I M P S , G H O S TS AN D FA I R I E S

TRAN S LATE D F RO M TH E KO RE AN

OF BAN G AN D Y I RY UK

BY J AMES s
. G AL E

N EW Y O R K : E P D U TTO N 8: C O
. . . 1 9 3
1

wt
 L I TTL E SO N

GE O RG E J A ME S MO RLE Y

TH E D AYS O F W HOS E YE AR S

TWO E A S E
T R N S PR I NG S AN D A U T UM N S
 P R E F AC E

To any on e w ho wou l d l i k e to l oo k so me w h at i n to
th e i n ner sou l of the Ori en tal a nd se e the pecu l iar
,

spi ritual existences amon g wh ich he l ives th e ,

fol low i n g stories w i l l serv e as tru e i n terpreters born ,

as they are of the th ree grea t rel i gion s of th e F a r

East Taoism B uddh ism an d Con fuci an i sm
, , .

A n ol d ma n u scr ipt copy of I m B an g s stori es ’

came i n to th e hands of the tran slator a year ago ,

an d h e gives them n ow to the Western worl d that

they m ay serve as i ntrod uctory essays to th e
mysteries a n d what man y ca l l ab su rdi ties of
, , ,

A sia V ery grueso m e i ndeed and u n lovely som e

.
, ,

o f them are b u t they p ictu re faithfu l ly the con di

,

tion s u n der w h ich I m B an g h i m sel f a n d m any past

,

generation s of Korean s hav e l ived

,
.

The th i rtee n short stories by Y i R yu k are taken

from a rep ri n t o f old Ko rea n w ri ti n gs issu ed l ast
year by a J apan ese p ub l ish i n g company .

“
T hree anonymous stories are also added T he Geo
,
”
m an c e r , to show how M other E art h h as given
“
anxi ety to her chicks of chi ldren ; Im th e ,
 PRE FA CE

H u n ter to tel l of the actual ities that exist i n

,

"
u p pe r a i r ; a n d The M an w h o lost h is L egs as a
,

'
sample o f Korea s S i nb ad .

The b iograph ical n otes that a ccompany the

stories are ta ken very largely from the Ku k -c h o
“ ”
[ man tel c h i
’
-
, K o r ea s R eco rd of F amous M en
.

J S G AL E
. . .
 C O N TE N T S

P AC E

C H A R AN
TH E S T O R Y O F C H ANG T O RYON G -

A S T O R Y O F TH E F o x
C H E U NG P U K C H A NG TH E S E E R
-
,

Y U N S E P YONG TH E W I ! A R D
-
,

TH E W 1 L D C A T WO M A N
-

TH E l L L FA T E D PR I E S T
-

TH E V I S I O N O F TH E H O L Y M AN

TH E v 1 S 1T O F TH E M AN O F GOD .

TH E L I T E R A R Y M AN O F I M S I L
TH E S O L D 1 E R O F KAN G W H A -

CU R S E D B Y TH E S N A K E
TH E M AN O N TH E R OAD

TH E O L D M AN W H O B E C A M E A F I S H

TH E G E O M A N C E R

TH E M AN W H O B E C A M E A P I G

TH E O L D W O M AN W H O B E C A M E A GO BL I N

TH E G R A T E F U L G H O S T

TH E P L UC KY M A 1 D E N

TH E R E S O U R C E F U L W I F E

TH E B O X E D U P GO V E R NO R
-

TH E M AN W H O L O S T H I S L E G S

TE N TH O U S AN D D E V l L S

TH E H O M E O F TH E F AX R I E S

TH E H ON E S T W 1TC H

ix
 C O N T EN T S

W H O M TH E K I N G H ON O U R S
TH E FO RT U N E S O F v o o

A N E N C O U N T E R W 1 TH A H O B GO BL I N
TH E S NA R E S R E VE NG E
’

TH E BR A V E MA G1 S TR A TE

TH E T E MPL E To TH E GOD O F WA R

A v 1 S 1T F R O M TH E S H AD E S
TH E F E A RL E SS C A PT A 1 N

TH E K I N G O F Y O M N A ( H E LL )
-

H ONG S E X PE R I E N C E S rN H AD E S
’

H AU N TE D H O US E S
1 M TH E H U N T E R
,

TH E M AG1 C 1 N V A S 1 ON O F S E OU L
TH E AW F U L L 1 TTL E GO B L 1 N
GOD S WAY
’

TH E O L D M A N 1 N TH E D R E A M

TH E P E R F E C T PR I E S T

TH E PR O P I T I O U S M A G P I E

TH E
‘
O L D B U DD H A ’

A WON D E R F U L M E D 1 C 1 N E
F A 1 TH F UL MO
TH E R E NOWN E D M A 1 N G
TH E SE N SE S
WHO DE c GOD O R TH E
E s, x 1N G ?
THR E E TH I N G S M A S T E R E D
S TR AN G E L Y S TR I C K E N D E A D
TH E M Y S T E R I O U S H o x TR E E

T A H ON G
-
 B IO G RA P H I C A L

1 M B AN G b orn i n 1 640 th e son o f a p ro v i n c i al go ve r n o r

w as , .

H e w as ve ry b r i gh t as a b oy an d fr om e ar l i e st y e ar s fo n d o f
stu dy b e c o m i n g a g re at sc h o l ar
,
H e m atri c u l at e d fi r st i n h i s
.

c l ass i n 1 660 an d g r ad u at e d i n 1 66 3
,
. H e w as a d i sc i pl e o f
S o n g S i yol on e o f Ko r e a s fi rst w r i t e r s I n 1 7 1 9 w h e n h e w as
’
- .
, ,

i n h i s e i gh t i e t h y e ar h e b e c ame g ove rn or o f S e ou l an d h e ld
, ,

as w e ll th e O ffi ce of se c r e tar y o f th e C abi n et I n th e y e ar 1 7 2 1
.

h e got i n to d i ffi cu l t i e s ove r th e c h o i c e of th e H e i r A pp ar e n t an d ,

i n 1 7 2 2 on ac cou n t o f a p ar t h e pl ay e d i n a d i st ur b an c e i n t h e
,

gov e rn me n t h e w as e xi l e d t o No rt h Kore a w h e r e h e d i e d
, , .

( F rom Ku b cfio I n m u l Kor e a s Re cor d of F amou s

’
- -

Y T RY U K l i v e d i n th e r e i g n of Ki n g S e j o mat r i c u l ate d i n
-
,

1 4 5 9 an d g r ad u ate d fi r st i n h i s c l ass i n 1 5 6 4
,
H e w as a man .

o f m an y o ffi ce s an d m an y d i st i n c t i on s i n t h e w ay o f l i t e rar y

e x c e lle n ce .

