[1] The title comes from Geumo-san, the Mount of the Golden Turtle, today called Namsan (Gyeongju), which was the site of the Yongjang Temple where tradition records that Kim wrote the stories.
Born in a village to the north of Seonggyungwan, the foremost educational institution in Korea during the late Goryo and Joseon dynasties, Kim was an exceptionally bright child.
In 1455, at the age of 17, Kim gave up his studies and became a Buddhist monk upon hearing that King Danjong abdicated the throne to his uncle Suyang Daegun.
After years of wanderings, Kim fell ill at Muryang Temple in Mount Hong in 1493 and died at the age of 59.
While leading a solitary life at Manbok Temple, he wins a game of jeopo against the Buddha and marries a beautiful woman.
Chwiyu Bubyeokjeonggi is a story about a young man surnamed Hong who visits Pyeongyang Castle, where he recites poetry in drunken happiness and meets a seonnyeo (fairy).
Afterward, Hong falls ill, longing to see the fairy again, and passes away, dreaming of becoming an immortal deity.
Namyeombujuji is a story about a dream of a young man surnamed Bak, who was studying for the civil service examination during the reign of King Sejo.
As it combines lyricism with narrative and is written in a variety of styles, it is fundamentally a literary genre appreciated by intellectuals of the time.
The conventional grammar of jeongi fiction perfected in Geumo sinhwa underwent a big change in the 17th century, when the length of narratives increased and plots began to reflect social issues.
Geumo sinhwa is a representative jeongi fiction, and the grammar of the genre that was perfected in this work continued to influence later Korean literature, including Sin Gwang-han’s short story collection Gijaegiyi (Strange Stories of Gijae) from the 16th century, as well as 17th-century jeongi novels such as Jusaeng-jeon (Tale of Ju), Unyeong-jeon (雲英傳Story of Unyeong), and Choe Cheok-jeon (崔陟傳 Tale of Choe Cheok).
It was influenced by various folk narratives that were passed down for generations, including folk narratives about ghosts, ghosts and humans falling in love, and virtuous women, as well as jeongi fiction from the late Silla and early Goryeo dynasties such as Choe Chiwon, and gajeon (假傳, personified allegorical biography) written in Chinese characters.
Geumo sinhwa shows strong influences of Jiandeng xinhua in terms of topics and plot structure, but it is not a simple imitation.
Kim had a deep understanding of the aesthetics and characteristics of jeongi fiction, and his exceptional literary talent and creativity culminated in the writing of Geumo sinhwa.
Third, the main characters who get a taste of the supernatural world often become weary of life and eventually pass away, and as a result the stories tend to be tragic in nature.
Such emphasis on integrity and fidelity is related to the author Kim Si-sŭp's experience when King Sejo usurped the throne.
Fifth, many inserted poems and the poetic writing style provide detailed descriptions of the characters’ psyche and also emphasize the lyrical nature of the work.
In 1999, an edition published by Yun Chun-nyeon (尹春年, 1514-1567) while he served as the Deputy Director of the Printing Office from 1546 to 1567 was discovered in the Dalian Library in China.