Analysis of modern Korean literature: Un Songhi artworks

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ANALYSIS OF MODERN KOREAN LITERATURE: UN SONGHI ARTWORKS

Akimova A.O.

Institute of Philology of Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv

Akimova A. О.

Interregional Academy of Personnel Management

Abstract

Contemporary Korean literature is a significant component of world literature. In the wake of globalization and the strengthening of multiculturalism, she combined the Korean national literary tradition with European and Western (American) influences. The study of the artistic features of Korean prose and poetry, its figurative and thematic specifics makes it possible to enrich literary science and to illuminate the relationship between Korean peoples and the formation of 20th-century Korean literature.

We can note that the national specificity of literature is the organic quality of fiction of a certain people, different from the qualities of other literatures. Also, the national specifics of literature is determined by certain factors, primarily the mentality of the people. If a nation that has become a historically stable community is characterized by a certain set of ethnically psychological attributes, then they will necessarily affect the spiritual world of the writer, affect his thinking, the results of his work. A literary text can be considered as one of the forms of public consciousness, because literature always to one degree or another reflects the social trends of its time. No exception is the work of Yoon Songhi. After analyzing several texts of Yoon, we came to the conclusion that the writer pays special attention to the problem of loneliness against the background of the breakup of the family. The study revealed several reasons that prompted Yoon to address this issue. The first reason is the weakening of the institution of the family in modern Korea amid globalization and a gradual departure from traditional values. For Korea, the so-called state of anomie is now somewhat characteristic.

In this article, the authors consider the problem of loneliness against the backdrop of the collapse of the family in the texts of Yoon Songhi. A number of ideas inherent in the work of the writer are described, literary techniques are used that are used to better reveal the problems. It also analyzes the role of the food motive in describing the problem of loneliness in Yun texts. It should be noted that the national originality of Korean literature, first of all, consists in solving and covering the main issues of the people - covering them in the interests of the nation. The reflection of life in works is distinguished by the depth of penetration into spiritual manifestations, the veracity of the image, which should bring up the best human features and feelings in the people. The writer must convey in a simple and expressive form to the reader certain feelings for the general public.

Key words: Korean literary stories, Korean literature, loneliness, family breakdown, Korea, food symbolism, modern Korean literature.

Анотація

Акімова А.О., Акімова А.О.

АНАЛІЗ СУЧАСНОЇ КОРЕЙСЬКОЇ ЛІТЕРАТУРИ: ХУДОЖНІ ТВОРИ ЮН СОНХІ.

Сучасна корейська література є вагомою складовою частиною літератури світової. На хвилі глобалізації і посилення мультикультуралізму вона поєднала в собі корейську національну літературну традицію з європейськими і західними (американським) впливами. Вивчення художніх рис корейської прози і поезії, її образної та тематичної специфіки дає можливість збагатити літературознавчу науку і висвітлити взаємозв'язок між корейськими народами і становленням корейської літератури ХХ ст.

Можемо відзначити, що національна специфіка літератури - це органічна якість художньої літератури певного народу, що відрізняється від якостей інших літератур. Також національна специфіка літератури зумовлена певними факторами, передусім ментальністю народу. Якщо народу, котрий став історично стійкою спільнотою, властива певна сукупність етнічно психологічних ознак, то вони обов'язково відображаються на духовному світі письменника, позначаються на його мисленні, результати творчості.

Художній текст можна розглядати як одну з форм суспільної свідомості, адже література завжди в тій чи іншій мірі відображає соціальні тенденції свого часу. Не є виключенням і творчість Юн Сонхі. Проаналізувавши кілька текстів Юн, ми дійшли висновку, що особливу увагу письменниця приділяє проблемі самотності на тлі розпаду сім'ї. У ході дослідження було виявлено декілька причин, що спонукали Юн звернутися до даної проблематики. Перша причина - це ослаблення інституту сім'ї в сучасній Кореї на тлі глобалізації та поступового відходу від традиційних цінностей, оскільки для Кореї зараз у деякій мірі характерний так званий стан аномії.