Kor e a s Re co r d o f F amou s Me n
’
.
KO R E A N I M PS , G H OS TS A N D

F A IRI E S

C HARAN

[ S OM E th i n k that love stron g tru e a n d se l f

, , ,

sac r i fi c i n g i s not to be fou n d i n the O rien t ; b u t the

,

story O f Charan wh ich comes dow n fou r h u ndred

,

years a nd more proves the con trary for i t sti l l has

, ,

the fresh sweet flavou r O f a romance of yesterday ;

,

albei t the setti n g O f the East prov ides an O d d a nd

i nteresti n g b ackgrou n d ] .

I n the days O f Ki n g S u n g jon g (A O 1 488 49 5 )

- . .
—1

’
o ne of Korea s noted men becam e governor o f
P yon g a n P rovi nce
- No w Pyon g—. an sta n ds fi rst

of a ll t h e e i g h t provi nces i n the attai n ments of

erudi t ion a nd pol ite soc iety M any O f her li ter a ti
.

are good m usicia n s an d S how ab i l ity i n the a ff ai rs

,

O f State .

B
 2 KO RE AN I MPS , G H OS T S A N D FA I R IE S

A t the time of th i s sto ry there was a famo u s

danci n g gi rl i n Pyon g a n whose n am e was
- -

Charan S he was very bea uti fu l a n d san g an d

.
,

danced to the del i ght of al l beholders H er ab i l i ty .

,

to o was special l y marked fo r she u nderstood the

, ,

classic s an d was acquai n ted w i th h istory The .

b rightest of a l l the g e i s h a was she famou s a nd ,

far renow n ed
- .

T h e Governor s fam i ly co nsisted o f a so n W hose

’
,

age was sixteen an d w hose face was comely as a

,

pictu re Though so you n g h e was thorou gh ly

.
,

gro u nded i n C hi n ese a n d was a gifted sc holar H i s

,
.

j udgmen t w as excel len t a n d he had a fi n e a pp re c ia ,

tion o f l iterary form so that the mo m en t he l i fted

,

h i s pen the written l i n e took o n adm i rab le expres

sion H i s name b ecame k now n as Ke y d o n g ( The
.

G i fted L ad ) The Governor had no other ch i ldren

.
,

n either so n n o r daughter so h i s heart w as w rapped ,

up i n th is b oy O n h is b i rthday he had a l l the

.

o ffi cial s i nvited a nd other special gu ests w h o came ,

to dri n k h i s health There were presen t al so a

.

compa ny of danci n g gi rls a nd a large ban d of -

m usician s The Govern or du ri n g a l u l l i n t he ban

.
,

quet cal led h i s so n to h i m a n d ordered the ch ief o f

, ,

the danci n g gi rl s to cho ose on e o f the pretti est of

-

thei r n umber that he and she m ight dance together

,

an d del i gh t t he assembled guests O n heari n g th is .

,

th e compa ny with on e accord cal led fo r C hara n

, , ,
 C H A R AN

as the on e su ited by her talen ts atta i n men ts a nd ,

age to be a fi tti n g partn er for h is son They ca m e .

out a nd danced l i ke fa i ries gracefu l as the wavi ngs ,

of the w i l low l ight a n d ai ry as th e swal low A l l

,
.

who saw them were charmed The Governor too .

, ,

greatly pleased cal led Chara n to h i m had he r si t o n

, ,

the dais treated her to a S hare i n the ban quet gave

, ,

her a presen t of si l k an d com manded that from ,

that day forth S h e be the special da nci n g ma iden to

atten d upo n h i s so n .

F rom th is b i rthday f orth they became fast frie n ds

together They thought the world of each other
. .

M ore than al l the del ightfu l stories of h istory was

thei r l ove— such as had n eve r been seen .

’
The Governor s term of o ffi ce was exte nded for
six years more a nd so they remai ned i n the north
,

cou ntry F i nal ly at the t i me of retu r n he a n d h is

.
, ,

w i fe were i n great a n xi ety over thei r son bei n g

separated from Charan I f they were to force them .

to sepa rate they feared he wou ld d i e of a b roken

,

heart I f they took he r w ith them she n ot bei n g

.
,

h is w i fe they feared fo r h is repu ta tion They cou l d

, .

not possib ly decide so they concl uded to refer the

,

matter to the so n h im sel f They cal led h i m an d .

“
sa id E v e n parents can not decide as to the love
,

of thei r so n for a ma iden What ough t we to d o ? .

You love C hara n so that i t w i l l be very hard fo r '

you to part and yet to have a danci n g gi rl be fore

,
-
4 KO R E AN I MPS , GHOSTS A ND FA I R IE S

you are marri ed i s not good form an d wi l l i nterfere ,

with you r marriage p rospects a nd promotio n .

However the hav i n g of a secon d w i fe i s a com mon

,

custom i n Korea a n d o n e that the world recogn izes

,
.

D O as y o u th i n k best i n the matter The so n “

“
rep l ied
,
There i s no di ffi cu l ty ; w hen sh e i s
befo re m y eyes of cou rse sh e i s everyth i n g b ut
, ,

when the time comes for m e to start for hom e she

w i l l b e l i ke a pai r of worn shoes S et aside ; so please
,

do n o t b e anxious .

The Governor a n d h i s wi fe were greatly del i ghted ,

“
an d sai d he was a su perior man i ndeed .

When the ti me came to part Charan cri ed b i tterly ,

so that those standi n g by cou ld n o t b ea r to look

at her ; b u t the so n showed n o t the sl i ghtest S ig n

of emotion Those looki n g on were fi l led w ith
.

wonde r at h i s fortitude A l though he had al ready

.

loved Cha ran for S ix years he had never been ,

separated from her fo r a si ng le day so he k n ew n o t ,

what i t m ea n t to say Good bye n or d id he k n ow -

,

how i t fel t to be parted .

Th e Governor retu rn ed to S eou l to fi l l the o ffi ce

of Ch ief J ustice a nd the so n came also A fter th is
, .

retu rn thoughts of love fo r Chara n possessed

Ke y d o n g though he n ever expressed them i n word
,

o r ma n ner . I t was a lmost the tim e of the K am-se e

E xam i n ation .The father therefore ordered h i s
, ,

so n to go with som e o f h is friends to a n eighbou r

 C H AR AN

i n g mo nastery to study an d p r epare T hey wen t .

