. The latter is one of the most prominent novels of traditional Korea. It is said that Kim wrote the Guunmong during his second exile from political life. It is an ideal novel dealing with the affairs of life and is centered on the travails of the hero Seong-jin. It has a highly Buddhist overtone, with an emphasis on the transience of worldly glory and pleasure. He was a member of the Gwangsan Kim clan.