Funny and Selected Seven Korean Folk Tales

Hollym revised one of its steady sellers in area of Korean folk tales:
Korean Children’s Favorite Folk Tales . The book contains seven tales. It includes not only tales already famous such as “The heavenly maiden and the wood cutter” and “Kongji and Patji,” but also unknown Korean tales such as “The three sons” and “The ant that laughed too much.” The excellent colored-pencil illustrations mix well with the stories. 
The stories with various characters like goblins, insects, animals, and human beings impart wisdom to the readers and sometimes bring laughter, too. How did our ancestors think about the bad relationship bet ween cats and dogs? The answer is in the story of “The Dog and the Cat.” To get back their owner’s treasure, dog and cat underwent all sorts of troubles causing conflicts of opinion, and could not recover their relationship… “The Three Sons” shows how three sons change useless articles left by father to real valuable things. “The Vanity of the Rat” is the story about parent rats looking for the best man for their daughter. Guess who? He was not a sun, not a cloud, or not a statue. The process of finding a man fit for their daughter causes laughter.  Parents could answer their kids’ question like ‘why do ants have a very thin waist?’ by reading the story of “The Ant That Laughed Too Much.” Outside of that, “The Heavenly Maiden and the Woodcutter,” “The Hare’s Liver,” and “Kongji and Patji” are included in the book. 
Reading folktales gives children fun, wisdom, and impression. The children around the world could explore a wonderful world through many kinds of character of this book. Reading this book with easy English and funny illustrations is a good beginning to understand Korea, Korean people, and Korean culture.  

CONTENTS

Preface

The Heavenly Maiden and the Woodcutter (선녀와 나무꾼)

The Dog and the Cat (개와 고양이의 구슬 다툼)

The Three Sons (아버지의 세 가지 유물)

The Vanity of the Rat (사윗감을 찾아 나선 쥐)

The Hare’s Liver (토끼의 간)

Kongji and Patji (콩쥐 팥쥐)

The Ant That Laughed Too Much (너무 많이 웃은 개미)

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Edited by Peter Hyun | He was born and raised in Hamhung, Korea, where he received his early education. Pursuing his studies and writing career in the United States and Europe, he was a regular contributor to the BBC Third Programme and Encounter in London, and UNESCO Features and France Observateur in Paris. From 1962 until he returned to Korea in 1975, he worked as a children’s book editor and writer in New York. Illustrated by Park Dong-il | He is a graduate of Hongik University (Fine Arts Course) in Seoul, Korea, and has worked for numerous publishers during the over 30 years building up a strong reputation in the field of children’s literature. He was the editor of Mother and Child , Korea’s leading child-raising magazine.