토정-약현 세책본 연구의 보론(補論) -19세기 말 서울 세책본의 자료적 성격과 고소설 독서 문화-

초록

This study examines six rental manuscripts of classical Korean novels from Tojeong and Yakhyeon, housed at the Kyujanggak Institute for Korean Studies. Focusing on their regional background, physical features, narrative characteristics, and readers’ traces, it explores late nineteenth-century rental-book culture in Seoul. These manuscripts reveal features distinct from ordinary handwritten copies, including rental-shop marks, multi-volume structure, durable binding, colophons, and readers’ graffiti. The six works include heroic-military fiction, translated romance, domestic conflict narratives, pansori-based satire, and a modified heroic tale. Their variety suggests that rental-book readers enjoyed diverse narrative types rather than a single genre. Readers’ graffiti, including names, popular songs, vulgar expressions, and personal remarks, further shows that these books circulated through actual hands and everyday reading practices. Ultimately, the Tojeong-Yakhyeon manuscripts illuminate the circulation, rental, and reception of classical Korean novels in late Joseon Seoul.

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