장화홍련

Vengeful GhostKorea · East AsiaFolktaleFear 9/10

Description

계모의 학대로 죽임당한 두 자매의 원귀. 매 부임하는 원님의 꿈에 나타나 억울함을 호소한다. 조선시대 실화를 바탕으로 한 대표적 원귀담으로, 여러 차례 영화화되었다.

Origin & Background

Janghwa Hongryeonjeon is based on a real murder case that occurred in 1656 (the 7th year of King Hyojong of Joseon) when Jeon Dong-heul was serving as the governor in Cheolsan, Pyeongan-do. This work is the most representative of the stepmother-type family tragedy novels, with the theme of rewarding good and punishing evil.

The Legend

The plot of Janghwa Hongryeonjeon revolves around the story of Bae Muryeong, who held the position of left magistrate in Cheolsan, his wife Mrs. Jang, and their two daughters, Janghwa and Hongryeon. After Mrs. Jang passes away from illness, Bae Muryeong remarries a woman named Heo, who subjects Janghwa and Hongryeon to various abuses. Eventually, Janghwa, wrongfully accused, throws herself into a pond and dies, and Hongryeon, upon hearing the news of her sister, falls into despair and also drowns in the pond. The spirits of the two sisters appear at the Cheolsan magistrate's office, pleading for their grievances to be resolved, but the magistrates die from shock. Later, a figure named Jeong Dong-woo re-investigates the case, punishes Heo and her daughter severely, and retrieves and buries the bodies of Janghwa and Hongryeon.

In Popular Culture

Janghwa Hongryeonjeon was adapted into a changgeuk (Korean traditional opera) by the Joseon Changgeuk Troupe in 1944, and this work is regarded as having achieved an unprecedented grand success in the history of changgeuk. Additionally, this story has been adapted into films multiple times, with various versions existing in 1924, 1936, 1956, 1962, 1972, 2003, and 2009.

This article is based on the Wikipedia article "장화홍련전" (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Wikipedia