허균의 이상향 개념과 琉球國에 대한 인식

A Study on the Cognition of Country Ryukyu and Conception of Utopia in Heo Gyun

The concept of Utopia in Heo Gyun is centered on the Country Yuldo motif in <Hongkildongjeon>. This study examined the historical and literary conditions which seemed to influence Heo Gyun. Vulgar conditions which occurred in the early 16th century made intellectuals turn their eyes away from reality, and Heo Gyun was also interested in the idea of evasion to overcome the conditions. However, he felt depressed and pursued a real utopia, which is the motif of the Country Yuldo. It is a country where the people are happy and live peacefully. Heo Gyun kept a real island which is not too far off with a focus on feasibility, not thinking of it as an imaginary place. It is the Country Ryukyu. Heo Gyun knew that the Country Ryukyu considers filial piety and a sense of honor precious and is a place where the people love peace. He knew that it was a real island where we could get to on the boat in seven days. It can be inferred that it met the conditions of the Utopia he pursued. It has been thought that <Hongkildongjeon> was written immediately after the case of the Ryukyu Crown Prince. As the tragic story was that he was killed near Jeju Island while sailing with mysterious and precious treasures, Heo Gyun's concept of Utopia might be determined to be Ryukyu. He was suspected as a person who spread a rumor that the Country Ryukyu came to Joseon for revenge. He utterly denied the suspicion until he died, which means that he showed respect to the Utopia.As a result of analysing that the Country Yuldo in <Hongkildongjeon> is the Country Ryukyu (now Okinawa) in Japan, it was discovered that they have a number of identical aspects even though they can not be considered the same. The sounds in geographical names of Yuldo and Ryukyu are similar,and the geographical location of Yuldo reminds us of the Country Ryukyu.It has not been definitely known whether Hong Kil-dong as a real person went to the Country Ryukyu, but folktales floating around in the Country Ryukyu tell of relations with Hong Kil-dong.