У даній статті авторами розглядається проблема самотності на тлі розпаду сім'ї в текстах Юн Сонхі. Описано ряд ідей, властивих творчості письменниці, визначено літературні прийоми, що використовуються для кращого розкриття проблематики. Також дається аналіз ролі мотиву їжі в описі проблеми самотності в текстах Юн.

Також слід зазначити, що національна своєрідність корейської літератури, насамперед полягає у вирішенні та висвітленні головних питань народу - освітленні їх в інтересах нації. Відображення життя у творах відрізняється глибиною проникнення в духовні прояви, правдивістю зображення, яке має виховувати в народові кращі людські риси і почуття. Письменник повинен у простий і виразній формі донести ті чи інші почуття до широкої громадськості.

Ключові слова: корейські літературні розповіді, корейська література, самотність, розпад сім'ї, Корея, символізм їжі, сучасна корейська література.

Analysis of studies of this problem

In the modern European space, studies of classical and modern Korean literature were devoted to scientific works and research by such scientists L. Gumilyov, S. Kurbanov, I. Tostokulakov, G. Kim, Kim Jong Gil, K. Eckert, Park Mi, Park Geun Hye and others In addition, literary works have become the object of research by many Ukrainian scientists, including Yu. Kuznetsov, I. Burlakova, A. Tkachenko.

It should be noted that changes in literature always keep up with social processes. Modern Korean literature, still almost unknown in Western countries, is no exception. Meanwhile, the country of morning freshness has something to present to a foreign reader. Writer Yoon Songhi (А±јєИс), whose work is considered in this work, is among the young authors who deserve the attention of the readership.

Yoon Songhi was born in 1973 in the city of Suwon.

She studied at the literary department of the Seoul Institute of Arts. Yoon has created storybooks like The Lego House («·№°н·ОёёµзБэ», 2001), «You there?» («°Е±в, ґзЅЕ?», 2004), «Common cold» («°Ё±в», 2007), «On the laugh» («їфґВµїѕИ», 2012), «Laying a pillow under his head» («єЈ°іё¦єЈґЩ», 2016) [26]. («±ё°жІЫµй», 2010), translated into Spanish and Chinese [1, p. 51]. Yoon's story, «One Hundred and ninety-eighth page of his book» («±ЧіІАЪАЗГҐ 198 ВК», 2004) formed the basis of the film of the same name, shot in 2008 by director Kim Jongkwon [2]. The writer's literary debut took place in 1999 at the annual literary competition in the edition of Tona Ilbo. At a young age for the writer, Young Songhi received many awards, among them: «Book of the Year» (Б¦ 2 ИёїГЗШАЗї№јъ»у№®ЗРєО№®) and Hyundai literary award (Б¦ 50 Иё Зцґл№®ЗР»у) 2005 Lee Hyosok Prize (Б¦ 14 ИёАМИїј®№®ЗР»у) 2013 Hwang Songwon Prize (Б¦ 11 Иё ИІјшїш№®ЗР»у) in 2011 [26]. In 2016, Yoon was awarded once again.

Literary prize from the publication «Hanguk Ilbo» (Б¦ 49 ИёЗС±№АПєё№®ЗР»у) awarded a storybook «Laying a pillow under his head» [3].

After analyzing several of Yun's works, we came to the conclusion that one of the main problems for the writer is the problem of loneliness against the background of family breakdown. Interest in this problem is not accidental. In the Republic of Korea, as in many developed countries, loneliness has become an epidemic, and the weakening of the traditional value system has led to the decline of the institution of the family. According to the American Psychological Association (American Psychological Association, APA) loneliness now poses a greater threat to society than even such a widespread disease as obesity [4]. Justifying the relevance of this work, it is worth noting that the works of Yun, although they were highly appreciated at home, in Russia so far remain without attention from both readers and researchers. We would like to try to start the study of the writer's work. loneliness literary writer family

Statement of a scientific problem.

