'''Chinese-language literature in Korea''' (Korean''hanmunhak'') is [[literature]] writtenthe [[Chineselanguage]] in [[Korea]], which represents an early phase of [[Korean literature]] and influenced literature in the [[Korean language]].<ref>Korea journal Vol.3 p24 Yunesŭk'o Han'guk Wiwŏnhoe, Yunesŭkʻo Hanʼguk Wiwŏnhoe - 1963 "Literature in Chinese in Korea : At first Chinese literature in Korea was the preserve of the few, but as time went on it became the chief, if not the only, form of literature practised in the country by anyone. A spirit of abject admiration for China took ..."</ref>
'''Hanmunhak''' or '''Literary Chinese literature in Korea''' ([[Hangul]]: 한문학 [[Hanja]]: 漢文學) is [[Korean literature]] written in [[Literary Chinese]], which represents an early phase of [[Korean literature]] and influenced the literature written in the [[Korean language]].<ref>Korea journal Vol.3 p24 Yunesŭk'o Han'guk Wiwŏnhoe, Yunesŭkʻo Hanʼguk Wiwŏnhoe - 1963 "Literature in Chinese in Korea : At first Chinese literature in Korea was the preserve of the few, but as time went on it became the chief, if not the only, form of literature practised in the country by anyone. A spirit of abject admiration for China took ..."</ref>
==Classical Chinese in Korea==
==Classical Chinese in Korea==
The role of the [[Classical Chinese]] Han language or ''[[Hanmun]]''language in Korea was akin to the same role in Japan of Chinese [[Kanbun]] and in Vietnam of Chinese [[Hán văn]]; a role which is broadly comparable to that of the [[Latin language]] in Europe.<ref>Korean frontier Vol.1-2 1970 p294 "Chinese literature in Korea: The Chinese culture that swept the Korean peninsula was somewhat similar to the Greek and Latin ... At the turn of the 20th century, when dynasty rule came to an end, hanmunhak, or Chinese literature in Korea, ."</ref> Korean language did not surface as a written form until the 1880s.<ref>Atlas of Languages of Intercultural Communication in the Pacific Vl.1-2 Stephen Adolphe Wurm, Peter Mühlhäusler, International Council of Philosophy and Humanistic Studies - 1996 p378 "The first use of Korean occurred in a trilingual (Japanese, Chinese, Korean) newspaper set up in 1883. The Chinese language items in the newspaper were directed at educated Koreans who were contemptuous of the ordinary Korean script ..."</ref> During this period the use of written Chinese language did not indicate that Korean literati were fluent in spoken Chinese.<ref>James B. Palais Confucian Statecraft and Korean Institutions: Yu Hyŏngwŏn and the ... 1996 p639 "Unfortunately, Yu found that despite the facility of educated Koreans in reading classical Chinese texts, there were absolutely no civil officials who understood the spoken Chinese language. King Sejong in the early fifteenth century had faced ..."</ref>
The role of the [[Classical Chinese|Literary Chinese]] or [[Hanmun]] ([[Hangul]]: 한문; [[Hanja]]: 漢文) in Korea was akin to the same role as [[Kanbun]] in Japan and in Vietnam, [[Hán Văn|Hán văn]]; a role which is broadly comparable to that of the [[Latin language]] in Europe.<ref>Korean frontier Vol.1-2 1970 p294 "Chinese literature in Korea: The Chinese culture that swept the Korean peninsula was somewhat similar to the Greek and Latin ... At the turn of the 20th century, when dynasty rule came to an end, hanmunhak, or Chinese literature in Korea, ."</ref> During this period the use of written Chinese language did not indicate that Korean literati were fluent in spoken Chinese.<ref>James B. Palais Confucian Statecraft and Korean Institutions: Yu Hyŏngwŏn and the ... 1996 p639 "Unfortunately, Yu found that despite the facility of educated Koreans in reading classical Chinese texts, there were absolutely no civil officials who understood the spoken Chinese language. King Sejong in the early fifteenth century had faced ..."</ref>
==Korean literature==
==Korean literature==
{{main|Korean literature}}
{{Main|Korean literature}}
The role of Chinese language was so dominant that the history of [[Korean literature]] and [[Chinese language]] are almost contiguous till the 20th Century.
The role of [[Classical Chinese|Literary Chinese]] was so dominant that the history of [[Korean literature]] and [[Chinese language]] are almost contiguous till the 20th Century.
Korean works in Chinese are typically rendered in English according to modern Korean [[hangul]] pronunciations:
Korean works in Chinese are typically rendered in English according to modern Korean [[hangul]] pronunciations:
* [[Samguk Sagi]] (三國史記) "Three Kingdoms History"
* [[Samguk Sagi]] (三國史記) "Three Kingdoms History"
* [[Samguk Yusa]] (三國遺事) "Memorabilia of the Three Kingdoms"
* [[Samguk Yusa]] (三國遺事) "Memorabilia of the Three Kingdoms"
* [[Geumo Sinhwa]] (金鰲新話) "New stories from Mount Geumo"
* [[Geumo Sinhwa]] (金鰲新話) "New stories from Mount Geumo"
It is disputed whether Chinese or Korean was the original language of some works:
It is disputed whether Chinese or Korean was the original language of some works:
* [[The Cloud Dream of the Nine|Dream of Nine Clouds]] (九雲夢, Hangul 구운몽).
* [[The Cloud Dream of the Nine|Dream of Nine Clouds]] (九雲夢, [[Hangul]]: 구운몽).{{Needs citation|date=November 2023}}
The role of the Literary Chinese or Hanmun (Hangul: 한문; Hanja: 漢文) in Korea was akin to the same role as Kanbun in Japan and in Vietnam, Hán văn; a role which is broadly comparable to that of the Latin language in Europe.[2] During this period the use of written Chinese language did not indicate that Korean literati were fluent in spoken Chinese.[3]
^Korea journal Vol.3 p24 Yunesŭk'o Han'guk Wiwŏnhoe, Yunesŭkʻo Hanʼguk Wiwŏnhoe - 1963 "Literature in Chinese in Korea : At first Chinese literature in Korea was the preserve of the few, but as time went on it became the chief, if not the only, form of literature practised in the country by anyone. A spirit of abject admiration for China took ..."
^Korean frontier Vol.1-2 1970 p294 "Chinese literature in Korea: The Chinese culture that swept the Korean peninsula was somewhat similar to the Greek and Latin ... At the turn of the 20th century, when dynasty rule came to an end, hanmunhak, or Chinese literature in Korea, ."
^James B. Palais Confucian Statecraft and Korean Institutions: Yu Hyŏngwŏn and the ... 1996 p639 "Unfortunately, Yu found that despite the facility of educated Koreans in reading classical Chinese texts, there were absolutely no civil officials who understood the spoken Chinese language. King Sejong in the early fifteenth century had faced ..."
