Sangnoksu

Sim Hun wrote Sangoksu in 1935 while living in Pilgyeongsa house in Dangjin, Chungcheongnam-do.^[8] It was originally serialized in 127 installments published from 10 September 1935 to 15 February 1936 in The Dong-A Ilbo newspaper.^[3]

Sim Hun wrote the novel as part of an effort to promote education in the Korean countryside during the Japanese occupation of Korea.^[3] The practice of helping rural communities in Korea is known as nonghwal [ko], and Sangoksus female protagonist has been called "a quintessential portrait of such colonial period enlightenment activity".^[9]

The novel was influenced by Yi Gwangsu, a Korean writer and independence and nationalist activist, who also wrote the book's introduction.^[1]

Sim Hun won the Dong-A Ilbo 15th Anniversary Full-Length Novel Contest, and used much of the prize money (KRW100, which was a significant sum at the time) to help establish Sangnok Elementary School.^[3]

Sim Hun had plans to make the novel into a movie, but he died shortly after completing the novel. His plans, however, were eventually realized by others, resulting in two movies based on the novel.^[10][11] The novel has been made into a 1961 movie, The Evergreen Tree [ko], by Shin Sang-ok.^[12] Another version of The Evergreen Tree movie was made by Im Kwon-taek in 1978.^[13]

The novel is considered Sim Hun's most famous work.^[4] It has also been described as "one of the most important Korean rural enlightenment novels".^[10]

The neighborhood of Sangnok-gu in Ansan (served by the Sangnoksu Station of Seoul Subway Line 4) is named after the novel.^[14] A Choi Yongshin Memorial Hall (최용신기념관대등표제) is located in Sangnok-gu.^[6]

Korean Wikisource has original text related to this article:

상록수

• 한국근대문학연구 = Journal of modern Korean literature 관련메뉴 2007 no.15 = no.15, 2007년, pp.165–196 신문ㆍ브나로드ㆍ소설 – 리터러시의 위계질서와 그 표상 NewspaperㆍVnarodㆍNovel -Hierarchy of Literacy and its Representation 이혜령 관련메뉴 Lee Hye-ryoung 관련메뉴 ;
• 심훈의 장편소설 『상록수』 연구 – 계몽과 탈선의 의미화: 집짓기 모티브를 중심으로 A Study on Sim Hun's Novel Sangnoksu (Evergreen) – With a Focus on the Motif of House Keeping 이동길식별저자, 남상권식별저자 우리말글 제66집, 2015.9, 289–317 (29 pages)