,
’
an d on e n ight after the day s work was over a n d
,

al l were asleep the you n g man stole ou t i nto the

,

cou rtya r d I t was w i n ter w i th frost a nd sn ow a n d

.
,

a cold clear moo n The mou n tai n s were deep an d

,
.

the world was qu i et so that the sl ightest sou n d ,

cou ld b e heard The you n g man looked up at th e

.

moo n a n d h is thoughts were fu l l of sor r ow H e .

S O wi shed to se e Charan that he cou ld n o l on ger

co ntro l h i msel f a n d feari n g that he wou l d lose h i s

,

reason he decided that very n i ght to se t ou t for far

,

distan t Pyon g an He had o n a fu r head-d ress

- .
,

a thick coat a leathe r belt an d a heavy pai r o f

,

shoes When he had gon e less than ten le e how

.
,

ever h i s feet were b l istered an d he had to g o i nto

, ,

a n eighbouri n g v i lla ge a n d change h is leather shoes

for stra w sa ndals a n d h i s expen si ve head c over fo r
,
-

’
a n o rd i nary servan t s hat H e wen t th us o n h is ;

way beggi n g as he wen t

, H e was often very .

hu n gry an d w he n n ight came was very very cold

, , , .

’
H e was a rich man s son a nd had a lways dressed
i n si l k a n d eaten dai n ty fare an d had n ever i n h is ,

l i fe wal ked mo r e tha n a fe w feet from h is father s ’

doo r Now there lay before h i m a j ou rney of

.

h u ndreds of m i les H e wen t stu mb l i n g alon g

.

through the snow maki n g b u t poo r p rogress , .

Hu ngry a nd froze n nearly to death he had n ever

, ,

know n such su fferi n g before H i s clothes we r e .

6 KO R E AN I M P S , G H OS TS AN D FA I R I ES

torn a nd h i s face became worn down and b lacken ed

'

ti l l he loo ked l i ke a gob l i n S ti l l o n he wen t l i ttle

.
,

by l i ttle day afte r day t i l l at last W hen a whole

, , ,

mon th had gon e by he reached Pyon g-an, .

’
S traight to C h aran s home he wen t b u t Cha r an ,

was n ot there on ly her mother

, S he looked at .

h im b u t did not recogn i z e h im H e sai d he was

,
.

’
the former Governor s so n an d that ou t of love fo r
C haran he had wal ked five h u ndred l e e Where .

i s sh e he asked Th e mothe r heard bu t i nstead

.
,
“
of b ei n g p leased was very an gry She said M y .
,

daughte r i s now wi th the so n of the new Governor ,

a nd I n ever see her at al l ; S he never comes home ,

an d sh e has been away fo r tw o o r th ree mo n ths .

E v e n though you have made this lon g jou rn ey

”
the r e i s no possible way to meet he r .

S he did not i n vi te h i m i n so cold was her we l ,

“
come H e thou gh t to h i msel f
. I cam e to se e ,

C ha r an b u t sh e i s not here He r m othe r re f uses

, .

me ; I ca n not go b ack a nd I can not stay What , .

”
shal l I d o ? Wh i le th us i n th i s di lemma a plan
occu rred to h im There was a sc ribe i n Pyon g
.

’
an , w ho d u ri ng h i s father s te rm of o ffice had
, ,

o ff ended an d was sen tenced to death There were

, .

exten uati n g ci rcu mstances howeve r a nd he when , , ,

he w en t to pay h is morn i n g sal utations had b e ,

sought an d secu red hi s pardo n H is father ou t o f .

,
’
regard for h i s son s pet ition had forgive n the ,
8 KO R E AN I MP S , G H OSTS AN D FA I R IE S

f r om th e ou tside The other workers bei n g a l l

.
,

p r actised hands swept wel l Ke y d o n g a lon e han dled

,

hi s b room to no advan tage k now i n g not h ow to ,

’
sweep The Governor s so n watchi n g the process
.
, ,

looked ou t a n d lau ghed ca l led C haran an d i nvi ted ,

he r to se e thi s swee per Charan steppe d ou t i nto .

the ope n hal l a n d the sweepe r rai sed h i s eyes to

se e. S he glan ced at hi m b u t o nce a nd b ut for a ,

momen t then tu rn ed qu ick ly wen t i n to the room

, , ,

a nd sh ut the door not appeari n g agai n to the

, ,

di sap po i n tmen t o f the swee per w h o came bac k i n ,

’
despai r to th e scribe s house .

Cha ra n was fi rst of al l a w ise a n d hi gh ly gi fted

woman O n e look had told her w h o the sweepe r
.

w as . S he came back i n to the roo m an d bega n to

’
cry The Governor s so n looked i n su rprise a n d
.

displ easu re a nd asked Wh y d o y o u cry ?

,
“ ”
S he
,

did not r ep ly at on ce b u t afte r two or three i n si sten t

,
“
demands told the reaso n th us : I am a low class
woman ; you are m i staken i n th i n ki n g h igh ly of me ,

or cou n ti n g m e of worth A l ready I ha v e not b een .

hom e for two whol e m onths a n d more T h is i s a .

special comp l i me n t a nd a h i gh honou r a nd so there ,

i s not the sl ightest reason fo r a ny Com pla i n t o n m

y
part B u t sti l l I th i n k of m y home w h ich i s poor
.
, , ,

an d my m other I t i s customary o n the a n n i versary

.

’
of my father s death to prepare foo d fro m the
o ffi cial quarters an d O ffe r a sacri fi ce to h is S p i rit
, ,
 C H AR AN

b ut here I am i mpri soned a nd to morrow i s the -

sacri fi cial day I fear that not a S i n gle act of

.

devotion w i l l be paid I am d istu rbed over i t an d

, ,
’
that s w h y I cry .

’
The Governor s so n was so taken i n by th is fai r
statem en t that he trusted her fu l ly a n d W i thou t a
“ ’
question Sympathetical ly he asked Why d id n t
.
,
”
you tel l m e before ? H e p repared the food an d
told her to h u rry hom e an d ca rry ou t the ceremo ny .

So Charan came l i ke flam i n g fi re back to her house ,

and sa id to her mothe r Ke y d o n g has come a n d I

,

h ave seen h i m I s he n o t here ? Tel l m e w here

.

” “
he i s i f you k n ow The mothe r sa id
. H e came ,

here i t i s true al l the way o n foot to se e you b u t

, , ,

I told h im that you were i n the y am en an d that

there was n o possib le way for you to m eet so he ,
"
we n t away a n d W here he i s I kn ow not .

Then C haran b roke dow n an d began to cry .

