• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.18 no.11
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• pp.161-170
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• 2018

In this paper, the aspects of recollection discourse during the Japanese Invasion of Korea in 1592 are discussed. As a research method the dialectic of oblivion is used. The results of the study are like these: first, the hero discourse of Lee Soon-Sin was the center of the discourse of the Japanese invasion of Korea in 1592 until the 20th century. In the two books Jingbirok and A War Diary written at that time, the subjective and objective description of the war was essential. However, it has a limit that it can't describe the real situation of the war that the people and the soldiers went through, as it focuses on Lee Soon-Sin's inner thoughts. Second, in the 21st century The Song of Sword written by Kim Hoon deals with the inner mind of Lee Soon-Sin in monologue unlike the usual hero discourse. Although as we can see in the records about the marine righteous army, people centered discourse description of the war shows a different way of discourse about the Imjin War. The movie, Myeongryang directed by Kim Han-Min tries to modify the way of remembering the war and presents the real heroes were the people and Lee Soon-Sin was a additional character in the war by showing a lot of battle scenes in the sea. The truth of history can't be found by only researching the recorded materials. As cultural texts dealing with the way of remembering the war, the novel shows a struggling individual not a hero and the movie focuses on that people's active participation led the victory of the war.