Analyzing the theoretical foundations of literary works of Korean literature, one should note a characteristic feature in Korean literature, since during its development Korean literature could not be limited only to the national horizon and remain indifferent to other cultures. In addition, research is determined by the growth of general scientific interest in the problem of Korean literature, in particular, we want to consider a number of works by Yun Songhi, which address the problem of loneliness against the backdrop of family breakdown. Identify possible reasons why the writer addresses this problem. In addition, consider the literary techniques used by Yun to uncover problems, and also consider the role of the food motive in uncovering the problem of loneliness in Yun texts.

Statement of the main material

The problem of loneliness against the backdrop of family breakdown Yoon's attention to the problem of loneliness is not unfounded. According to statistics provided in The Korea Herald, 28% of people in Korea say that they will have no one to turn to in a difficult life situation [5]. Koreans are increasingly detached from their roots, from their families, they feel lonely and insecure. Experts from the Korean Culture publication note that a few decades ago the most common phenomenon was when three generations lived under one roof, and now the very basic idea of the family began to change [6, pp. 56-57].

In the text of the story «Vacation», Yoon demonstrates to the reader the difference between loneliness and a full family life. The protagonist, a middle-aged divorced man, is so used to living in solitude and ignoring the attention of others that when he heard a persistent knock on the door, the first thing he thought was thieves checking if there was anyone in the house and not friends or relatives arriving with an unplanned visit: «The doorbell rang, but I have not expected anyone in the morning. Who knows, maybe these are the housekeepers working in the holiday season. I pretended no one was in the house. The doorbell rang again. At the same time, a telephone rang. It was Pak: «It's me. Open it up!» I opened the door, Pak stood behind her with his eldest son» [7, p. 113]. Pak is the best friend of the protagonist, who has known him since school. Yoon introduces this character into the plot to more clearly reflect the issues. Here we use such a technique as opposition: to the description of the monotonous, lonely existence of the protagonist the rich life of Pak, his only friend, is contrasted. Pak succeeds in the service, has a beloved wife and three children. Having joined the Pak's family trip, the protagonist feels awkward, he thinks he will be superfluous: «Forgive me for being imposed,» I replied. She patted me lightly on the shoulder, as if making it clear that I was talking nonsense» [7, p. 115].

Looking at the idyll that reigns in the family of a friend, the protagonist, at a subconscious level, begins to regret his life situation. In this way, Yoon emphasizes the contrast between loneliness and family life. Some of the minor characters in Vacation also suffer from loneliness. For example, a colleague of the protagonist by the name of Choi. The story says little about his life, but, apparently, he has no family or close friends. Choi is not in a hurry to go home after work, instead he fills the void in life with the help of a strange hobby: «Sitting at a table by the convenience store and drinking beer, he counted people passing by. But Choi did not just count everyone who caught his eye. Every day, he invented a condition and sought out only those who fit him. For example, on the day when he decided to count people in white T-shirts, there were three of them. Choi always carried around a wallet-sized notebook with him and made daily notes. He showed it to me and said: «Yesterday I saw eight women with prams, and the day before, six people with bottles of water in their hands». The day was hot and I thought there would be more ... Do I look strange?» [7, pp. 109-110].

Introducing Choi into the story, the writer wants to give the protagonist one more reason to think about her life, looking from the side at the same lonely person as he is. The story «Burrow the Treasure Map at the Turn» describes two generations at once, affected by the decline of family values and loneliness. It is worth noting that in this text one can see the idea that a person can be alone, even when surrounded by relatives. The narrative is on behalf of a woman who tells the story of her family. Her mother died after childbirth, and dad was forced to raise two twin daughters himself. In a hopeless situation, he returned to his hometown to his tyrannical father. «The only virtue that he passed on to his children is endurance» [8, p. 82], the storyteller says about her grandfather. And this did not come from what he wanted to raise from the sons of real men, but only because these sons did not see either love or support on the part of his father, but only cruelty. Without the corresponding willpower and self-sufficiency, they would not be able to exist next to such a person.

