Isekai Fiction: Reviving Thai Literature with a Contemporary Style that Appeals to a New Generation

From poetry to prose in an alternate world genre, an innovative teaching media for Thai literature by a Thai lecturer from the Faculty of Arts, Chulalongkorn University, which invites the modern generation to talk, ask questions, and discuss characters and stories in Thai literature, connecting them to life and current social issues, transforming the Thai literature classroom making it trendy, fun, and no longer boring.

“It’s so much fun to read. Thai literature comes alive and becomes very interesting. If I had studied the subject in this format in the past, I would have certainly chosen to major in Thai language and Thai literature,” a reader reflected after reading the illustrated book for young people, “Khun Chang Khun Phaen: Khun Chang Submits a Petition in ‘Prose’ (Alternate World Style),” one of the unconventional works presented by Assistant Professor Hattakarn Areesilp, a lecturer at the Department of Thai, Faculty of Arts, Chulalongkorn University, who has attempted to alter the image of Thai literature making it more modern and appealing to the younger generation. 

“The problem of young people’s disinterest in Thai literature may not stem from the content, but rather the way Thai literature is presented in our teaching. We see popular adaptations of Thai literature in various media, whether comic books, fan art, or game characters. This shows that the new generation does have an interest in Thai literature. We need to reinvent Thai literature so that the new generation feels that they understand and can access it.” 

With a love for Thai literature and the intention to keep it alive and relevant in the modern world, Asst. Prof. Hattakarn has joined hands to work with Associate Professor Dr. Kittichai Kasemsanti, a lecturer at the Faculty of Architecture, Art and Design, Department of Communication Arts, Photography Program, King Mongkut’s Institute of Technology Ladkrabang, to produce a set of illustrated books for the youth. The first story is “Khun Chang Khun Phaen: Khun Chang Submits a Petition in Prose” (Alternate World Edition) published in 2023. The second story is “Phra Aphai Mani: Phra Aphai Mani Flees from Nang Phisuea Samut” published in 2024. 

“We selected popular Thai folktales with interesting issues that invite discussion in today’s society. In addition, these stories and episodes are featured in the ‘Literature Criticism’ textbook, which is required by the curriculum for Mathayom 3 (Phra Aphai Mani) and Mathayom 6 (Khun Chang Khun Phaen). Therefore, choosing these two literary episodes is relevant to the target groups whom we want to read and enjoy the illustrations in our work. We hope that the youth will see various perspectives when reading this work, which is an extension of their textbooks. In addition, teachers will be able to apply both works as teaching materials in the classroom.” 

From the Thai literature classroom of your dreams to Thai Rith as an innovative teaching method 

Asst. Prof. Hatthakarn recounted how both prose works originated, explaining that they were an extension of the Thai Rith project, which was initiated in the Basic Thai Literature course of the Faculty of Arts during the 2017-2019 academic years.

“Thai literature classrooms should be a venue to promote critical reading, which will lead to critical thinking, providing learners with freedom of thought, opening up a space for inquiry and discussion while connecting their own experiences with stories and characters. Learners should be allowed to feel that literature is something close to them, which will be a foundation for creative thinking,” Asst. Prof. Hattakarn, the initiator of the Thai Rith project, talked about the origin of creative content by Chulalongkorn University Arts students who derived inspiration from reading Thai literature. 

The Thai Rith project was subsequently developed into the “Thai Literature and Contemporary Media” course that has been offered since the 2020 academic year to enable students to experiment with creating various types of media such as comics, games, and character designs from Thai literature. 

“In the Thai Literature and Contemporary Media classroom for the 2022 academic year, we revisited the story of Khun Chang Khun Phaen covering the episode of Khun Chang presenting a petition, which the students were very interested in. What ensued were discussions, questions, and debates on various issues — the atmosphere of teaching Thai literature that we all wish to see.” The Thai Literature and Contemporary Media classroom at that time became what inspired Asst. Prof. Hattakarn to continue the Thai Rith project that she had initiated through an innovative teaching approach, “Prose (Another World Style)” from Thai literature. 

“We try to get today’s readers to feel that Thai literature is not something sacred to be revered, but a tangible story that connects with daily life and current social issues. At the same time, we want to inspire the new generation to continue to love and cherish Thai literature through creative work in various forms.” 

How does alternative world fiction differ from Thai literature? 

Asst. Prof. Hattakarn credits the “inspiration” behind this work from alternative world fiction.  As she explained, 

“Alternative world literature (also known by the Japanese term isekai) is a genre that is gaining much popularity today.  Often found in manga and webtoons, the plot often revolves around a protagonist who is transported into another world or body with different rules for example Wan Thong Without a Heart a webtoon by the Thai artist who goes by the pseudonym Mu presents the story of the female protagonist who has drowned and woke up finding herself in the body of “Wan Thong” the leading character in “Khun Chang Khun Phaen.”  

In the case of her alternative world fiction deriving from Thai literature, even though Asst. Prof. Hattakarn did not create characters with names like “Porn Nab Phan” or “Porn Prathan” who are secondary school kids who have been reborn as characters in Thai literature to maintain the literary storyline that invites its readers to go back and do a “close reading” of the original story to get them to think and rethink about various issues.   However, she has also created a story that takes the characters to experience the story in the literary world up close as an observer, see the overall picture of the story, and in the meantime, gain various perspectives in interpreting the story.    

“It is like we are readers from the perspective of an omniscient God who knows the events, the character’s feelings and thoughts, and the hidden meanings in Thai literature,” she further explained.    

Aside from the secondary school students, there is also an anonymous female character who is meant to be the narrator of the story.  She also engages the students who find themselves in this literary world in conversation.   