Oh my mother w hy had you the h eart to do so

, ,
” “
cruel ly ? sh e sobbed A s fa r as I am concern ed
I can neve r b reak w i th h i m n or g ive h i m u p We .

we re each sixteen when chose n to dance together ,

a n d w h i le i t may b e sa id that men chose us i t is ,

truer sti l l to say that God hath chosen We gre w .

’
i n to each other s l ives a nd there was n eve r such
,

love as o u r s Though he forgot an d left m e I can

.
,

never forget an d ca n never gi ve h i m u p The .

Go v ernor too ca l led m e the beloved w ife of h is

, ,
10 KO R E AN I MPS , G H OS TS AND FA I R I E S

so n , an d di d n ot o nce re fe r to my low stat i on H e .

’
cher i shed me a nd gave m e many gifts Twas a l l .

l i ke heave n a nd n ot l i ke earth To the city o f .

Pyon g an gen try a n d o ffi cial s gath er as men

-

crowd i n to a b oat ; I ha v e seen so many b ut fo r ,

grace a n d ab i l i ty no on e w as ever l i ke Ke y d o n g .

I m ust fi n d h i m a nd even thou gh he casts me aside

,

I n ever shal l forget h i m I have not kept mysel f

’

e v en u n to death as I S hou ld have becau se I h ave ,

be en u n der the powe r a n d i n fl uen ce of the

Gove r nor H ow cou ld he ever ha v e come so fa r
.

fo r o n e so low a n d v i l e ? H e a gentleman o f the

,

h i ghest b i rth for the sake of a wretched danci n g

,

gi rl h as end u red al l th is hardshi p a n d come so far .

Cou ld you not have thou ght mother of these , ,

th i ngs a nd g iven h i m at l east so me k i n dly wel

com e ? Cou ld my heart be other than b roke n ?
’
A n d a great flow of tears cam e from C h aran s eyes .

S he thought an d thought as to w here he cou ld

“ ” “
possib ly be . I k now of n o place sa id sh e u n , ,
’
less i t be at such an d such a scribe s home ! u ick
a s thought she flew then ce a n d there they m et
, .

Th ey clasped each other an d cried not a word w as ,

’
spoken Thu s came they b ack to C h aran s hom e
.

side by side Whe n i t was n i ght C ha r an said

.
,
“
Whe n to morrow comes we shal l have to part
-
.

”
What S hal l we do ? T hey ta l ked i t over an d ,

agreed to make thei r escape that n ight S o C ha ra n .

 C H AR AN

got togethe r her clothi n g an d he r treasu r es an d

,

j ewe ls an d made two b u n dles a nd th us he carry

, , ,

i n g h i s o n h is back an d sh e hers o n her head ,

away they wen t wh i le the ci ty slept T hey fol lowed .

the r oad that leads toward th e m o u n tai n s that l ie

'

between Yan g tok an d Mai n g-sa n cou n ties T here

- .

th ey fou nd a cou n try house w here they put up and

, ,
’
where the Governor s so n became a sort of better
class servan t He d id not know how to do a ny
.

th i n g wel l b u t C hara n u nderstood weavi n g an d

,

sew i n g a nd S O they l ived A fter som e time they

,
.

g o t a l i ttle thatched b u t by themselves i n the vi llage

an d l ived the r e Chara n w as a b eauti f u l sew i n g

.

woman a nd ceased not day a nd n i ght to ply her

,

n eed le a n d sold her treasu res a n d her jewels to

,

make ends meet C haran too k n ew how to make

.
, ,

frien ds an d was praised an d loved by al l the

,

vi llage E verybody fel t so r r y f o r the hard ti mes

.

that had b efal len th is m ysteri ous you n g cou ple an d ,

hel pe d them so that the days passed peacefu l ly a nd

happi ly together .

To retu r n i n the story : O n awak i n g i n the mo r n

i n g i n the temp le where he a nd h is friends h ad
go ne to study they fou n d Ke y d o n g m issi n g A l l
, .

was i n a state of con fusion as to w hat had be come

of the so n of the Ch ief J ustice They hu n ted fo r .

h i m far a n d wi de b u t he w as nowhere to b e fou n d

, ,

so word w as sen t to the paren ts accordi n gly There .

12 KO R E AN I MPS , GH OSTS AND FA I R IE S

was u n told co n ster n ation i n the home of the former

gov e r no r S o great a loss what cou ld equal i t ?
.
,

They sea r ched the cou n try abou t the temp le b ut ,

n o trace or shado w o f h i m w as to be fou nd Some .

sai d they though t he had been i nvei gled away a n d

metamorphosed by the fox ; others that he had
been eaten by the ti ger The parents decided that
.

he w as dead a nd wen t i n to mou rn i n g fo r h i m ,

b u rn i n g hi s c loth i n g i n a sacrificial fi re .

’
I n Pyo n g a n the Gove r n or s so n when he
-
,
’
fou n d that he had lost Charan had Ch at a n s ,

mother im p rison ed a n d al l the relatives b u t a fte r ,

a mon th or so when the search p roved futi le he

, ,

gave u p the matter an d l et them go .

Chara n at last happy w ith her chosen on e sai d

, ,

on e day to h i m You a so n O f the gen try f or the

, , ,
-

sake of a dan ci ng gi rl have gi v en u p paren ts an d

-

h ome to l ive i n this h i dden corn er of the h i l ls I t .

i s a matte r too that touches you r fi l ial piety th is

, , ,

leavi n g you r father a n d mother i n doubt as to

whether you are al ive or not They ou ght to k now. .

We can not l i ve here al l ou r l ives n ei ther can we ,

return hom e ; what d o you th i n k we ough t to d o

Ke y d o n g made a hopel ess reply I am i n .

“
d istress said he an d k now n ot
, , .

Chara n said b ri ghtly I have a pla n by wh ich

,

we ca n cover over the fau lts o f the past and w i n a ,

n ew start for the futu re B y m ea n s of it yo u ca n

.
,
 C H ARAN

se rve you r paren ts an d loo k the w orld i n the face .

Wi l l you co n sen t ?
“
What do y o u propose ? asked he Her reply .

was T here i s on ly on e way an d that i s by mean s

, ,

o f the Offi cial E xa m i nation I k now of n o other . .

You w i l l u nderstan d what I m ean even thou gh I ,

”
d o not tel l you more .

“
H e sa i d E nou gh you r plan i s j ust the th i n g
, ,

to help u s ou t B u t h ow ca n I get hold o f the

.

books I n ee d ?
’
C hara n repl ied Do n t be a nxious abou t that
, ,
’
I l l get the books F rom t hat day forth she sen t
.

th rough al l the n ei ghb ou rhood for b oo ks to be ,

secu red at al l costs ; b ut there were few or none i t ,

bei n g a mo u ntai n v i l lage O n e day there came by .

