Kim Si-seup

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Kim Si-seup
Birth name
Hangul:	김시습
Hanja:	金時習
Revised Romanization:	Kim Si-seup
McCune-Reischauer:	Kim Si-sŭp
Pen name (ho)
Hangul:	매월당
Hanja:	梅月堂
Revised Romanization:	Maewoldang
McCune-Reischauer:

Kim Si-seup (1434-1493) was a Korean scholar and author.

1 Background
2 Works
3 See also
4 External links

[edit] Background

Kim Si-seup's ancestors originally came from Gangneung, Gangwon-do, but Kim himself was born in Seoul.

Throughout his life, Kim maintained a special bond with the Gangwon area and compiled a book of poetry called Tangyugwandongrok which was based on the family history and experiences he had in the area. Kim was an extremely gifted child and had picked up reading ability at eight months of age. At five years of age, he was able to read and comphrehend The Great Learning & The Jungyong. Kim was a devout Buddhist and at 21 years of age he decided to skip government service and become a priest.

[edit] Works

Kim wrote the first novel in Chinese in Korea, titled Geumosinhwa, as well as other books such as Siphyeondamyohae, Tangyugwanseorok, and Tangyuhonamrok. Geumosinhwa (Tales of Geumo) was composed at the Yongjangsa Temple during the reign of King Sejong and became an instant classic. Although Geumosinhwa was heavily influenced by a Chinese novel titled Cheondeungsinhwa, it would become nativized and later have considerable influence on Japanese novels.