Classic Korean Tales

with Commentaries

Eleven Classic Korean Narratives including Myths, Folktales, Sino-Korean Novels and Poetry

Readers can come to know not only the pleasure of reading stories, but also delight in learning about Korea through this book, like Korean culture, Korean history and Koreans' ways of thinking in the old days. Even though this book consists of only Korean classic narratives, this doesn't mean that only Koreans can understand it. Everyone can understand and enjoy a “Classic.”


What Brings "Classics" Alive is the Readers' Empathy

A lonely boy becomes a hero who establishes a nation; a daughter who is abandoned becomes a goddess who manages death; a wife and husband, both ordinary people, become a queen and king in a foreign country or gods of a country. These stories show that if people take advantage of their merits and use their power in support of others, they can accomplish wonderful things and gain happiness even when they possess nothing special. The reason that these stories survive for such a long time without being forgotten and move the people who read them is that people consider the thoughts and feelings in these stories to be precious.


A Way of Communicating with Time: The World of Classical Imagination

Reading the classics is similar to the experience of communicating across time. The world of classics, which appears interesting and mysterious, also contains the dreams and hopes of contemporary people. Even though the past has disappeared, we are encountering the dreams and hopes of people from olden times as you read the classics and fall into the world of these stories.

CONTENTS

Preface

Narratives about Origins and the World of Myths
- The Myth of King Dongmyeong
- The Myth of Princess Bari
- Yeonohrang and Seonyeo

Stories of Love and Marriage
- Seodong and Princess Seonhwa
- The Idiot Ondal and Princess Pyeonggang
- Domi and His Wife

Beautiful Person, Beautiful Mind
- Madam Suro
- The Filial Daughter Jieun

The World of Fantasy
- Josin’s Dream
- Kim Hyeon Gam Ho: The Love between Kim Hyeon and a Lady Tiger
- Yi Saeng Gyu Jang Jeon: The Story of Yi Saeng Peering Over the Wall

Epilogue

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Choe Key-sook

An Associate Professor in the Institute of Korean Studies at Yonsei University, South Korea, Dr. Key-Sook Choe’s main research fields include Korean classical narrative, Korean printed media during the early modern period, gender studies, and affective studies. She received her Ph.D. from the graduate school of Yonsei University, where she specialized in Korean classical literature. Published books include Cheonyeo-gwisin (Female Ghosts), 2013; Joseon sidae Eorini Inmunhak (Humanities for Children in the Joseon Period), 2013; and Hwansang (The Fantastics in Literature), 2003; published collaborations include Jipdan Gamseong-ui Gyeobo (A History of Collective Affects), 2017; Bonjour Pansori! (in French), 2017; Gamseong Sahoe (Affective Society), 2014; and Gamjeong-eui Inmunhak (Humanities of Emotions), 2013.