30 Years of Research in Oral Literature, Achievements and Challenges in the Analysis of Folktales
Authors:   The Society Of Korean Oral Literature, Kim Jung-Eun 
Published: February 2024

This discussion, spanning the past 30 years since the establishment of the Korean Oral Literature Society in 1993, focuses on studies of folktales in the Journal of Korean Oral Literature and explores the achievements and issues in the analysis of folktales transferred orally, with the central question being, “What does it mean to analyze folktales in a truly folkloric manner?”
Research on motifs in folktales can be broadly categorized into two types. The first aims to demonstrate that even when myths are transformed into folktaless, the attributes of mythic motifs remain intact and functional. The second focuses on openness, examining the profound polysemic meanings folktales generate based on the method of comparing motifs in various folktales to neighboring types. Studying how symbolic motifs are intricately connected to the story, and how they encapsulate and manifest meaning within folktales is a task that needs to be interpreted more profoundly within the realm of Korean oral literature.
In the discussion of the achievements and challenges in analyzing the meaning of folktales through their story structures, this article examined the trajectory of research on the form of oral literature, which allows for ease of memory and reproduction while also permitting variations. This article also forecasts that the interpretive analysis of Korean folktales will become more systematic through structural analysis, such as the unit of story point that explores rich contextual interpretations of Korean folktales, the grammar of stories, the process of analysis of folktales centered on narrative issues, and expanded patterns of folktales.
The chapter “Changes in Cognition and Emotion through Problem-Solving Methods in Folktales and the Creation of Contemporary Discourse” explains that important clues to solving the problems of modern life may be found in folktales regarding the essence of nature, the profound insights acquired by a remarkable person, or the wisdom of women. Through this, trends in the history of research on folktales that generate modern philosophical, social, and cultural discourse weremay also be examined. In studies of folktales with the theme of “conflicts in family relations,”’ the focus is on discussions that create alternative values by analyzing the “reverse side” to problems that arise when filial piety is the prevailing discourse, going beyond the dominant notions and common ideas. Literary therapy explores human narrative and seeks to identify the “problems” and “solutions” in human relationships and our lives that appear in folktales. Through literary therapy, research on folktales that can lead to emotional change will expand in the future.
Finally, in modern society, with the advent of the AI era, it will be necessary to go beyond forexamining folklore materials based solely on the index of motifs. Instead, we should construct a comprehensive database that encompasses compound and neighboring types by utilizing the characteristics of oral literature, such as motifs and paragraphs, search for meanings, stacking, and variations. To achieve this, ongoing research on the categorization and systems of classification of folktales is essential.