The narrator also recalls: «Papa practiced judo, taekwondo and kendo, as his grandfather desired. But dad was born prematurely - in the eighth month, grew frail, so the sport was clearly not for him» [8, p. 82]. Due to intense exercise and frustration by his father, the boy even developed stuttering. It is unlikely that in the absence of parental heat, the storyteller's father could realize the importance of the family. In the future, the man failed to build his family. Yoon makes the reader wonder how terrible the consequences of a lack of healthy family values can be. The narrator's dad has seven brothers, but they perceive each other exclusively as rivals in obtaining an inheritance, and they don't come to the hospital to support their dying father and say goodbye, but to find out where the will was done: «The last word that grandfather said while lying on the hospital the bed was «there». The sons asked him where the will is, where he put it. Grandfather, pointing at the hospital stream, said «there», but could not continue. While my dad was at the funeral, the remaining seven brothers turned the house upside down, trying to still find a will» [8, p. 85].

Yoon shows us the unsightly paradox of this story. An elderly man died alone, being surrounded by eight adult sons. He badly raised his children, making them incapable of compassion, and he himself could not receive this compassion. The absence of characters of family values or any other moral basis provokes their selfishness and mercantile spirit. And such qualities of character will predetermine the loneliness of heroes in the future. Philologist Lee Sung Yun, exploring contemporary Korean prose, came up with the same idea in the story of Pak Vanso's «Married» (1977 г.).

The work shows how a passion for enrichment destroys a person's soul and dooms him to constant loneliness. The story is built on the opposition of two worlds. The first is the cold and empty world of the main character, striving for wealth, the second is a bright and happy world around [9, p. 7]. Loneliness against the backdrop of the breakup of the family is a central issue raised in the story «Putting a Pillow Under Your Head». The main character is a middleaged man with an adult son and recently parted with his wife. The inner experiences of the hero go out when he accidentally starts watching an absurd children's cartoon. According to the plot, the smell of the feet of the father of a young boy Canggu was so strong that it could, for example, neutralize criminals and punish household members. In the series that the narrator watched, the boy's parents lost their memory, and their consciousness returned to a dozen years ago. But the child managed to restore the memory of his parents, with the help of his father's shoes that exuded an unpleasant smell.

The narrator says: «I dropped the spoon and, laughing, spat out a half-baked pickled radish. Foot odor But after laughter came sadness. A couple ofminutes I even cried. Each time forgetting the present and returning to the past, members of the Canggu family can simply take off their shoes and rely on the smell of their feet. Yes, with the help of this smell you could even protect people from intruders! What nonsense. But at the end of the cartoon I began to applaud» [10, p. 170]. The main character, apparently, was touched by the fact that in the cartoon it was possible to return everything to normal, using only someone's foot odor. The man is sad that everything cannot be resolved so simply in real life. In this episode, Yoon shows readers that one cannot get rid of a problem by running away from reality, that it is impossible to fix it as simple as the cartoon characters do. Apparently, the man has no close friends. He doesn't keep in touch even with former classmates, and if he is forced to speak with one of them, he does it rather coolly. In one of the episodes, the hero, who at that time worked as an extras actor, says: «Although I was wearing a false beard during the filming, my former classmates recognized me, and some even called me. They talked about how exactly I parodied the voice of the class teacher in high school. It was rumored that even while reading the textbook, I spoke like an actor on the radio. I didn't remember anything like that. «All the same, they're not taking extras in close-ups», I answered and hung up, not even thanking for the call» [10, p. 145].

In the unexpected desire of an adult already described by a man to become an extras actor described in the story, one can consider the signs of such a psychological phenomenon as escapism. Culturologist E.N. Shapinskaya considers escapism as a kind of escape from everyday life, a desire to abstract oneself, to shut oneself off from a bothering routine [11].

