Reading traditional Korean folk tales for fun and reading them again in English

Let’s read traditional Korean folk tales in Korean and English!

The traditional folk tale is a genre widely read and beloved regardless of the era.

Transmitted from mouth to mouth over a long period, traditional Korean folk tales reflect the everyday lives, customs, joys and sorrows, and humor and courage of Koreans in the olden days. They are invaluable stories that can be enjoyed by people in distant lands and those who have come from afar and live in South Korea as well. - Kim Myung-Hwan (professor, Department of English Language and Literature, Seoul National University) -

As in the recommendation by Professor Kim Myung-Hwan at Seoul National University, reading old tales holds a special value. Publishing traditional Korean folk tales, which are thus meaningful, in both Korean and English, this series will reward children with both the joy of reading old stories and an opportunity to study English. Furthermore, the series has been planned so that it can be enjoyed by Korean children overseas, children from multicultural families in South Korea, and children around the globe as well. We hope that it will be used also as a good guide for naturally introducing Korean culture to foreign friends abroad as they are told traditional folk tales from Korea.

An Introduction to the Series

Out of the countless tales that are widely known to many Korean readers, 23 especially colorful and entertaining ones have been selected and edited into 12 volumes. Familiar to Korean children, stories such as “Yeonorang and Seonyeo,” “The Headstone Goes to Court,” “The King has Donkey’s Ears,” and “Kongji and Patji” will not only be fun to read in the original Korean but also heighten youngsters’ understanding as they read the English translations. In addition, children who know similar traditional folk tales from other countries can make comparisons, thus being provided with a fascinating approach to these works.

Table of Contents

01 “The River Snail and the Young Man”

Once upon a time, there lived a young man. One day, he heard a beautiful woman’s voice as he was tilling the fields. Following the voice, the man discovered a river snail. The creature asked to be taken home and to be placed in the water jar, which he duly complied with. From that day on, the table in his kitchen would be filled with delicious food every morning, midday, and evening. Intrigued about who might be behind this miracle, the young man hid himself and surveyed his house. And what should he see? Crawling out of the water jar, the river snail turned into a beautiful young woman and began to do the housework! After the revelation of her identity, the two lived happily as a couple. One day, however, the king, passing through the village, seeks to take away the Snail Wife…

02“The Two Brothers Who Were Kind to Each Other”

Once upon a time, there lived in a country village two brothers who were devoted to each other. Starting at the beginning of spring, the men went out to their respective rice paddies and worked assiduously from early morning to late night. Thanks to hard work without rest, the brothers both reaped a more abundant crop than did others in the autumn. Having harvested an equally large amount, the two men each pondered that night and planned secretly to give some of the rice to the other.