,

al l u nex pected ly a pack peddle r w h o had i n h is

,
-
,

b u ndle a book that he wi shed to sel l Some of the .

v i l lage peopl e wanted to b uy i t fo r wal l -paper .

Charan however secu red i t fi rst a n d sh owed i t to

, ,

Ke y d o n g I t was non e other than a special wor k

.

fo r E xa m i nation s w ith al l the exercises w ri tte n o ut

, .

I t was w ritten i n smal l characters a n d was a h u ge ,

boo k contai n i n g several thousa n d exerci ses Key .

“
do n g was del ighted and said Th i s i s enou gh for
, ,

al l needed preparation
’

S he bought i t an d gave
.

i t to h i m a n d there he pegged away day a fter d ay

, .

I n t h e n ight he stud ied by candl e l i ght wh i le she -

,

sat by h is side an d d id si l k spi n n i n g T hus they - .

14 KO R E AN I MPS , GHOS TS A ND FA I R IE S

shared the l ight together I f he showed a ny .

rem issness C hara n u rged h i m o n a nd th us they

, ,

worked fo r two years To b egi n w ith he bei n g a .

, ,

h ighly talen ted scholar made steady adv ancemen t ,

day by day H e was a beauti fu l writer a n d a master

.

of the pen H is composition s too were w i thou t a

.
, ,

peer a nd every i n dicatio n poi n ted to h is w i n n i n g

,

the h i ghest place i n the K w ag o ( E xam i nation ) .

A t th i s ti me a pr oc lamatio n was issued that there

-

wou ld be a special exam i n atio n hel d before H i s

M aj esty the Ki n g so Chara n made ready the food
,

requ i red a nd al l n ecessari es for h i m to go afoot to

Seou l to try h i s hand .

A t l ast here h e was withi n the Palace enclosu re

, .

H is M aj esty came ou t i n to the exam i nation arena

a nd posted u p the subj ect Ke yd o n g took h is pen .

an d wrote h is fi n ished composition U n der the .

i nsp i ratio n of th e momen t h i s l i nes cam e forth l i ke

b ubb l i ng water I t was fi n ished .

W hen the a n nou n cemen t was made as to the

w i n ner the Ki ng ordered the sealed nam e of t he
,

writer to be opened I t was an d they fou n d that

.
,

Ke y d o n g was fi rst A t that ti m e h i s father was

.

P r i me M i n ister an d waiti n g i n atten da nce upon th e

Ki n g T h e Ki n g ca l led the P rime M i n i ster a n d
.
,
“
sa id, I t looks to me as thou gh the w i n ner was
you r son b u t he writes that h is father i s Ch ief
,

J ustice an d not P ri me M i n iste r ; what can that

16 KO R E AN I MPS , G HOSTS AND FA I R I E S

left my parents have b roken al l the laws of fi l ial

,
”
de v otio n a nd deserve co ndi gn pu n ishmen t
,
The
“
K i n g repl ied sayi n g T here is n o law o f conceal
, ,

m en t before the K i n g I S hal l n o t condem n y o u .

”
even though y o u are gu i lty ; tel l m e al l Then he .

to ld h i s story to the K i n g A l l the o ffi cial s o n .

each side ben t t hei r ears to hear T he K i n g sighed .

,

“
a nd sa id to the father You r so n has repen ted a nd,

made amen ds fo r h is fault H e has w o n fi rst place .

an d n ow stands as a memb er o f the Cou rt We .

can not con dem n h i m for h i s love fo r th is woman .

F orgive h im for al l the past a nd give h i m a start

” “
fo r the futu re H i s M aj esty sai d fu rther
. The ,

woma n C haran who has shared you r l i fe i n the

,

lonely mou ntai n s i s n o com mon woma n

, H er .

pla n s t oo fo r you r restoratio n were the p lan s of a

, ,

master han d S he i s n o danci n g gi rl th is Chara n

.
-
, .

L et n o other b e you r law fu l w i fe b ut she o nly ; let

her be raised to equal ra n k w ith her h usban d a n d ,

let her ch i ldren and her C h i ldren s ch i ldren hold ’

h i gh est O ffi ce i n the realm S o was Ke y d o n g .

’
ho no ured w i th the w i n ner s crown a n d so the ,

Pri m e M i n i ster recei ved h is son back to l i fe at the

hands of the K i n g The w i n n er s cap was placed
.
’

u pon h i s head a nd the w hol e hou se was wh i rled

,

i n to raptu res of j oy .

S o the M i n ister sen t forth a palan qu i n a n d

servants to b ri n g u p Charan I n a great festival .
 CH AR AN

’
of joy she was proclai med the w i fe of the M i n ister s
’
so n L ater he became one of Korea s fi rst men of
.

State an d they l ived thei r h appy l i fe to a good o ld

,

age They had tw o son s both graduates a n d men

.
,

w h o held hi gh o ffi ce
.

I M B A NG
.
 TH E STO R Y O F C H AN G T O -R Y O N G

[ T A O I S M has been o n e of the great rel i gion s of

Korea . I ts ma i n tho u gh t i s expresse d i n the
“
phrase su si m y on son g
- - to correct the m i n d a n d
,

”
reform the n ature ; wh i le B uddh ism s i s m y on g ’

“
S i m k y on -son g to en l i ghten the heart an d se e the
,

sou l .

Th e desi re of a l l Taoi sts i s etern al l i fe ,

C h an g su i n g
-
p u t 3 a ;-that O f the B uddhi sts t o ,

ri d o nesel f of fl e sh ly bei n g I n the Taoist world

.

o f the gen i i there are th ree great di vision s : the

,

u pper ge n i i w h o l i ve wi th G o d ; the m i dway gen ii

, ,

w h o ha v e to d o w ith the world of a n gels a n d

S pi ri ts ; a n d the lower gen i i w h o ru le i n sacred

,

places o n the earth amon g the h i l ls j ust as we

, ,

fi n d i n t h e story of Chan g T O ryon g ] - .

I n the days of Ki n g Ch u ng jon g ( A O 1 5 0 7 - . .

1 5 2 6 ) there l ived a beggar i n Seo u l wh ose face ,

was extremely u gly a n d al ways di rty He was .

forty years o f age o r so b ut sti l l wore h is ha i r

,

d o w n h is back l i ke a n u n married b o y H e carried .