Escapism can manifest itself in completely different forms, from the constant reading of books or the fascination with computer games, to the use of narcotic drugs or joining a religious sect. The hero says: «Sometimes, when I put on a suit for filming and basked in the sun, leaning against the wall, I forgot how old I am now» [10, pp. 149-150]. He also recalls: «While I was shooting in a large-scale historical series, they killed me several dozen times. And I even liked to go back to the times when I was not yet born and die. I used to die, struck by an arrow, when I washed myself in a creek of a ravine; perished from a stone blow, climbing the fortress wall, or froze to death, having gone camping on a snowy day. Until the director shouted «Stop», I tried to breathe as quietly as possible and not think about anything. Indeed, at such moments I was not myself, but a dead man» [10, p. 145].

Real life does not bring the hero satisfaction, and in acting he finds a reason to close himself from problems. The narrator hardly mentions either his adult son or his younger brother, from which we can conclude that relations with relatives are not very close and do not help smooth out loneliness. Recently, friends of the hero have been replaced by a couple of random acquaintances whose names are not given in the book, but are only indicated by the letters K and P New friends are the same as the main character, single, divorced middle-aged men. Yoon Songhi compares the main character, K and P. All three characters embody the same problem - the problem of loneliness against the backdrop of the breakup of the family. The comparison here is used, probably for two reasons. Firstly, showing several different characters at once, who faced the same difficulties, the writer once again emphasizes the universality and widespread prevalence of the problem. Secondly, P and K may have served as a pretext for the narrator to think about his life. New friends having the same problems gave him the opportunity in a sense to look at himself from the side. The narrator describes the relationship with K and P that he accidentally met in a pub last summer: «The only thing that brought the three of us together was that we were all divorced. We did not exchange phones, did not ask who lives where, did not pay attention to the age difference. When the glasses were empty, we filled them again, exchanging banal jokes. It suited all of us» [10, p. 153].

Heroes sometimes drank together, not being friends, but probably just did not have a family or other friends with whom to spend time. K, P and the narrator are just random acquaintances, of whom only loneliness and family problems are common. Their friendships do not go beyond the pub. The absence of any strong social ties between the characters of the story is doubly unusual, since Koreans have a penchant for collectivism. Orientalist I.A. Tolstokulakov writes: «The result of a combination of special socio-economic factors in the culture of the Far Eastern region during the feudal and new history is the priority of the collective over the individual» [12, p. 63]. This state of affairs persists to this day. Koreans, as a rule, tend to belong to any group, while individualism is even partially condemned. The character of the story, whose name is denoted as P, is divorced, brings up a daughter who, after breaking up her parents, wished to stay with her father, but «it took several months, and the girl could not live a day without saying that her mother was better» [10, p. 152]. Yoon encourages the reader to think about how empty and inferior the life of a single person is. P is sympathetic. According to him, while the family had no problems, they all together each year participated in competitions in firing from water pistols. It was a kind of family tradition. In the hope of bringing his family together, he again signed up for the competition, but his daughter and ex-wife only made fun of him. After which P hoped that at least new friends would keep him company, but he was mistaken. The scene below demonstrates well the absence of any psychological connection between the characters, they are not interested in each other: «P. he asked us cautiously: «Maybe we'll go together to compete in water pistol shooting?» I furtively glanced at P He looked older than me, but for a moment seemed like a child. «I don't want to», I answered. K put up his thumb and forefinger, depicting a gun in his hand.

