Reading : The song of a faithful wife, chunhyang

Raise a critical question about the text and present an original argument that has a coherent structure.

2pages of outline

5pages of essay

Total 7pages

please refer to the attached instructions.

On“Kyonghui”

Primary Question: In what way does Kyonghui differentiate traditional Korean women from

modern Korean women?

Claim: Kyonghui suggests the generalization of all traditional Korean women by dehumanizing

them into their own category, separate from “new” women. Kyonghui’s claim about traditional

women, however, is not justified and is contradicted by her interactions with various women

throughout the story.

BODY

1. Kyonghui makes a claim/implication about “old” women. Kyonghui is a well-educated

young woman exposed to Western culture and education in Japan. Upon returning home,

she is faced with being arranged to marry someone by her family. In her desperation to

avoid traditional arranged marriage, she hastily embraces a new modern perspective of

women.

a. Newfound rationale consists of he idea that “women who live of their husbands,

who in turn live on the inheritance from their ancestors, are no different from our

family dog” (85)

i. Traditional marriage  woman bound to husband and his household

ii. Dependence on a husband

iii. Therefore, those who follow such traditional custom s are not better than

an animal that gains its living from its human master  they are not

human beings

b. “human beings have the capacity to think and create, which is impossible for

animals” (85)

i. Implies lack of knowledge and understanding in traditional women who

Kyonghui views as animals

ii. Only through enlightenment can one become a human being who

experiences deep thought 9exercises an intellect) and emotion

c. The enlightenment she experiences “[throws her] into ecstasy” (86)

i. Overcome with excitement, and it this excitement she embraces the

categorization of women into old and new, animals and humans – all at

once, simultaneously

d. When Korea is undergoing dramatic transitions, contemplating the meeting of

tradition and modernity, the new generation is eager to accept modern, Western

thought as Kyonghui does

2. The interactions Kyonghui has with “old” women counters her claims about them.

a. In-law lady changes her opinion about young girls’ receiving education,

especially in Japan after she herself questions Kyonghui’s decisions

i. Her mere ability to think such things shows her ability to think

ii. Is able to understand despite her previous traditional views

iii. Clear display of an “old” woman’s ability to alter her opinions – even the

mere existence of her opinions (whether they conform to tradition or not)

prove her ability to comprehend and think contradicting Kyonghui’s claim

iv. Despites her disbelief of the benefits of girls’ education, in the end she

decides that “girls should be educated just like [Kyonghui]” (68).

b. Kyonghui’s mother, too, serves as a counter argument to Kyonghui’s

generalization.

i. At first Mrs. Yi did not understand the necessity of sending Kyonghui all

the way to Japan to receive an education

ii. However, she comes to realize that “in direct proportion to one’s

education, one would command respect from others and also get a high

salary” (67).

iii. She is able to comprehend cohesively – an animal would not be able to do

such. An animal, Kyonghui implies, cannot think, it cannot formulate its

own thoughts, yet here Mrs. Yi contemplates the question and hand and

comes a definite conclusion. Whether or not that means agreeing on the

matter of female education, her ability to consider her daughter’s position

reveals her intellectual ability to understand regardless of whether or not

she agrees

iv. Indeed “each time Kyonghui gave Mrs. Yi a piece of her mind, Mrs. Yi

could see her point quite well, although she didn’t say so openly” (76)

c. Kyonghui’s assumption of all traditional Korean women is not substantiated. She

comes to an abrupt conclusion that easily categorizes women into old versus new

with no evidence or basis. Even today, Kyonghui’s assumptions about Korean

women are existent (prevalent) today in the ideas that Asian women are

submissive and passive. But, in fact, there is nothing that supports this stereotype

3. Kyonghui’s claim does not do anything for her – it gives her no direction.

a. Receiving an education all the way in Japan she wants to become a human being

i. Quote

ii. But what is a human being without a purpose?

iii. Comes back from Japan and does housework

1. Contradictory in itself because she upholds her traditional role (and

efficiently at that) while so strongly opposing tradition, despite her

Western exposure/Westernized education that has prompted her to

make such generalizations about traditional women

b. “Oh my goodness what am I supposed to do?” (81)

i. Repeated question

ii. Yet after her enlightenment and her decision to not get married, she is

unsure of what to do as a “human being” she claims to be

iii. Turns to God for answers because she cannot find her own

iv. “she was totally at a loss what to do with herself” (81)

1. But her not knowing what to do is not resolved at the end of the

novel

14: Documentation I: Notes and Bibliography

Chapter Contents» Notes and Bibliography: Basic Format, with Examples and Variations

14.18Notes and bibliography—examples and variations

The examples that follow are intended to provide an overview of the notes and bibliography
style, featuring books and journal articles as models. Each example includes a numbered note
and a corresponding bibliography entry. Some examples also include a shortened form of the
note, suitable for subsequent citations of a source already cited in full. In practice, in works that
include a bibliography that lists in full all sources cited, it is acceptable to use the shortened form
in the notes even at first mention. For advice on constructing short forms for notes, see 14.24–31.
For many more examples, consult the sections dealing with specific types of works throughout
this chapter.

