THE FIRST PUBLICATIONS ABOUT PETER THE GREAT IN KOREA IN THE CONTEXT OF KOREAN LITERARY TRADITION
The paper analyzes some specific features of the first Korean publications about Peter the Great in the early XX century relating to the Korean literary tradition, as well as traces the reasons for addressing the tradition. These publications are a part of the enlightenment movement aimed at introducing the Koreans to the achievements of the West in order to take Korea to a new level, with Peter the Great being a model of such approach. The selection of the biographical genre for the majority of the publications can be explained by the fact that this genre suggests the model of behavior resulting in some immaterial reward and general harmony. The prose genre derived from the classical biography was widespread in the XVIII and the XIX centuries, thus the biographical genre was also associated with popularity. This fact was used by the enlightenment movement representatives, who published biographies in numbers to lift the national spirit and preserve the tradition. Some specific features can also be found on the level of contents. The description of wild morals in Russia before Peter the Great emphasizes the traits of the Tsar as the builder of the nation. Categorically, it coincides with the main subjects of the Korean myths about the founders of the state. These and other features lead to the conclusion about the relation between the traditional specifics of Peter the Great’s representation and the main directions of the activities carried out within the enlightenment movement. The publications were to prepare the readers for the certain perception of a given text and at the same time reflected the specific understanding of Peter the Great’s role by the authors of his first biographies in Korea.