남가록은 전쟁이 중심 사건을 형성하는 소설로, 여러 형태의 전투가 생동감 있게 그려진다. 이것은 과거 우리 고전소설들에서는 보지 못했던 새로운 면모이다. 나는 이런 새로운 면모가 외국문학으로부터 유래한 것이라고 생각하였다. 그래서 비교문학적인 관점을 견지하고, 그 영향의 원천을 중국 소설 삼국연의에서 찾으려고 하였다. 삼국연의는 조선조 식자들이 가장 많이 읽었고, 전쟁을 동력으로 삼아 전개되는 소설이었기 때문이다. 실제로 나는 작가가 삼국연의의 여러 요소를 받아들여 남가록을 창작하는 데 사용했음을 확인하였다. 영향은 사건 구성과 인물구성 등 서사 구도의 거시적인 측면에서부터, 전투 중에 사용하는 계략이나 사소한 소재의 선택 등 세밀한 부분에 이르기까지 광범위하게 미쳤다. 특히 삼국연의에서 가장 흥미롭고 유명한 부분만을 선별하여 자신의 창작에 활용한 점은 매우 돋보였다. 그럼에도 불구하고, 독자는 남가록을 읽으면서도 삼국연의가 그 생성에 심대한 영향을 끼치고 있다는 사실을 단번에 알아채기란 쉽지 않다. 이것은 결국 최만성의 작가적 역량이 매우 뛰어나다는 증거일 것이다.

Namgarok is a novel in which a war serves as the catalyst for plot developments and various kinds of battles are described in detail. This is an aspect that is rare among Korean classics. This study considers aspects from foreign literature and has identified the influence of the Chinese novel, Romance of Three Kingdoms. Thus, this study adheres to a comparative literary viewpoint. Romance of Three Kingdoms was determined to be an influence as it was the most frequently read novel by intelligent people in the Choseon Dynasty and was a novel written after a war as well. The study, in fact, confirms that the author of Namgarok utilized many elements from Romance of Three Kingdoms to create Namgarok. The influence was extensive, stemming from the macroscopic narrative composition, for instance the framework of events and the construction of characters, to minute details, such as the stratagem used in battles or the selection of trivial subject matters. It is particularly remarkable that the author of Namgarok utilized not just the most interesting and famous parts in Romance of Three Kingdoms in his novel. Nevertheless, the readers of Namgarok are not likely to recognize that Romance of Three Kingdoms had a heavy influence in the creation of Namgarok, which speaks to Choi, Man Seong's superb ability as a writer.

Namgarok is a novel in which a war serves as the catalyst for plot developments and various kinds of battles are described in detail. This is an aspect that is rare among Korean classics. This study considers aspects from foreign literature and has identified the influence of the Chinese novel, Romance of Three Kingdoms. Thus, this study adheres to a comparative literary viewpoint. Romance of Three Kingdoms was determined to be an influence as it was the most frequently read novel by intelligent people in the Choseon Dynasty and was a novel written after a war as well. The study, in fact, confirms that the author of Namgarok utilized many elements from Romance of Three Kingdoms to create Namgarok. The influence was extensive, stemming from the macroscopic narrative composition, for instance the framework of events and the construction of characters, to minute details, such as the stratagem used in battles or the selection of trivial subject matters. It is particularly remarkable that the author of Namgarok utilized not just the most interesting and famous parts in Romance of Three Kingdoms in his novel. Nevertheless, the readers of Namgarok are not likely to recognize that Romance of Three Kingdoms had a heavy influence in the creation of Namgarok, which speaks to Choi, Man Seong's superb ability as a writer.

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Comparative Literature, Source, Influence Relation, Romance of Three Kingdoms, War, the Framework of Event, Characterization, Stratagem, Subject Matter