Literary Feature and Educational Value of Oral Travelogue

구술 여행담의 문학적 성격과 교육적 의의-임철호 화자의 <금강산 여행담>을 중심으로-

In this study, I investigate the literary features and educational values of spoken travelogues by analyzing a travelogue about the Diamond Mountains by a farmer named Im, Chul-ho, a very interesting travelogue told for 70 minutes. It seems to have educational significance as a wonderful piece of literary work. The literary features of this tale can be summarized as follows. (1) It is truly 'literature of reality' which fully brings out literary appreciation; It evokes interest and emotional tension on the part of audience through vivid verbal embodiment of personal experiences; (2) It is a well constructed big story embedding small stories within it. The stories from many different travel points emerge into a whole unified story making it much richer and more attractive; and (3) It truly reflects the experiences and emotions of ordinary people. As such, it can be regarded as their spiritual property. In addition, spoken travelogues could be valuable as an object in literature education. It needs to be included in the literature curriculum and treated in the same way as written travelogues. With strengths as instructional materials, it could be effectively used to improve students' ability to express their daily experiences with literary sensibility and to make them better understand the lives of ordinary people in the past.