- Babah! - He aimed at a deflated ball and depicted a shot. «I don't want either». I imagined the three of us accidentally colliding in the subway. Likely, none of us will even let us know that we know each other» [10, pp. 167-168]. P. said that before the divorce, family relations became simply terrible, family members often clashed: «The hours when they four sat on the couch and watched TV were hell». Despite the «real hell» that reigned in the family, P seeks to establish relations with his relatives again. His current situation gives P much more suffering than past conflicts with his wife. Character K is also in a cool relationship with his family. Apparently, he suffered a divorce quite hard. The protagonist says: «K, divorcing on the initiative of his wife, still did not really know why she insisted on this divorce. The question is «why?» did not come from his mind. Because of this, he constantly hummed under his breath. When he hummed, such thoughts did not fit his head» [10, p. 153]. K suffers not only from parting with his wife. His loneliness is compounded by poor relationships with his parents. K told the main character that he had not called his father and mother for a long time to ask how they were. «Any call I make to them ends with my father calling me sick and letting go of unflattering comments about me» [10, p. 167], - K. laments the list of lonely characters in the pub's owner, who intervened in a friend's conversation: «Quarrels and it's not so bad that they call you crazy. My family members do not even quarrel with me» [10, p. 167]. Loneliness presses so hard on a man that he agrees to any, even the most intense, relationship with his family, because a bad world is better than a good quarrel.

Yoon shows readers that all heroes are painfully experiencing divorce and are burdened by loneliness. Probably, the writer believes that in case of problems in the family, efforts should be made to maintain relations. As the story progresses, the protagonist gradually realizes his desire to restore his family. For the first time, the man wanted to wish his ex-wife a pleasant trip, but stopped. At that time, he had not yet realized his desire to make peace with his wife: «Have a good trip,» I printed and immediately erased. «Take care of yourself», he printed and erased» [10, p. 146]. In one of the following episodes, the narrator struggles with a subconscious desire to call his wife who left for the Philippines to study: «Before falling asleep, I wondered what time it was in the Philippines. I took out a phone to see the time difference, but stopped. This is not New York, I thought. «Does it really matter what the difference is in time?» If it is day, then it is also day, if it is night, then it must be there too»« [10, p. 150]. In the last scene of the story, the hero, touched by the children's cartoon he just watched, finally realizes that he wants to return to his old relationship and is trying to take steps towards rapprochement: «For a few moments I looked at the phone, then dialed up courage and called. The wife did not pick up the phone. A few minutes later she sent an SMS: «I'm in the classroom»« [10, p. 171].

The story «Putting a pillow under your head» has an open ending, but, based on a noticeable change in the mind of the protagonist, we can assume that he will soon try to get rid of his isolated state and restore his family. It is also noteworthy that the word «loneliness», its derivatives and synonyms are not found in the text of the story «Putting a pillow under your head». Yoon Songhi does not speak directly about the experiences of the heroes, but this does not interfere with the correct perception of the problems of the work. Often, prerequisites for future psychological problems develop at a young age. Li Kwan Song, a specialist in the field of social philosophy, explains in one of his articles: «The family forms emotional ties of a person, attachments, and the process of mastering the language and traditions of society is ongoing. It is in the family that a person socializes, acquires the qualities necessary for serving humanity, and learns to «live for others»« [13, p. 154]. Thus, childhood is a period that largely determines the future life of an individual. If the child does not learn the basic values in the family, then later on he may encounter difficulties. In the «Vacation» story, Yoon shows that one of the reasons for loneliness may be that in childhood a person did not realize the importance of the family. The main character, on behalf of whom the story is being narrated, is a lonely middle-aged man who is divorced [20-23].