BOOK WITH SINGLE AUTHOR OR EDITOR

For a book with a single author, invert the name in the bibliography but not in the notes.
Punctuate and capitalize as shown. Note the shortened form in the second note. Note also that
actual page numbers cited are usually included in a note but not in a bibliography entry, unless
the entry is for a chapter, in which case the page range in which the item appears is included (see
“Chapter in an Edited Book,” below; see also 9.58–63).

1. Michael Pollan, The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals (New York:
Penguin, 2006), 99–100.
18. Pollan, Omnivore’s Dilemma, 3.
Pollan, Michael. The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals. New York:
Penguin, 2006.

A book with an editor in place of an author includes the abbreviation ed. (editor; for more than
one editor, use eds.). Note that the shortened form does not include ed.

1. Joel Greenberg, ed., Of Prairie, Woods, and Water: Two Centuries of Chicago Nature Writing
(Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2008), 42.
33. Greenberg, Prairie, Woods, and Water, 326–27.
Greenberg, Joel, ed. Of Prairie, Woods, and Water: Two Centuries of Chicago Nature Writing.
Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2008.

BOOK WITH MULTIPLE AUTHORS

For a book with two authors, note that only the first-listed name is inverted in the bibliography
entry.

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2. Geoffrey C. Ward and Ken Burns, The War: An Intimate History, 1941–1945 (New York:
Knopf, 2007), 52.
Ward, Geoffrey C., and Ken Burns. The War: An Intimate History, 1941–1945. New York:
Knopf, 2007.

For a book with three authors, adapt as follows:

15. Joyce Heatherton, James Fitzgilroy, and Jackson Hsu, Meteors and Mudslides: A Trip
through . . .
Heatherton, Joyce, James Fitzgilroy, and Jackson Hsu. Meteors and Mudslides: A Trip
through . . .

For a book with four or more authors, list all the authors in the bibliography entry. Word order
and punctuation are the same as for two or three authors. In the note, however, cite only the
name of the first-listed author, followed by et al. See also 14.76.

72. Dana Barnes et al., Plastics: Essays on American Corporate Ascendance in the 1960s . . .
101. Barnes et al., Plastics . . .

BOOK WITH AUTHOR PLUS EDITOR OR TRANSLATOR

In a book with an editor or translator in addition to the author, ed. or trans. in the note becomes
Edited by or Translated by in the bibliography entry. See also 14.88.

1. Gabriel García Márquez, Love in the Time of Cholera, trans. Edith Grossman (London: Cape,
1988), 242–55.
18. García Márquez, Cholera, 33.
García Márquez, Gabriel. Love in the Time of Cholera. Translated by Edith Grossman. London:
Cape, 1988.

CHAPTER IN AN EDITED BOOK

When citing a chapter or similar part of an edited book, include the chapter author; the chapter
title, in quotation marks; and the editor. Precede the title of the book with in. Note the location of
the page range for the chapter in the bibliography entry. See also 14.111–17.

1. Glenn Gould, “Streisand as Schwarzkopf,” in The Glenn Gould Reader, ed. Tim Page (New
York: Vintage, 1984), 310.
19. Gould, “Streisand as Schwarzkopf,” 309.
Gould, Glenn. “Streisand as Schwarzkopf.” In The Glenn Gould Reader, edited by Tim Page,
308–11. New York: Vintage, 1984.

JOURNAL ARTICLE

Citations of journals include the volume and issue number and date of publication. The volume
number follows the italicized journal title in roman and with no intervening punctuation. A

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specific page reference is included in the notes; the page range for an article is included in the
bibliography. In the full citation, page numbers are preceded by a colon. If a journal is paginated
consecutively across a volume or if the month or season appears with the year, the issue number
may be omitted (as in the second and third sets of examples below).