“The Anonymous Woman is a simulation of a Thai literature teacher who in the book acts as a facilitator and mentor, inviting students to talk about various events in literature, what they think and feel, giving students freedom to think and helping them develop issues about where there are gaps in the content of the story, by integrating knowledge from academic works of scholars in various fields who have studied and interpreted Thai literature in various dimensions. I would like to thank the scholars who have studied and researched Thai literature on this occasion because the knowledge that we had gathered from before is very important in further creating the work we are doing.” 

Asst. Prof. Hattakarn cites the story of “Khun Chang Khun Phaen”, the episode where Khun Chang presents a petition as an example.  Many students find it perturbing and are concerned about the death penalty for Nang Wan Thong and question whether the punishment was excessive. 

As Asst. Prof. Hattakarn explains, “For example, the story will include the ideas of Professor Dr. Chris Baker and Professor Emeritus Dr. Phasuk Phongphaichit, who raised an important question in their article, ‘Why was it necessary to have Wan Thong killed?’ Historically, the professors explain that the death penalty is a punishment for treason. Meting out the punishment for treason in the story means that Phra Panwasa intended to use the killing of Nang Wan Thong to intimidate Khun Phaen because in reality, Phra Panwasa was afraid of Khun Phaen’s power but could not do anything to him, so Wan Thong’s death is used to deter Khun Phaen instead. Thai literature scholars may not interpret it this way, but when trying to interpret it according to how historians see it and looking at the law, it makes Nang Wan Thong’s death seem to have a reason for it – not something that just happened arbitrarily. We think that this will help new readers see the complex aspects hidden in the literary text more clearly.” 

Although other storytelling methods add new characters and dialogues that transcend the original literature, Asst. Prof. Hatthakarn does not define her work as fiction. 

“We still focus on the original literary texts. The plots and contents of the original Thai versions will remain the same. There are no changes whatsoever. There are also references to various academic works that are used in writing the work. Our duty is to translate stories from ‘poems’ or ‘verses’ that have a poetic form into modern communication language that everyone can easily understand. We call this type of work prose. In the process, we use a storytelling perspective in reading contemporary literature to go back and read old literary texts again. 

Connecting Thai literature with modern ways of life 

If you read literature according to the old conventions, the characters may appear rather flat and uninteresting. But when they transform, the prose becomes similar to the script of a play. The characters in literature seem to start to have an added dimension and complexity. 

“Even though times may be different, the characters in Thai literature still experience love, suffering, happiness, sorrow, and anger, just like people in the present. As humans, we are the same. This story allows readers to connect and better understand the perspectives of the characters in Thai literature, making readers feel that the stories that occur in literature are relatable to current social problems.” 

Asst. Prof. Hattakarn gave an example that one might interpret and question the feelings of Nang Wan Thong as an ordinary woman who is a mother.  How would a mother feel when her son, Muen Wai, chooses to invade Khun Chang’s house to take his mother back instead of demanding justice according to the law? Or the feelings of a wife who loves only one person but has no choice but to live with someone else, unable to be with the person she loves. 

 “If we were to interpret Nang Wan Thong’s thoughts and feelings, we would find that she is a woman who is very reasonable and adheres strictly to what is right. It also shows that literary texts may not always give women the space to determine how to live their lives the way they want. Nang Wan Thong herself wanted to choose her own path in life, but she could not because there were many conditions in life. Meanwhile, the current set of values ​​​​finds that women should have freedom, gain knowledge, and not have to be tied to men like Nang Wan Thong was fated to do.” 

“Although the set of values ​​in literature is different from that of the present era, it is a cultural heritage that can lead to critical thinking and discussion. Ultimately, learners will be able to answer the question for themselves: what ‘value’ or ‘meaning’ does Thai literature have for them? We believe that making Thai literature a space for the freedom of reading and thinking of the new generation will make people realize that Thai literature is a form of ‘cultural capital’ that is open to the creation of new things” the lecturer said.  

Further the use of Thai literature to create value for life and society

Both texts can now be downloaded free of charge, Khun Chang Khun Phaen is featured in both Thai and English.  Asst. Prof. Hattakarn plans to work on Kap Phra Chai Suriya because the story is very relevant to the context of contemporary society and it is also the work of Sunthorn Phu, who has been recognized as one of the world’s greatest poets.  

“We intend to create prose with illustrations that go hand in hand with the textbooks in secondary schools. We want to select at least one literary work from the ‘Basic Thai Literature’ textbook to continue writing for every secondary school level to create the kind of content that emphasizes discussions about Thai literature. We will also continue with the Thai Rith classroom project to open up space for students to create more works.” 

Asst. Prof. Hattakarn ended by saying that the goal of this project is to play a part in making the youth interested and rekindle in the Thai people a realization of the value of Thai literature.  

“I’d like people to view literature as a narrative of society.  Reading it can lead to free interpretation and discussion.  There isn’t just one method of reading that is superior to any other. Ultimately, I would like Thai literature to be seen as a ‘friend’ – a companion who journeys with us in our lives in the present world, from which we can use it to understand life and society, apply and create works, make online content, or further develop our careers, whether in the business or media sectors. This will make Thai literature ‘alive’ again, with the new generation playing an important role in breathing new life into it”. 

Check out these links to download the literary texts referred to in this article.   

1. The story of “Khun Chang Khun Phaen”, the episode where Khun Chang presents a petition http://bit.ly/3GsWYiu  in both Thai and English translation.   

2.  Phra Aphai Mani: Phra Aphai Mani Flees from Nang Phisuea Samut https://shorturl.at/Pn4zE 

Interested persons may also follow the: Revive Thai Literature Facebook Page,  
or Youtube Channel: Revive Thai Literature 

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