A Study on the Oral Tradition Aspects of Folktales in the Busan Region Through the Network Theory.

Park, Ki-Hyun. 2008. A Study on the Oral Tradition Aspects of Folktales in the Busan Region Through the Network Theory. Dongnam Journal of Korean Language & Literature 26. Folktales are a genre which is created and maintained based on the relationship with the teller and listener, with other folktales and with regional cultural background and environment. Therefore, the study of folktales need to make an approach by considering not only specific tale itself, but also the relationship between individual elements. This study examined the oral tradition and variation of folktales using the network theory which is recently being spotlighted in many fields. As a result of investigation from the viewpoint of the network structure, it was found that the oral tradition structure of folktales in the Busan Region is basically based on the 'scale-free network' structure. This is the same as the oral tradition structure of folktales shown in a traditional society. However, the teller-focused network, which is not based on narrative, was found to have changed to the form of the ‘random network.’ A teller network, based on the random network, has disadvantages in handing down and re-creating folktales. Since there is no hub which is a shortcut handing down folktales in terms of oral tradition structure, connection stages should be made long, which makes the oral tradition and re-creation of folktales difficult. If this oral tradition of folktales continues to maintain its structure, it is possible to guess how folktales in big cities will change.