The title alone of the story is Mujong, meaning “without emotion, without love, unfeeling, uncaring, lacking in compassion, heartless” (Lee, 57). This meaning very much sets the mood of a rather unhappy story, of someone who’s life is void of much emotion. The story begins with a woman named Park Yong-ch’ae reuniting with the male protagonist, Yi Hyong-sik after eight years of separation. Previously, Yong ch’ae’s father, Scholar Pak had been a father-like figure to Yi Hyong-sik, and had taught him at a school run by Scholar Pak. Scholar Pak had such a fondness for Hyong-sik, that he told Yong-ch’ae to marry Hyong-sik. However, Hyong-sik and Yong-ch’ae were soon separated when, due to a crime, Yong-ch’ae’s father and older brothers were sent to prison. In order to produce money to free her father and brothers from prison, Yong-ch’ae decided the most useful thing for her to do was to become a …show more content…
This can be compared to the ending of Unyong-jon, as the couple is reunited, despite their initial tragic deaths, in the after life. The same cannot be said for Hyong-sik and Yong-ch’ae as the story ends with Hyong-sik heads to the United States with Son-hyong and Yong-ch’ae leaves for Japan to study music with Kim Pyong-uk. These contrasting endings can be directly connected to the time period that each novel was written in, as the pre-modern text of Unyong-jon, fits in with the time periods expectations of a ‘happy