Why did Korean vernacular fiction become widely popular in the 18th and 19th centuries?

The widespread popularity of Korean vernacular fiction in the 18th and 19th centuries was driven by significant socioeconomic shifts and a changing intellectual landscape during the late Chosŏn dynasty.

Key factors contributing to this rise include:

• Economic Growth and Social Change: Improvements in agricultural production, such as rice transplantation, and the expansion of commerce and trade raised the standard of living for many, fostering a new popular culture that moved beyond the traditional focus on the upper-class yangban elite.1
• Accessibility of Hangul: The use of Hangul—the easy-to-read Korean phonetic alphabet—made literature accessible to a broader audience, allowing for the mass consumption of works that were often commercialized in woodblock editions.21
• Shift in Literary Values: Intellectual movements like the sirhak ("practical learning") school encouraged a focus on contemporary realities rather than speculative theory. Influential figures argued that folk expressions held significant worth, leading to a literature that reflected popular customs, everyday life, and social criticism.21
• Cultural Integration: Vernacular fiction often incorporated themes of satire and social critique, resonating with the masses. This popularity was reinforced by the success of pansori, a performance art that adapted vernacular novels into singing dramas, further embedding these stories in the public consciousness.21