It can be assumed that in his youth the hero was deprived of maternal warmth. For many people, childhood memories are something bright and dear, but in the case of the main character of this story, the situation is much more complicated and his loneliness is partly from his childhood. For many, the mother's voice is a symbol of comfort, the main character says that he remembers his mother's voice as if he heard it only yesterday, but this voice does not bear bright memories. The man says so about his mother: «She usually didn't speak very kindly, but that day her voice was just icy. Or maybe it seemed so because it was winter» [7, p. 105]. Yun stresses the unpleasant memories of his mother's voice with an uncomfortable atmosphere. The narrator says: «At this time of the year it was getting so cold that you could see the vapor from the mouth. Although we had a stove, our mother saved on coal and drowned only on those days when the temperature dropped below zero. I was then nine years old. And maybe ten to eleven» [7, p. 105]. Yoon pushes the reader to the idea that, as a child, the main character did not realize the importance of the family, so he could not save his own family or simply did not want to. The loneliness of the protagonist is opposed to the full life of his best friend Pak. And if the main character, having no understanding of the importance of the family as a child, ended up being alone, then Pak from a young age knew what he was striving for. The narrator recalls: «Pak has long said that by marrying, he will have three children. And these will necessarily be two sons and a daughter» [7, p. 116]. So in the end it happened. Pak succeeds at work, has three children and a loving wife. Lee Kwang Sung writes: «Socialization is especially effective provided that there is a continuity between the present, the past and the future, and this connection should be ensured by the family. Only in the family an atmosphere is created where everyone cares for everyone, and everyone cares for everyone» [13, p. 150]. The absence of such a continuity between the past and the future can have sad consequences, as shown in the story «Dig a treasure map on a bend». The writer does not create unusual images, does not endow them with a bright personality, but shows average, ordinary people to emphasize that the problem of loneliness against the backdrop of family breakdown is not something out of the ordinary, but a common phenomenon. The linguist V. A. Nikonov wrote about such an approach, noting that if the names of characters are not indicated in the literary text, it is probably more important for the author not to emphasize the personality, but to point to a generalized representative of gender, age or social group [14, p. 234].

It is significant that Yoon Songhi not only leaves characters without names, but also does not describe portraits in general. A. B. Yesin writes: «A literary portrait means an image in a work of art of a person's entire appearance, including his face, physique, clothing, manner of behavior, gesticulation, and facial expressions. The portrait usually begins the reader's acquaintance with the character. Any portrait is to one degree or another characterological - this means that according to external features we can at least fluently and approximately judge the character of a person» [15, p. 67]. Yun does not need individual character traits, as she depicts only an average member of society. Yoon leaves all the details to the imagination of readers, only trying to push them to think about certain problems. In addition, the texts of the works of Yoon Songhi are characterized by such a subjectobject organization in which the narration comes from the first person, that is, the main character himself is the narrator. A. B. Yesin claims: «The first-person narrative creates a great illusion of the likelihood of a psychological picture, since a person tells about himself. In a number of cases, psychological narrative in the first person acquires the character of a confession, which enhances the impression» [15, p. 57].

This type of narration is used in all texts of Yoon, with which we have become acquainted. Among them are the stories «Putting a pillow under your head», «Boomerang», «Vacation», «Burrow the treasure map at the bend» and the novel «Spectators». It is worth noting that Yoon deliberately chooses a type of narration that can limit it in some way. In Yoon texts, the subject of the story is part of the created artistic reality. He can only talk about what he saw, heard, thought or felt. Yoon does not use third-person narratives, although it does give the author greater freedom in conducting the story. So, N.V Barkovskaya, describing the advantages of this type of narration, writes that if the one who narrates is outside the created artistic reality, the narrative looks more objective. Moreover, such a narrator is aware of everything that happens anytime, anywhere, so the scale of the art world is unlimited [16, p. 17]. But Yoon refuses the advantages of third-person narration in order to better establish an emotional connection with the reader, to make the stories more realistic. Readers think that the main character (he is also the subject of speech) communicates directly with them. This approach helps to better convey the ideas embedded in the texts.

