ANALYSIS OF IMMORALITY IN THE NOVELS OF KIM YUJEONG

Authors

  • Kweon Nam Jung Nizami Uzbek National Pedagogical University, 2nd-year Master’s Student Author
  • Tatуana Kim PhD, Associate Professor Author

Keywords:

Kim Yujeong, immorality, satire, desire, humor, morality, human nature, realism, ethics, colonial society

Abstract

This study analyzes the meaning of immorality as it appears in the novels of Kim Yujeong, demonstrating that it functions not as a mere line of deviation or corruption, but as a literary device for critical reflection on humanity and society. Kim Yujeong’s works, which realistically depict human desire, hypocrisy, and contradictions amid the oppressive reality of colonial rural society, reinterpret these through the language of laughter and satire. Immorality in his literature is not an absence of morality or a fall, but a protest against social hypocrisy and the suppression of human nature – a symbolic expression of instinctive vitality. Using Spring, Spring (봄봄), Camellia (동백꽃), and Manmuban (만무방) as primary examples, the study examines the narrative structures in which immorality is formed, the dynamics of desire, and the functions of satire and humor, thereby revealing the ethical paradox and socially critical nature of Kim Yujeong’s prose.

References

1. Kim, Yunsik. A Study of Kim Yujeong. Seoul: Ilchogak, 1994. 215 p.

2. Kim, Byonik. The Satirical Realism of Kim Yujeong. Studies in Modern Literature, No. 16, 2004, pp. 75–92.

3. Park, Migyeong. The Conflict of Desire and Ethics in Kim Yujeong’s Prose. Korean Literary Studies Collection, Vol. 21, 2012, pp. 88–107.

4. Yun, Chonghui. Rural Society of the Colonial Era and Human Consciousness. Studies in Modern Korean Literature, 2002, pp. 15–32.

5. Lee, Chonghui. The Aesthetics of Haehak and Satire. Seoul: Munhakgwa Jiseongsa, 2010. 250 p.

6. Jeon, Hokhwan. Haehak and Humanity in the Literature of Kim Yujeong. Korean Literary Studies, Vol. 18, 2013, pp. 120–138.

7. Choi, Eunmi. Analysis of the Structure of Desire in “Camellia.” Literature and Interpretation, No. 33, 2015, pp. 90–108.

8. Choi, Mijong. The Aesthetics of Laughter in Kim Yujeong’s Literature and Its Pedagogical Value. Studies in Korean Literary Education, 2020, pp. 85–101.

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Published

2025-11-16