Abstract

Nak‒cheong’s Hongkyungraejeon is a fiction on the Hong Kyungnae Rebellion of 1812, which runs close to 2,000 pages in squared manuscript paper. Dunn Nak‒cheong was born in 1875 in Jeongju, North Pyeongan Province, and moved to the United States in the early 20th century. He wrote five more novels in addition to Hongkyungraejeon. Hongkyungraejeon is composed of 19 chapters and each chapter has its own title. The characters include a number of fictional as well as historical ones related with the Rebellion. The novel has three parts: Hong Kyungrae and his confidants gathering like‒minded people, preparation for the uprising, and the development after the incident. Quite a large part of the novel is devoted to the description of the process of rallying rebels, while the post‒revolt progression is covered only in the last two chapters. This is a distinct feature from other stories dealing with the incident. The author depicts on Hong’s collusion with Seoul‒based high‒ranking aristocrats and military officers in securing supporters for the rebellion, which played out as a crucial factor in altering the initial plan to overthrow the regime to an expedition to invade Manchuria and restore the lost land. He also claims that the Battle of Songlim ended in a unilateral massacre by the government forces after the departure of Hong’s troops and that the Rebellion was ultimately put down by the betrayal of Seoul‒based collaborators. Portraying Yoon Wooklyeol’s treason as the will of Heaven, he expresses regret over the failed revolt. It can be argued that Dunn Nak‒cheong’s Hongkyungraejeon is a recollection on the Hong Kyungrae Rebellion from a Northwestern’s viewpoint.