A Study on the Structure of Heroic Narratives in the Tale of Taoist Wizard <Jeonwuchi>

Abstract

This paper examines the structural aspects of heroic narratives in the classic novel <Jeonwuchijeon: Tale of Jeonwuchi> and the modern movie <Jeonwuchi>. The novel is a work depicting the heroic achievements of Taoist wizard Jeonwuchi, the main character in the novel. It also analyzes the discourse structure of the film version of the tale, <Jeonwuchi>, through Joseph Campbell’s theory of the Hero’s Journey. The main objectives of this paper are to identify the limits of modern modifications of cultural archetypes based on Jeonwuchi’s heroism, and to seek out new directions for the reproduction of glocal (global + local) cultural contents. Unlike the original text, the film’s discourse structure related to heroism is either diminished entirely or modified into various narratives. The protagonist Jeonwuchi and his story especially has been re-imagined in a way that depicts him as a rather playful character. This kind of characterization is problematic for the reproduction of future cultural contents involving heroes because the literary narratives and works featuring Jeonwuchi that have been passed down and modified all contain elements of a hero narrative. By channeling his superhuman abilities (Taoist magic), Jeonwuchi helps the people and gains power for himself as well. This kind of narrative element makes one see the potential of storytelling that features Korea’s unique heroism which may even allow it to become cultural contents on a global scale. Therefore, this paper rediscover the value of Korean hero narratives through a literary review of the archetype and analysis of narrative structure of the film <Jeonwuchi> based on Joseph Campbell’s theory of the Hero’s Journey and Christopher Vogler’s writing methodology. Based on the results, this paper concludes that Campbell’s theory is indeed an effective method which upon the narratives of the <Tale of Jeonwuchi> can be established as a new genre in the form of ‘Korean hero contents’.