18
 TH E STO R Y OF C H AN G T O -R Y O N G 19

a bag over h is shou lder an d we n t about the streets ,

beg g i n g D u ri n g the day he wen t from on e part

.

o f the city to t he other vi siti n g each section an d , ,

when n i ght came o n he wou l d h uddle u p beside

some one s ga te a n d g o to sl eep H e was fr e
’
.

quen tly see n i n Chon g n o ( B el l S tr e et ) i n com pany

-

with the servan ts a n d u nderl i n gs o f the rich .

They were great friends he a nd they joki n g an d , ,

ba nteri n g as they met H e used to say that h is .

n ame was Chan g an d so they ca l led h i m Chan g

,

T O-ryon g To ryon g mean i n g a n u n married b o y

,
-
,

so n of the gen try A t that tim e the ma gicia n C ho n

.

U-c hi w h o was fa r famed for hi s pride an d

,
-

ar r ogance when ever he m e t Chan g i n passi n g

, ,

alon g the street wou l d dism ou n t and prostrate h i m

,

sel f m ost h umb ly No t o n ly d i d he b ow bu t he

.
,

seemed to regard Chan g w ith the greatest of fear ,

so that he dared n o t loo k h i m i n the face Chan g .

,

someti mes w ithou t eve n i ncl i n i n g h is head wou l d

, ,
“ ”
say ,
Wel l how goes i t w ith y o u eh ?
, Chon , ,

with hi s han ds i n h is sleeves most respectfu l ly ,

“
w oul d reply Ve ry wel l si r than k you very
, , , ,

wel l . He had fear w ri tten o n al l h i s featu res

when he faced C han g .

Sometimes too when Chon wou ld bow Chan g

, , ,

wou ld refuse to notice h i m at al l an d g o by w ith ,

ou t a word T hose w h o saw i t were aston ished

.
,

an d aske d Chon the reaso n C hon sai d i n reply .

,
20 KO R E AN I MPS , GHOSTS AND FA I R IES

T here are o n ly th ree sp i ri t me n a t prese n t i n -

Cho se n o f w hom the greatest i s Chan g T O ryon g ;

-
,
-

the secon d i s C heu n g P u k chan g ; a n d the th i rd i s-

Y u n Se pyon g P eople O f the world d o n o t k now

- .

i t b u t I d o S uch bei n g the case shou ld I not

,
.
,

bow b efore h i m a n d S how h i m reverence

Those w h o heard th is explanatio n k now i n g that ,

Cho n h i m sel f was a stran ge bei n g paid n o atten ,

tio n to i t .

A t that ti m e i n S eou l there was a certai n l iterary

u n dergraduate i n O ffi ce w hose house j oi n ed hard
on the street Th is man u sed to see Chan g fre
.

quen tly goi ng abou t beggi n g a nd on e day he ,

cal led h i m an d asked w h o he was an d w hy he ,

“
begged Chan g made a nswer
. I was ori gi nal l y ,

o f a cu ltu red fam i ly O f Ch u l la P rovi nce b ut m y ,

parents d ied o f typhu s fever an d I had n o b rothers ,

or relation s l eft to share m y lo t I alon e remai n ed .

of a l l m y clan an d ha v i n g n o home O f m y ow n I
,

have gon e about be ggi n g an d have a t last reached ,

Seo u l A s I am n o t sk i l led i n an y han dicraft an d

.
,

d o not k n ow Ch i n ese letters what e l se can I d o ? ,

The u n dergrad u ate heari n g that he was a scholar

, ,

fel t very sorry fo r h i m gave h i m food an d dri n k

, ,

a n d refreshed h im .

F rom th is ti m e o n w henever there was an y ,

special celeb ration at h i s hom e he u sed to cal l ,

Chan g i n an d have h i m share i t .

 TH E S TO RY OF C H AN G T O -R Y O N G 21

O n a certai n day when the master was o n h is

way to o ffi ce he saw a dead body be i n g carri ed
,

o n a str etche r o ff toward the Water Gate L ook .

i n g at i t closely from the horse o n w h ich h e rode ,

he recogn ized i t as the corpse of C han g To

ryon g He fel t so sad that he tu rn ed back to h is
.

“
house an d cr ied over i t sayi n g There are lots of
, ,

m i serab le people o n earth b u t w h o ever saw o n e

,

as m iserab l e as poor Chan g ? A s I reckon the

ti me over o n my fi n gers he has been beggi n g i n
,

B el l Street for fi fteen years a nd now he passes ,

”
ou t of the ci ty a dead body .

Twen ty years an d more afterwards the master

had to make a j ou rn ey throu gh South Ch u l la
P rovi nce A S he was passi n g Ch i i M ou n tai n he
.
-
,

l ost h is way an d go t i n to a ma z e amon g the h i l ls .

Th e day began to w an e a nd he co u l d neither retu r n

,

no r go forward He saw a n arrow footpath such

.
,

as woo dmen take an d tu rn ed i nto i t to se e i f i t led

,

to an y hab i tation A s he wen t alon g there were

.

r ocks an d deep ravi n es L i ttle by l ittle as he

.
,

advanced farth er the scen e chan ged a nd seemed

,

t o become stran gely t ra n sfi g u re d The farther he .

wen t the more w on derfu l i t became A fter he had .

gon e some m i l es he d iscovered h i msel f to b e i n

another world en ti rely no l o n ger a worl d O f earth
,

an d du st H e saw some on e co m i n g toward h im

.

dressed i n ethereal green mou nted an d carryi n g a

,
22 KO R E AN I MPS , GH OSTS AND FA I R IES

shade w ith se rvan ts accom panyi n g He seemed

,
.

t o sweep toward h i m w ith swi ftness an d wi th ou t

e ff ort H e though t to h i msel f H ere i s some h i gh

.
,
”
lo rd o r other com i n g to m ee t me b ut he added
'

, , ,

“
h o w amon g these deeps an d so l itudes co u ld a
”
ge n tlema n come ri di n g so ? H e led h i s horse
as ide an d tri ed to wi thdraw i nto o n e of the gro v es

by th e S ide O f the way b u t be fore he cou ld th i n k

,

to t u rn the ma n had reached h i m The mysterious .

stran ger l i fted h i s tw o han ds i n sal u tation a n d

i n qu i red respectful ly as to how he had been al l
th is time . The master w as speech less an d so ,

aston i shed that he cou ld make no rep ly B ut the .

“
stran ger sm i l i n gly said M y house i s qu i te near
,

he re ; c om e w i th m e an d rest .

