By Honorary Reporter Marishel Lochan from Trinidad and Tobago

Illustrations= Marishel Lochan

As something to do during the lockdown and social distancing caused by COVID-19, reading Korean folk tales is highly recommended. Korean folk tales have been passed down for centuries and provide beliefs, life lessons and entertainment. Among the many Korean myths, folklore and folk tales I've researched, the following are four of my favorites as well as my illustrations inspired scenes from the stories.

Wrestling With a Goblin

Also known as "Dokkaebissireum," this tale is about a man walking through a mountain pass while going home from the market. Suddenly, a goblin appears in front of him and challenges him to a wrestling match. The man accepts and the two fight all night. Finally at daybreak, the man defeats the goblin and heads home after tying the creature to a tree with a belt. Unfortunately, the man returns the next day to find the spot where he left the goblin filled with broomsticks and flails.

The goblin is the most famous creature in Korean mythology. Goblins are known to possess great power and occasionally grant humans a wish or play tricks on them. The hit Korean drama "Goblin" helped raise public interest in Korean mythology and folklore.

The Fox Sister 

Called "Yeounui" in Korean, this tale tells of a wealthy man and his wife. They have a son but they also badly want a daughter. After praying to the mountain god Sansin, they get their wish. When their daughter is about 15 years old, she goes to the forest but fails to return by nightfall. Her worried parents send a search party to find her and she is found sleeping by a tree.

Unfortunately, things turn strange afterwards. The family's cattle are dying. The father tries to figure out why as they had no sickness or injury. So he sends his cowherd to hide in the bushes to find out. The cowherd sees a girl who looks exactly like the daughter walk up to a cow, take out its liver and eat it. The next day, the cowherd hurriedly reports to the father what he saw. The father, who adores his daughter, angrily fires the cowherd in disbelief of his story.

Another cowherd is hired to monitor the cattle and he sees the same thing that his predecessor did. The new cowherd reports to the father but again, the latter refuses to believe him. A series of cowherds are hired and they all report the same thing to a disbelieving father. The father then sends his only son to find out the truth, and his scion says he saw the same thing. The father gets angry in believing his son lied to him and kicks him out of his house.

The son goes to the hills and tries to make a living. He later meets a Buddhist monk and tells the story about his sister and her strange behavior. The monk then says that on the night his sister fell asleep in the forest, she must have been eaten by a fox that took her form. The next day, the son returns to his village with three bottles given by the monk to defeat the fox. When he arrives at his parents' home, he finds his sister alone after she eats their parents and all the animals they owned. She happily greets him before asking him what he wants to eat. Thinking of a getaway plan while she cooks, he is unfortunately tied up by her to prevent his escape. While she is preoccupied, he slowly unties himself and makes a run for it. The sister starts chasing him while shifting back and forth between fox and human. The son throws one of the bottles given to him by the monk, a blue one, and a river appears before the sister. She crosses it, however. He throws the second bottle and a thorn bush appears, piercing the fox but it still chases the son. Finally, he throws the last bottle, which is red, and a fire appears and burns the fox alive.

chaey0726@korea.kr

*This article is written by a Korea.net Honorary Reporter. Our group of Honorary Reporters are from all around the world, and they share with Korea.net their love and passion for all things Korean.