89. Walter Blair, “Americanized Comic Braggarts,” Critical Inquiry 4, no. 2 (1977): 331–32.
111. Blair, “Americanized Comic Braggarts,” 335.
Blair, Walter. “Americanized Comic Braggarts.” Critical Inquiry 4, no. 2 (1977): 331–49.

The DOI in the following example indicates that the article was consulted online; it is preferred
to a URL (see also 14.5, 14.6). Note that DOI, so capitalized when mentioned in running text, is
lowercased and followed by a colon (with no space after) in source citations. Shortened citations
for subsequent references to an online source follow the forms for printed books and journals.

1. William J. Novak, “The Myth of the ‘Weak’ American State,” American Historical Review
113 (June 2008): 758, doi:10.1086/ahr.113.3.752.
3. Novak, “Myth,” 770.
Novak, William J. “The Myth of the ‘Weak’ American State.” American Historical Review 113
(June 2008): 752–72. doi:10.1086/ahr.113.3.752.

For articles that have not been assigned a DOI (or if the DOI cannot be determined), include a
URL. The URL in the following example—consulted through the academic journals archive
JSTOR—was listed along with the article as a more stable (and shorter) alternative to the URL
that appeared in the browser’s address bar. For access dates (not shown here), see 14.185.

12. Wilfried Karmaus and John F. Riebow, “Storage of Serum in Plastic and Glass Containers
May Alter the Serum Concentration of Polychlorinated Biphenyls,” Environmental Health
Perspectives 112 (May 2004): 645, http://www.jstor.org/stable/3435987.
Karmaus, Wilfried, and John F. Riebow. “Storage of Serum in Plastic and Glass Containers May
Alter the Serum Concentration of Polychlorinated Biphenyls.” Environmental Health
Perspectives 112 (May 2004): 643–47. http://www.jstor.org/stable/3435987.

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14: Documentation I: Notes and Bibliography
14.18Notes and bibliography—examples and variations

1

Dohun Kim (Seoul National University)

Note: Please do not copy, cite, or circulate the paper.

Poetry as Ghost: Deconstructing Poetry in Unyŏng-jŏn

At its most basic level, the story of Unyŏng is, at the same time, a ghost story and a

love story. But this ghost/love story narrative is punctuated by verse and, more bizarrely,

discussions regarding the judgement of poetry. This essay will argue that the insertion of

these poems and the discussions which ensue is far from accidental; within the narrative of

Unyong-jon is a critique of poetry itself. The closeness between the descriptions of poetry

and the circumstances of the palace women in particular ties together the fates of the

producers of poems and their product. Poetry, like Unyŏng, is akin to a ghost in the story,

operating on the edges of existence. This means the tragedy which unfolds is as much a

tragedy of poetry as much as a tragedy of Unyŏng.

At the heart of the nature of poetry in the story is a contradiction. Poetry, on the one

hand, is supposed to be free from the imperfections of our mutable world, complete without

the forces which corrupt it. It is this which means the Grand Prince believes “all of the

talented men of this world must move to a tranquil place, and only after they study in such a

locale are they able to achieve success”
1
and Sŏng Sammun praises the palace ladies’ poems

because “there is not even a small trace of the mundane world”
2
in them. But at the same time,

the Grand Prince declares that “as poems are what one has in one’s mind, they are not

1
Anonymous, Unyŏng-Jŏn: A Love Affair at the Royal Palace of Chosŏn Korea, trans.

Michael J. Pettid (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2009), 68.

2
Ibid., 75.

2

something that can be covered or hidden”
3
despite the fact that what one has in their mind are

thoughts of the mundane world like lust, yearning, and home. The story reveals the duality of

poetry in its critique—that it must be at once worldly and otherworldly, immediate and

transcendental.

It is clear from the discussions of poetry in the story that though the qualities of poetry

are contradictory, they cannot be separated. When the Grand Prince and Kim chinsa are

discussing the merits and demerits of certain poets, the younger man’s rebuttal to his superior

who says that Du Fu is the greatest poet, is that while Du Fu might have mastered the literary

styles corresponding to poetic form, his work is “deficient for expressing passions and

emotions”
4
—a charge the Grand Prince later accepts. Within this esoteric debate is the idea

that a perfect form is a perfect conciliation of the contradictory elements of form and passion,

of refinement and emotional power. To separate one from the other is to destroy a poem.