H e tu rn ed an d leadi n g the w ay seemed to gl ide

,

an d n o t to wal k w h i le the master fol lowed A t

, .

last they reached the place i n dica ted He sudden ly .

sa w before h i m great palace hal ls fi l l i n g whole

squares of space B eautifu l b u i ld i n gs they were
.
,

ri chly ornamen ted B e fore the door atten dan ts i n

.

o ffi cial robes awaited them They bowed to the

.

m aster an d led h im i n to the hal l A fter passi n g a

.

n u mber of gorgeous palace l i ke roo m s he arrived

,
-
,

at a speci al o n e and ascended to the upper storey ,

where he met a very wo nderf u l perso n H e w as .

d ressed i n sh i n i n g garmen ts an d the se rvan ts that

,

wa i ted o n h i m were exceed i n gly fai r There were .

,
24 KO RE AN IMPS , GHOS TS AND FA I R IE S

the ti me of my exi le you treated m e w i th marke d

k i n dn ess a favou r that I have n e v e r forgotten
,
.

When you saw m y dead body you r pity wen t ou t

to m e ; th is too I remember I w as not dead then
, ,
.
,

i t was si m ply that my days o f e xi le were e n ded

a n d I was retu rn i n g hom e I k n ew that yo u were
.

passi n g th is h i l l an d I desi red to m ee t you an d

,

to than k yo u for al l you r k i n dn ess Y ou r treat .

men t of m e i n an other world i s s u ffi cien t to b ri n g

”
about o u r meeti n g i n t his o ne A n d so they met
.

an d feaste d i n j o y an d great del ight .

When n i ght cam e he w as escorted to a special

pavi l io n w here he w as to s leep The w i ndows
,
.

were m ade of j ade a nd p reciou s ston es a n d soft ,

l i g hts came stream i n g th rough them so that there ,

“
was n o n i ght M y body w as so rested an d m y
.

“
sou l so refreshed sai d he ,that I fel t n o n eed
,
”
of sleep .

Whe n the day dawned a n ew feast w as S pread ,

an d then fa r ewe l ls were spoken C han g sa id .

,
“
Th is i s n ot a place fo r you to stay lon g i n ; y o u
m ust go The ways di ffer o f we gen i i an d y o u men
.

o f the world I t w i l l be di ffi cu l t fo r u s ever to

.

meet agai n Take good care O f v o u rse lf an d g o

.

”
i n peace . He the n cal led a se r v an t to accompan y
h im an d S ho w the way The master m ade a low .

b ow an d w i thdrew Whe n he had gon e b ut a

.

short d istan ce h e sudden ly fou n d h imse lf i n the

 TH E STO RY O F C HAN G T O R Y O N G -
25

o ld worl d w ith i ts dusty accom pan i me nts The .

path by w h ich h e came o u t w as n ot the way by

wh ich he had en tered . I n order to mark the
en tran ce he plan ted a stake an d then the se rvan t
,

w i thdrew an d di sappeared .

The year fol low i n g t he master we n t agai n a n d

tried to fi n d the ci tadel of the gen i i b u t there were
,

o n ly mou n tai n pea ks an d i mpassab le rav i n es a n d ,

where i t w as he n ever cou ld d iscover

A s the years wen t by the maste r seemed to gro w
you n ger i n spi rit an d at last at the age of n i n ety
,
“
he passed a w ay w i thou t su ff eri n g When C han g
.

w as here o n earth an d I saw h im fo r fi fteen years ,

sa id the maste r , I remember b u t on e pecu l iari ty

abou t h im n amely that h i s face n ever gre w olde r
, ,

n or did h i s di rty cloth i n g e v er wea r o u t He n ever .

chan ged h is garb an d yet i t n ever varied i n appea r

,

ance i n al l the fi fteen years Th i s alone wou ld

.

ha v e marked hi m as a stran ge bei n g b ut ou r fl eshly

,

”
eyes di d n ot recogn ize i t .

I M B A NG .
 A S TO R Y O F T H E F O X

[ TH E F o x — Orien tals say that amon g the lon g

.

l ived creatu res are the tortoise the deer the cran e
, ,

and the fox an d that these lon g l ived on es attai n

,
-

to special states of spi ri tual refi n emen t I f trees .

exist th rough lon g ages they become coal ; i f pi n e

resi n en du res i t becomes amber ; so the fox i f i t ,

l i v es lon g wh i l e i t n ever becomes a n a n gel o r

, ,

spi ri tual be i n g as a man does takes on various

, ,

m eta m orphoses an d appears o n earth i n various

,

forms ] .

Yi Kwai w as the so n of a m i ni ster He passed .

h i s exam i n ation s an d held hi gh O ffi ce When .

h i s father was Go v ernor o f Pyon g a n Provi nce -

,

Kwai w as a l ittle b o y an d accompan i ed h im The .

’ ’
Govern or s fi rst w i fe bei n g dead Kwai s step ,

mother was the m istress o f the home O n ce w he n .

H i s E xcel lency had gon e o u t o n a n i nspecti ng

tou r the y a m e n w a s l eft vacan t an d K w a i w as
, ,

there w ith her I n the rear garden o f the o ffi cial

.

quarters w as a pavi l ion cal led the H i l l Pagoda

, ,

that was con n ected by a n arro w gateway w ith the

26
 A STO R Y O F TH E F OX

pub l ic hal l F requen tly Kwa i took o n e of the y ame n

.

boys w ith h i m an d wen t there to stu dy a n d once ,

at n i ght whe n i t had grow n late a n d the b oy who

accom pan i ed h i m had taken h is departu re t he door ,

opened sudden ly an d a yo u n g woman came i n .

Her clothes were n eat a nd clea n a n d sh e w as v ery ,

pretty .Kwa i l ooked carefu l ly at her b u t d id ,

not recogn ize her S h e was evi den tly a stran ger
.
,

as there w a s n o s u c h person amon g the danci n g

gi rls of the y am e n .

He remai ned look i n g at her i n doubt as to w h o

,

s h e w as w h i le sh e o n the other han d took her place

,

i n the corn er O f the room an d sai d n oth i n g .

”
Who are you ? he asked S he merely .

lau ghed an d made n o reply H e cal led her S he . .

came an d k nelt dow n before h im an d he took he r ,

by the han d an d patted her shou lder as th ou gh ,

he greeted her favou rab l y The woman sm i led .

a n d preten ded to enj oy it He concl ude d h ow

.
,

ever that sh e was not a real woman b ut a gob l i n

, ,

of som e ki n d o r perhaps a fox an d w hat to d o he

, ,

kn ew n o t S u dden ly he deci ded o n a plan cau ght

.
,

her sw u n g her o n to h is back an d rushed o u t

, ,

through the gate i n to the y a m e n quarters where ,

he shou ted at the to p o f h is voice fo r h is step

mother an d the servan ts to come .

