[HanCinema's News] Texts From "The Red Sleeve" on Display at Seoul Museum

By William Schwartz on 2022/05/12 at 22:26 PST

On May 11th the Seoul Museum of History announced that they are releasing the original texts of Kwakjangyangmunrok for public display. The famous eighteenth century novel, originally released in ten volumes, will be available for viewing at the Gongpyeong Historic Sites Museum, which is located underground on the northeast edge of Jonggak Station in Seoul. The exhibition will continue until July 10th.

The exhibition is happening in the context of a larger exhibit about the life of the royal concubine Seong Ui-bin, who was recently played by Lee Se-young on the popular historical drama "The Red Sleeve" on MBC. Relatively little is known about the life of the real-life historical figure, though the television show does get into her relationship with Kwakjangyangmunrok. In general, Kwakjangyangmunrok is most significant for being one of the first novels written entirely in Korean script.

The third through tenth volumes of the novel were donated for museum study in 2008. This followed an earlier donation by a professor of the first and second volumes. Seong Eui-bin ultimately died without royal issue, leaving this manuscript as the main clue as to her motivations. A poem which Seong Eui-bin is known to have read will also be at the exhibiton. The Gongpyeong Historic Sites Museum is open from nine to six, and typically has its displays translated into English.

Written by William Schwartz

William Schwartz

Staff writer. Has been writing articles for HanCinema since 2012, having lived in South Korea since 2011. Started out in Gyeongju, then to Daegu, then to Ansan, then to Yeongju, then to Seoul, lived on the road for HanCinema's travel diaries series in the summer of 2016, and is currently settled in Anyang. Has good tips for utilizing South Korea's public bus system. William Schwartz can be contacted via william@hancinema.net. He also has a substack at williamschwartz.substack.com where he discusses the South Korean film industry in broader terms and takes suggestions for future movies to review.

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