This contradictory property of poetry is placed not as distinct from the main narrative

but in a direct relationship with it for both Kim chinsa and Unyŏng are depicted with much

the same language that poetry is discussed in the story. The reader learns that “Unyŏng’s face

and carriage are not those of a person of this world”
5
which granted her the favour of the

Grand Prince and that the shaman saw “the unworldliness of the chinsa’s face.”
6
But Unyŏng

and Kim chinsa, like the poems they write, cannot be purely ethereal, god-like beings but are

intimately tied to the mortal world. Unyŏng’s unworldly appearance has been decaying out of

desire for the chinsa: “her slender waist had become haggard, and her voice thread-thin as if

3
Ibid., 73.

4
Ibid., 80.

5
Ibid., 90.

6
Ibid., 83.

3

nothing at all was coming out of her mouth.”
7
The chinsa too is described in the same period

of the story by the slave T’ŭk as “not long for this world”
8
on account of his emaciated

appearance. Like poetry, Unyŏng and Kim chinsa are incurably both otherworldly and human.

In this sense, the fate of poetry and the lovers are tied together. If Unyŏng and Kim chinsa are

liminal figures who operate on the borders of life and death, this world and the next—

qualities which both anticipate and reinforce their later transformations into ghosts—poetry,

too, operates on the same border.

It is not just Unyŏng and Kim chinsa who have deep connections with poetry but all

the other producers of poems in the story, namely the palace women. These women, from an

early age, were removed from society to turn their sole focus on poetry under the instruction

of the Grand Prince. Their only company was themselves because the punishment for making

contact with the outside world was death. These women themselves are invisible to the

outside world; they are only visible indirectly through their poetry. Sŏng Sammun, therefore,

can guess that “you [the Grand Prince] have undoubtedly fostered ten heavenly fairies at this

palace.”
9
Poetry is the liminal force between the palace women and the outside world and the

reason why is precisely because of its ghost-like ambiguity. If poetry were more certain, the

Grand Prince would not show his guests the palace women’s poems. Yet, it is because poetry

reveals but also hides that the Grand Prince consents to the display of the palace women’s

poems.

But if poetry serves a liberating function when it allows the invisible palace women to

become at least partially visible, the story also reveals the limitations—and violence—of the

poetic mode. In an ironic turn from the Grand Prince’s original, benevolent intention that

7
Ibid., 91.

8
Ibid., 97.

9
Ibid., 75.

4

because “talent comes down from the heavens,”
10

women should have equal opportunity to

study poetry as men, the palace women have become rendered non-existent save their poetry.

In other words, instead of liberating the palace women from a society of gender inequality,

their learning of poetry reinforced it with a vengeance. To render the palace women obsolete,

their presence confined to the shadows, is an act of violence towards them—of which poetry

is as culpable as the Grand Prince. For the Grand Prince acts the way he does for the sake of

poetry; his belief that poetry needs to be free from the disturbances and distractions of the

mundane world causes him to remove the palace women from society. In this way, the

contradiction in poetry manifests itself in the suppression of the palace women; poetry itself

is unstable as an entity. The Grand Prince’s belief in the noble pursuit of poetry with the

power to transcend gender norms ends in tragic failure.

This fundamental link between the theme of poetry and the narrative mean that the

tragedy which unfolds at the end of the story cannot be taken as just a tragedy on the level of

just the characters, but a tragedy of poetry itself also. The instability of poetry, caused by its

latent contradictions, means that poetry cannot realise the lofty ambitions of the Grand Prince

to transform society. It is condemned, like Unyŏng and Kim chinsa, to be a ghost-like

presence in between two worlds; it is beautiful and alluring, but ultimately dead and impotent.

This is seen in the outermost frame of the story which depicts the Grand Prince’s palace after

historical events have ravaged it of its splendour. But it is not just historical events which

ravaged it, but metaphorical events. The “drinking parties, groups of archers, poets and artists,

or singing boys and flute-playing boys” who go up to the palace “for pleasure”
11

are parodies

of the serious, learned men who used to reside there: “the men of letters and great

10

Ibid., 69.

11
Ibid., 65.

5

calligraphers of the day.”
12

It is a visual reminder of the failure and decline of poetry. When

Scholar Yu, the literatus, upon hearing Unyŏng’s story lay “sad and dejected, at a rock’s

edge,”
13

he mourns not only her death but the death of poetry also. He who once wished to

join the hedonists up the mountain understands its futility.

Despite the best intended beliefs of the Grand Prince, the perfect conciliation of the

contradictory elements of poetry is impossible in the story; the contradiction is too vast, the

notion of poetry too tenuous. The result is that poetry itself becomes a ghost, not fully one

thing or another, a mere spectre of potential in the same way the lovers in turn become ghosts.

