Legendary Commentary of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms Fully Translated into Korean for the First Time
Creatrip Team
7 months ago
Dr. Kim Young-moon, a humanities scholar living in Chilgok, North Gyeongsang, completed the first full Korean translation of Chen Shou’s historical work Records of the Three Kingdoms (a historical text, not the novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms) together with Pei Songzhi’s legendary commentary (배송지 주, "Baizongzhi’s annotations") in an 8-volume, 4,900-page edition. The commentary (배주) — long rumored to rival or even exceed the original in richness — cites some 230 earlier sources, many now lost, and restores alternative accounts and colorful details absent from the core history: for example, differing versions of Zhuge Liang’s meeting with Liu Bei, anecdotes about Cao Cao, and local customs relevant to early Korean history like the foster-daughter-in-law practice in Okjeo. Dr. Kim, a meticulous translator with degrees from Seoul National University and experience in Beijing, said Pei’s notes add flesh to the dry bones of the official text, revealing rival legitimacy claims among Wei, Shu, and Wu and preserving material important for regional historiography. The translation project was completed after years of quiet scholarship and aims to make this essential commentary accessible to Korean readers and scholars.
