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Abolition of Goryeo Burial
고려장 없어진 유래 ( Goryeojang )
This tale explains how the practice of goryeojang was abolished. Goryeojang refers to the practice of carrying away the elderly when they reach a certain age and abandoning them in the mountains or plains and there are two folk narratives transmitted in relation to the abolition of this practice. The first defines goryeojang as the ancient practice of abandoning those over sixty, leaving them to die. Once there was a man who carried his elderly father (or mother) on his back on a wooden carrier
Korean Folk Literature -
Acquiring Fortune Through Thousand-Coin Divination
천량점 치고 잘 된 사람
This prophecy tale narrates the story of a poor man who, thanks to a prophecy purchased at a steep price, overcomes a series of crisis and acquires fortune. A young man left his wife behind and boarded a pollack fishing ship to Hamgyeong Province. Several months later, upon the completion of the fishing trip, the young man visited a fortuneteller to find out how things were at home. The fortuneteller carried out three divination readings, charging a thousand coins for each“: On your return journ
Korean Folk Literature -
Animal Tale
동물담 ( 动物故事 , Animal Tale )
This category of folk tales feature personified animals as the main characters. The Korean tradition of animal tales goes back to Dangun myth, chronicled in Samgungnyusa (Memorabilia of the Three Kingdoms), which features a bear and a tiger as mythological animals, competing inside a cave to become human. Other early publications of Korean animal tales include “Tale of Rabbit and Tortoise” in the chapter on Kim Yu-sin in Samguksagi (History of the Three Kingdoms), and in Joseon, Sunoji (Fifteen-
Korean Folk Literature -
Animals Boast of Their Age
동물 나이 자랑 ( Animals Boast of Their Age )
This animal fable narrates the story of animals competing over who is the oldest, which ends in the toad’s victory. A long time ago, rabbit, turtle and toad were arguing over who was the oldest among them. Rabbit was the first to boast that he had been born during the time of the ancient celestial emperor Tianhuang. Then turtle offered that he had been born in the time of the first creator Pangu, which far preceded Tianhuang’s era. Toad, after listening to rabbit and turtle argue, began weeping.
Korean Folk Literature -
Archenemy Reborn as Son
아들로 태어난 원수 ( Archenemy Reborn as Son )
This tale narrates the story of a haunted spirit reborn as the sons of his archenemy, who take revenge by dying on the day of their success in the state examination. Narratives about the revenge of haunted spirits is found in the shamanic myth “Chasabonpuri (Origin of Underworld Messenger Chasa)” and the shamanic song “Jimgajegut (Ritual for Jimgaje)” from Hamgyeong Province. The motif of being reborn as the offspring of an enemy for the purpose of revenge appears in a wide range of narratives i
Korean Folk Literature -
Auspicious Site for Heavenly Son
천자명당 ( 出天子的风水宝地 )
This geomancy tale narrates the story of a man of lowly status who buries his father in an auspicious site and takes the throne as the emperor. A farmhand working for a rich family had to find a burial site following the funeral for his deceased father. A renowned geomancer happened to stop by the rich family’s house, where he asked the farmhand to get him an egg to examine a site that was believed to be auspicious. The farmhand went through the trouble of boiling the egg before bringing it to
Korean Folk Literature -
Auspicious Tomb Site Promising Immediate Fortune
금시발복 명당 ( Geumsibalbok )
This tale narrates the story of a burial site that is so auspicious one’s fortune is already in effect by the time he returns home from the funeral. The belief, according to traditional geomancy (pungsujiri), that burying one’s ancestors in an auspicious site brings good energy to descendents is related to the geomantic theory that good energy attracts and responds to good energy. A competent geomancer was travelling to find an auspicious burial site when he sought lodging in the mountains at th
Korean Folk Literature -
Bamboo Shoots That Make Rice, Bamboo Shoots That Make Feces
쌀 나오는 죽순 똥 나오는 죽순 ( Bamboo Shoots That Make Rice, Bamboo Shoots That Make Feces )
This tale narrates the story of a good brother who is rewarded with good fortune and a bad brother who is punished. The narrative is based on the legend of Bangi from Silla, also called the legend of the golden bat (geumchu). There lived two brothers, the younger of which was well-off, while the older, who supported their parents, was poor. With the Lunar New Year approaching, the older brother headed to the mountain to chop wood, saying to himself, “How am I going to prepare holiday food for my
Korean Folk Literature -
Big Bluffers
허풍선이 ( 牛皮大王 , Big Bluffers )
This droll tale narrates the story of two men from different regions engaging in a nonsensical contest of words. A Seoul slicker and a Gyeongsangdo slicker met for a contest of words at Yeongchang River in Miryang. Gyeongsangdo slicker asked where Seoul slicker was headed and he stepped inside the river, answering that he was headed to the banquet at Yonggung (Dragon Palace). After a long while, Seoul slicker emerged from the water, commenting that it was a grand banquet with wonderful delicacie
Korean Folk Literature -
Blind Husband and Mute Wife
봉사 남편과 벙어리 아내 ( Blind Husband and Mute Wife )
This tale narrates a conversation between a blind husband and a mute wife comprising sexual references. A long time ago, there lived a a blind husband and a mute wife, and one day the husband heard someone yell that there was a fire and he sent the wife to go and see what happened. When the wife returned, the husband asked where the fire broke out, and the wife put his hand between her legs, and the husband undestood that it was in a valley, a marsh, or an alley, varying according to different v
Korean Folk Literature
