32 pages • 1-hour read
The Story of Hong Gildong
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Themes
The Ability to Fulfill or Avoid One’s Destiny
Fate and destiny play important roles in The Story of Hong Gildong, and they are also traditional elements of Korean folk tales. The destiny tale (unmyeongdam) is a genre of folk tales in which a person’s destiny plays out despite their attempts to avoid it, or when someone succeeds in actively avoiding their fate. These stories can have either happy or sad endings: If someone is destined to suffer misfortune (such as illness, poverty, or an early death), and their actions avert that outcome, the story has a happy ending. If someone has a positive fate (wealth, many children, or fame) and that fate comes true despite efforts to foil it, the story also has a happy ending. A sad ending can occur if someone fails to avert a negative fate or ruins their chances for a positive one.
These stories address the question of whether human action can change fate. Prophecy plays an important role in such stories. The Encyclopedia of Korean Culture describes the interplay of prophecy and destiny in Korean folk tales: “[W]hile prophecy tales focus on whether the prophecies come true, destiny tales examine the human responses to the prophecies of destiny” (“Korean Folk Literature”).
Early on, The Story of Hong Gildong establishes that Gildong is extraordinary and has the potential to manifest great ambition: “The ancients have said, ‘Kings, lords, generals, and ministers are not made from a special blood,’ so his destiny is not something that can be altered through mere human effort” (11). The physiognomist gives this prophecy to Minister Hong to imply that Gildong must be killed because a lowborn person should not be allowed to rise so high in Joseon society, and they cannot manipulate Gildong’s fate themselves. Ironically, though her statement is supposed to be a lie (or a half-lie) engineered by Chorang, it proves to be true. Every action that Minister Hong and the others take to stifle Gildong’s ambitions only makes him stronger. Even Gildong initially tries to avert his destiny by leaving Joseon to live in seclusion in the mountains, but he ends up becoming a leader: first of bandits, then of freedom fighters, then of an army, and finally of a country.
Gildong and his father consider his lowborn birth an accident of fate. Minister Hong tells his wife that her disobedience (rejecting his sexual advances) is the cause of Gildong’s lowborn status: “If you had heeded me in the past, this child would have been born of your body” (3). Gildong blames mistakes in his past life for his low birth: “Because of some guilt I had to bear from my past life, I was born of a servant girl” (46). The novel’s message is as much about the need for reform in Joseon society as it is about fate. Gildong was destined to achieve greatness, and he succeeds in attaining all he desires. The question was whether those around him would help or hinder him. Those who help him are rewarded, but those who hinder him suffer misfortune; The novel thus implies that upholding class rules should be secondary to helping people achieve their goals.
Being a True Man
An idea that appears many times in The Story of Hong Gildong is that of being a “true man.” The first mention of this is when Gildong is studying in his room and sighs: “Born as a true man into this world, […] I would go forth to become a general and rise up as a high minister” (4). This passage establishes the link between manhood, nobility, and ambition. Gildong cannot be a true man if others consider him inferior, or if he cannot claim his high-ranking family members as his own. Being a man in Joseon has a social and a personal component. The social component includes being self-sufficient (this is not usually an issue for the nobility), having a prosperous family and sons (daughters are looked upon negatively), and achieving as high a status as possible. In short, independence, virility, and ambition.
The assassin, Teukjae, asks Gildong: “[H]ow could a true man surrender himself to a child?” (17). This instance links manhood to courage, strength, and pride. Gildong wants to be free to express all these aspects of his manhood because they are indicative of the highest qualities a human can possess. In Joseon, gender hierarchy and sociopolitical hierarchy go hand in hand: “Of all things created by Heaven, a human being is the most precious. So it is the most fortunate thing to be born a human in this world. And being born a human, it is the most fortunate thing to be born a man” (5). Equating Gildong with his lowborn mother robs him of his two most precious features: his nobility and his manhood. The novel is not critical of this aspect of Joseon society. Though it critiques the class hierarchy and political corruption, it never questions gender norms or the treatment of women.
Gildong reclaims his lost masculinity through his exploits outside of Joseon. He rescues Lady Bek from the uldongs, creates an army, and conquers Yul Island. Gildong consults one of his generals about capturing Yul Island, and the general replies: “How can a true man find contentment in growing old while leading a leisurely and mediocre life?” (66). Gildong has already established a thriving society on Jae and built a strong army, but his life’s ambition is not yet complete. The life Gildong has led up to that point could hardly be considered “mediocre,” but in securing a prosperous life on Jae, Gildong’s life no longer entails any risk. Testing one’s courage by constantly facing and surmounting danger is an aspect of “true” manhood in the novel that inspires Gildong to pursue ever greater—and riskier—endeavors. Even as a king, he does not allow himself to become complacent. He gives up his throne to live a precarious life and attain a higher level of consciousness in the mountains. The novel’s ending implies that Gildong did not die; he transcended his human form. By surpassing worldly gains, Gildong achieves wisdom, the highest human quality—and an aspect of true manhood.
Killing for a Greater Cause
One of the main conflicts in the novel is idea of killing someone to prevent a greater tragedy from occurring. This dilemma is behind Gildong’s family’s struggle to decide if he should be killed before his ambitions beyond his station cause problems. Chorang is the only one in the novel who wants to kill Gildong for personal reasons. She is spiteful about her fallen status in the household and wants to punish Gildong and Chunseom. Chorang knows that she can convince Minister Hong by warning him of how disruptive Gildong will be to Joseon society: “It seems to me that the right thing to do is to have Gildong killed quickly to prevent future calamity” (13). The idea of preventing future calamity is key because otherwise, the minister would never consider killing anyone, let alone his beloved son. Though Minister Hong agrees with Chorang (he does not know her real motive), he cannot follow through. Inhyeon and his mother consider the idea of murdering Gildong “inhuman” (15), but they fear the outcome of letting Gildong’s ambition go unchecked and tell Chorang to proceed with her plan.
The assassination attempt forces Gildong to face the same question as his family. During his confrontation with Teukjae, he tells him: “If I spare you, many others will die. By killing you I will be saving lives” (19). Gildong is still a child, but he understands that he must weigh the moral cost of taking a life. In the end, he decapitates Teukjae, the shaman, and the physiognomist, but he lets Chorang live. Even though Gildong has cause to take revenge on Chorang, he chooses to take the moral high ground: “She may have condemned me to death, but I am better than her” (20). Gildong also considers the fact that his father loves Chorang; he shows filial piety through sparing her.
Gildong executes the corrupt officials in the eight provinces because it serves the greater good. Before he embarks on the campaign, he makes his moral stance clear to the Hwalbindang: “We may be outlaws living in a mountainside hideout, but we will not commit acts of treason by stealing the property of the common people or inflicting harm on them. Nor will we take treasures being sent to the capital or money and grain being collected by the government” (32). Gildong stands by his ideals throughout his journey, and he expects his followers to be good and true as well. Perhaps paradoxically, loyalty to the King of Joseon is still important to Gildong. He does not believe the entire system is corrupt and differentiates between the government’s legitimate and illegitimate activities. While he condemns the judgment cast upon him for his status, he does not try to kill the main arbiters of his personal struggle, like his father and the King of Joseon.
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