Kang Minsoo et al / Minsoo Kang / 2020 / -

One of the most important and popular premodern Korean novels, The Story of Hong Gildong is a fast-paced adventure story about the illegitimate son of a nobleman who becomes the leader of a band of honest outlaws who take from the rich and punish the corrupt. Despite the importance of the work to Korean culture—it is often described as the story of the Korean Robin Hood—studies of the novel have been hindered by a number of myths, namely that it was authored in the early sixteenth century by statesman Heo Gyun, who wrote it not only in protest of Joseon-dynasty laws on the rights of illegitimate children, but also as a manifesto of his own radical political ideas. source: https://uhpress.hawaii.edu/title/invincible-and-righteous-outlaw-the-korean-hero-hong-gildong-in-literature-history-and-culture/