Thus, we came to the following conclusions, a literary text can be considered as one of the forms of public consciousness [17], because literature always reflects, to one degree or another, the social trends of its time. No exception is the work of Yoon Songhi. After analyzing several texts of Yoon, we came to the conclusion that the writer pays special attention to the problem of loneliness against the background of the breakup of the family. The study revealed several reasons that prompted Yoon to address this issue. The first reason is the weakening of the institution of the family in modern Korea amid globalization and a gradual departure from traditional values. For Korea, the so-called state of anomie is now somewhat characteristic. Sociologist A.I. Kovaleva notes that such a state of society arises when the old system of values weakens and the new one has not yet been formed [18, p. 155]. Specialists who study the development trends of Korean society note: «During the transition period, any society perceives something new as a crisis state, and this is natural. The modern Korean family is more traditional, and the changes taking place with it are interpreted as crisis» [19, p. 120].

It is explained that the family institution in the country is gradually weakening: «According to the UN, the Republic of Korea now occupies the third place in the number of divorces in the world after the United States and Sweden. In 2006, Korea ranks first in 30 countries in terms of the number of divorces» [19, p. 118]. In such conditions, the number of single people is constantly growing, which is very unusual for Korea with its traditional collectivism. The second reason is the strong position of Confucianism in Korean culture. Family for Confucianism is extremely important, so the theme of the family is quite common in Korean literature. And if in the works of the Joseon era the theme of the family was considered from the position of respecting parents, it is typical for modern literature to highlight the changing role of the family in society and the consequences of this change, including the increase in the number of single people. A number of techniques have been identified that Yoon uses to better uncover issues. Firstly, matching.

A number of techniques have been identified that Yoon uses to better uncover issues. Firstly, matching. In the text of the story «Putting a pillow under your head», for example, a number of characters are compared. They all have common features - they are single middleaged men who survived a divorce. A comparison here allows us to show that the problem of loneliness is not something out of the ordinary, but is widespread. Secondly, the contrast. This trick is especially explicitly used in the story «Vacation», where the lonely existence of a divorced protagonist is contrasted with the full life of his best friend named Pak. Describing the happy family man Pak, Yoon shows the reader how empty the life of the protagonist is. In addition, the writer pushes the main character to think about his own life, which is largely inferior to the life of his friend. Thirdly, the actual absence of names and descriptions. Yoon Songhi seeks to show that loneliness has taken on the character of an epidemic. Therefore, the heroes are not endowed with any individuality, they are the average members of society. This technique allows us to emphasize that everyone can face the problem of loneliness and family breakdown. Fourth, first- person narrative. The subject of the story in all the texts Yun examined by us is the main character. This type of text construction creates a feeling of realism of what is happening, there is an emotional connection with the main character, which in turn also helps to better convey to the reader an understanding of the problem touched on in the text. It is worth noting that, as part of a society strongly inclined towards collectivism, the writer assesses loneliness and family breakdown negatively. Heroes are difficult to experience a divorce or lack of healthy family relationships, their life is shown in a negative way. Separately, Yoon introduces the idea that often the loneliness of a person comes from childhood. In the stories «Vacation» and «Burrow the treasure map at the turn», the loneliness of the heroes is partly due to the fact that even in childhood their understanding of the value of the family did not delay. It is noteworthy that a special place in the work of Yun is the motive of food. The writer is characterized by a description of a large number of episodes when the characters take food or talk about it.

It can also be concluded that this is due to two reasons. The first reason is the use by the writer of dishes as symbols to which an attentive reader will pay attention. The motive of food here helps to demonstrate the exact contrast between loneliness and full-fledged family life. The second reason is that eating in Yoon texts often plays the role of organizing link in the story or sets the communicative situation. So, for example, the story «Putting a pillow under your head» is built in such a way that if we conditionally break the text into separate scenes, then each scene will be built on the basis of the food motive.

Conclusion

In the course of the study, we came to the conclusion that reading modern Korean prose, you can not only better understand Korean society and the peculiarities of the thinking of Koreans, but also draw parallels with the society to which we belong. Indeed, in our era of active globalization, people in different parts of the world face the same problems. Yun's works reflecting social trends will be of interest not only to ordinary readers, but also to specialists whose task is to study the language and culture of the Republic of Korea, as well as Korean society as a whole.

References