Early Korean literature began as an oral tradition that focused on a love of nature and man's relationship with it. Korean works that came after this oral tradition were heavily influenced by shamanism, Buddhism, and Confucianism. Evil was punished and good rewarded, and respect, friendship, and loyalty were constant and emphasized themes.
Much early literature in Korea were of poems called hyangga (향가;鄕歌), which used hanja (Chinese characters) to phonetically represent how the Korean language sounded. Using Chinese was the only option for Korean writers at this time as the Korean language lacked its own native alphabet. In the Joseon period (조선시대;朝鮮時代), Korean literature of the upper class was still being written in classical Chinese and focused on philosophies and essays reflecting many of the Chinese classics.
Moving from philosophical pursuits in literature, Korean writers began writing fiction. Geumo Sinhwa (근모 신화), or The Tale of Geumo, is the first known classical work of Korean fiction. Authored by Kim Si-seup (김시습;金時習), this work of fiction was written in Chinese characters. From the 17th century and on fiction became more and more popular and readily available to the public.
Pansori was a very popular genre of fictional Korean literature that emerged during this time and whose notable characteristic was of human stereotypes of contemporary common people. Following this trend and beginning in the middle of the Joseon period, writings began to feature parable-like stories that deviated from the traditional themes of classical Chinese literature, and it became common to see Korean literature about thieves, merchants, and other common people.
Modern day literature in Korea is steeped in the politics of the time. During the 1940s, the Korean writers dealt with the split of the country into North and South. After the war, South Korean literature focused on the daily lives of ordinary people and their feelings regarding the division of their country.
A common theme still found today is the national division of Korea and how its inhabitants have been affected. A nation of readers, Korea has a number of writers who are respected and well known, many of whom happen to be women. Today's generation of writers have also found an internet audience just as eager to flip pages as they are to scroll to a new line of their favorite writer's book, as contemporary literature in Korea continues to grow and change.
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