But unlike the lovers who disappear at the end of the story, poetry remains with us—forever

inspiring, forever haunting.

12

Ibid., 68.

13
Ibid., 112.

Final Paper

Critical essay on a single literary work

Main question
Argument: Select one main question that you want to solve in the paper; “I argue that…..”
Structure: Think about ways in which you can present your argument in the most effective way.

Introduction
: The main question, The main argument, The overview of the paper’s structure
Body paragraphs
Conclusion

Make an outline:
Introduction: The main question, The main argument, The structure
Body 1: [Point sentence]
Sub-point 1:
Sub-point 2:
Body 2: [Point sentence]
Sub-point 1:
Sub-point 2:
Body 3: [Point sentence]
[…….]
Conclusion

7 pages, Times New Romans, 12point, double-spaced
(No separate cover page)

The Chicago Manual of Style

Please put a conceptual key word in your point sentence (Please try to find the problems in the following passage).

“When this work is read, various questions can come to mind as to what the author meant with the work and how and in what way the various points were incorporated in said story. Fortunately, the work is buzzing with motives and themes that can answer the question raised in this essay. The question is rather phrased as a proposition for the sake of argumentation. This essay will analyse the work for supporting evidence for this proposition and present it to the reader in an explanatory way.”

Please put a conceptual key word in your point sentence (the highlighted phrases should be replaced by conceptual words, or by the phrase with real contents).
“When this work is read, various questions can come to mind as to what the author meant with the work and how and in what way the various points were incorporated in said story. Fortunately, the work is buzzing with motives and themes that can answer the question raised in this essay. The question is rather phrased as a proposition for the sake of argumentation. This essay will analyse the work for supporting evidence for this proposition and present it to the reader in an explanatory way.”

Please put a conceptual key word in your point sentence (the same excrcise).
“Through all their efforts to keep their affair private and hidden, a recurring theme of lying and deceit is explored throughout the short story. Having said that, the short story brings up the question, how are lies and deceit depicted in “Unyŏng-Jon” and what does this theme tell us about human nature? The theme of lies and deceit are evidently shown through various characters and their actions throughout the short story, illustrating humans’ deepest desires, including selfishness and greed.

Please put a conceptual key word in your point sentence (the key concepts are too broad and not convincing; should be revised with concrete words).
“Through all their efforts to keep their affair private and hidden, a recurring theme of lying and deceit is explored throughout the short story. Having said that, the short story brings up the question, how are lies and deceit depicted in “Unyŏng-Jon” and what does this theme tell us about human nature? The theme of lies and deceit are evidently shown through various characters and their actions throughout the short story, illustrating humans’ deepest desires, including selfishness and greed.

The Chicago Manual of Style
Please add the footnote whenever you cite the source
Kim Sŭng-ok, “Seoul: 1964, Winter,” in Modern Korean Fiction: An Anthology, eds. Bruce Fulton and Youngmin Kwon (New York: Columbia University Press, 2005), 180.
Kim, “Seoul: 1964, Winter,” 185.
Kim Sŭng-ok. “Seoul: 1964, Winter.” In Modern Korean Fiction: An Anthology, edited by Bruce Fulton and Youngmin Kwon, 165-180. New York: Columbia University Press, 2005.

Times New Romans, 12point, double-spaced
7 pages + bibliography, no cover page

Romanization
McCune–Reischauer Romanization system
Ŏ “어”/ Ŭ “의”
“Insert” “Symbols” (Microsoft Word)
Chosŏn
Italicize the loan word: “Kim-chinsa”

Please do not contract verbs: “isn’t” “won’t” (x)
Please use formal expressions: “weird” (x)
No belief but an argument: “I believe” (x) “I argue” (o)
Please avoid exaggerative expressions: very, greatly, significantly, extremely….
Period should be placed within quotation marks.
: “…..marks”. (x) “……marks.” (o)

One paragraph should not be too long: no more than 7-8 sentences
No dangling phrase: check the correspondence between verb and subject (Considering that…., Student Yi….)
Subject and verb should be corresponding to one another
Please do not switch the subject within a single sentence.
Please avoid run-on sentences (….., and……, but….., which….., that……)
No general statement: “Korea is …..” “Korean literature…..” “Confucianism……”

Please Italicize the book title: The Square
The title of a short story should be placed within quotation marks: “Record of a Journey to Mujin”

Please do not assume that your reader knows the whole story. Try to introduce the story properly while presenting your own argument.