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영어

Seolgongchanjeon and The Exorcist differ in their themes and structure as well as in their historical background; however, they are comparable and homogeneous in that they both tried to address the ‘exorcism motive.' The results of the comparison could be summed up in the following aspects: First, the personality of the possessed and the aspects of possession: the two works have a lot in common in this regard. The possessed are those who carry something psychologically defective. Despite the regional and historical differences, the two forms of possession coincide in the fact that they actually take place in a defective person and that the possessed person turns to a totally different person after possession. Yet the movie features more of the demonic qualities of possession. Next, the aspects of the concerned family asking for exorcism: the two plots agree in that they set up a parent who worries and takes actions to bring in the exorcist. Admittedly, there is a certain difference that in Seolgongchanjeon the exorist is called in right away while in The Exorcist he is asked to come over only after some medical diagnosis and treatment attempts. Then, identifying the demonic possessor of each work: in Seolgongchanjeon the evil spirit is the wondering ghost that cannot go to the world of the dead because of a premature death or of a grudge yet unredeemed. In contrast, the demon that appears in the movie is not the ghost of a dead person but the fallen angel that is believed to keep active up until the second-coming of Jesus Christ and his hell-fire judgment. The demonic actions and their purposes based on their identity: both stories relate the demonic attempts to talk to the world through the medium of the host as well as the use of the body and the aggressiveness upon those who try to practice exorcism. However, in the Korean old novel the evil spirit narrates his experiences in the Hades, which the movie lacks. This may be related to the different viewpoints toward spiritual and/or apocalyptic matters between Korea and America, or between the Eastern and the Western. The demon in The Exorcist has the supernatural ability to tell the fortunes and this is another significant difference. The ghost in Seolgongchanjeon would not kill Gongchim and only slightly deformed the facial look of Seol Chungsu when threatened whereas the demon in The Exorcist almost killed Regan and drove the exorcists Father Merrin and Father Karras. The purposes are all different. The status of the exorcist and the aspects of exorcism: Unlike Seolgongchanjeon the exorcists in the movie are the ones dispatched from a religious organization. Confucianism prevailed over the era when Seolgongchanjeon was published; in that context, there was no established dogma on the matter of being possessed so the exorcism was practiced only implicitly and unofficially. This is why Kim Seoksan drove out the evil spirits as an individual or resorting to his personal reputation. However, the story of The Exorcist unfolds against the firmly established Christian background of American society. Tools and methods of exorcism: in Seolgongchanjeon a peach branch, a twisted rope, a scarlet rope and other indigenous tools were used for exorcism whereas in The Exorcist Catholic prayer ritual accompanied by holy clothes, holy water and Roman devotional books is the main source of power for defeating the demon. However, the major difference between the two works lies in whether there is a spirit of love and sacrifice. In the latter the spirit of love and sacrifice is regarded as the most powerful weapon to fight against the demon while in the former there is no such message. Another difference is that in Seolgongchanjeon Kim Seoksan confronts the evil spirit by himself while in The Exorcist Father Merrin and Father Karras fight with each other believing in different principles of Christian evangelism.