I t was m i dn igh t a n d al l were asleep NO o ne .

repl i ed and no on e came The woma n then bei ng

, .
, ,
28 KO R E AN I MPS , GHOSTS AN D FA I R IE S

on h is back b i t h i m fu riou sly at the n ape o f the

,

n ec k
. B y th i s he k n e w that sh e was the fox .

U n ab le to stan d the pai n o f i t he l oo sen ed h is

,

grasp when she j u m pe d to the grou n d made he r

, ,

e sca pe a n d was seen n o more .

What a pi ty that n o on e came to Kwa i s resc ue’

an d so made s u re of the beast !

I M B A NG .
 C HE U N G P U K- C H AN G , THE S EE R

T r y o k K e u i su l
[ C H E U NG P U K C H A NG he
- Y o l .
- - -
,

on e of Korea s n oted h istori es says o f C heu n g P u k

’
,

chan g that h e was pu re i n pu rpose and w i thout

sel fi sh amb ition He was superior to al l O thers i n
.

h i s marvel l ous gi fts F o r h i m to read a boo k on ce

.

was to know i t by heart There was n oth i n g that .

he cou ld not u nderstan d— astronomy geo logy , ,

m usic medici n e mathematics fortu ne tel l i n g and

, , ,
-

Ch i n ese characters w h ich he k n ew by i n tu it ion an d

,

not from study .

H e fol lowed h i s father i n the tra i n of the envoy

to Peki n g an d there ta l ked to al l the strange peoples
,

whom he met w i tho u t a ny preparatio n They al l .

“
wondered at h i m an d cal led h i m The M ystery .

He kn ew too the mean i n g o f the ca l ls o f b i rds an d

, ,

beasts ; a n d wh i le he l ived i n the mou n ta i ns he cou ld

see a nd tel l what peop le were doi n g i n the di stan t
val ley i ndicati n g what was goi n g o n i n eac h house
, ,

w h ich upo n i nvesti gati on was fou n d i n each case

, ,

to be true He w as a Ta oist a n d received stran ge

.
,

revelations .
30 KO R E AN I MPS , GHOSTS AND FA I R IE S

W h i le i n Pek i n g there m et h im en voys from the

Co u rt of L o oc h o o w h o also were p rophets Wh i le
,
.

i n thei r own cou n try they had stud ied the horoscope ,

and o n goi n g i nto C h i na k n ew that they were t o

meet a Holy M a n A S they wen t o n thei r way the y
.

asked concern i n g th is mysterio us bei n g an d at last ,

reached P eki n g . I n qu i ri n g they wen t fro m o n e

,

e n voy s station to a nother ti l l they met Cheu n g

’

P u k chan g w hen a great fear came u pon th em a nd

-
, ,

they fel l p rostrate to the earth .

They took from thei r baggage a l i ttle b ook l n

“
scri bed I n such a year o n such a day a t such an
, , ,
”
hou r i n s uch a p lace you S hal l meet a Holy M a n
, , .

”
I f th is d oes not mea n you r E xcel len cy sa i d they , ,

whom ca n i t mea n They asked that he wou ld

teach them the sacred B ook of C han ges an d he ,

respon ded by teach i n g i t i n thei r own lan guage .

A t that ti m e the various e nvoys heari n g of th is , ,

contended w ith each other as to who shou ld fi rst

se e the ma rvel lous stra n ger a nd he spoke to each
,

i n h i s own ton gue They al l greatly amazed said

.
, , ,
“
He i s i ndeed a m an of God .

S ome o n e asked h im sayi n g There are those

, ,

w h o u n derstan d the so u nds of bi rds an d beasts

-

b ut forei gn lan guages have to be lea rned to be

k now n ; h o w can you speak them w i thout
”
study ?
P u k cha n g rep l ied
-
,I d o not k now the m from
32 KO R E AN I MPS , GH OSTS AND FA I R IE S

ch i ld to rise an d fal l w hen i t b reathes F ro m th i s .

part of the head g o forth fi v e rays o f l i gh t that

shoot ou t an d u p more a nd more a s the stu den t
adva nces i n the sp i ritual way A s far as they .

extend so i s the spi ri tual v i sion perfected u nti l at ,

last a Korean su ffi ciently adva nced cou ld sit an d

“
say , I n L ondon to day such a n d such a great
,
-
,
”
a ff ai r i s taki n g p lace .

F o r example So W h a tam w ho was a Taoist

,
-
,

Sage o nce was seen to laugh to h i mself as he sat

,

w i th closed eyes an d w hen a s k ed w hy he la u ghed

, ,

“
said , J ust n o w i n the mon astery O f H a i n [ 3 00 -

m i l es distant ] there is a great feast go i n g o n T he .

pri est sti rri n g the hu ge kettle of bean gru el h as

tumb l ed i n b u t the others do n ot k now th is a n d are
, ,

eati n g the so u p News came from the monastery

.

later o n that proved that w hat the sage had see n

was actual ly true .

The H istory of Con fuci us too deals w ith th i s , ,

w he n i t tel ls of h i s goi n g w ith h is di sc iple A n j a -

an d loo k i n g o ff from the Ta i M ou ntai n s o f S han

tu n g toward the k i n gdom o f O n Con fuci us .

asked A n j a i f he cou ld se e a nythi n g a nd A n j a

-
,
-

“ ”
repl ied I se e wh i te horses tied at the gates o f O n
,
.

“
Co n fuci us said No n o you r v ision i s i mper
, , ,

fee t desist from l ooki n g

, Th ey are not w h ite .

horses b u t are rol ls o f w hite si l k h u n g o u t fo r

,
 C HE UN G PU K CH AN G ,
-
TH E SEE R 88

Th e S tor y
The M aster P u k-chan g was a n oted Korean
, , .

F rom the t ime of h is b i rt h he was a won de rfu l

mystery I n readi n g a book i f he b ut glan ced
.
,

throu gh it he cou ld recal l i t word for word

, .

Without an y special study he became a master

of ast ronomy geology medici n e fortu ne tel l i n g
, , ,
-
,

m usic m athem atics an d geo m an cy an d so trul y a

, ,

special ist was he that he k new them al l .

He was thorough ly ver sed also i n the th ree great

rel igion s Co n fuci an i s m B uddh ism an d Taoi sm
, , , .

H e tal ked con stantly of what Other people cou ld

not poss ib ly com prehen d He u nderstood the .

sou n ds of the b i rds the voices of Natu re a n d m uch

, ,

else H e accom pan ied h i s father i n h i s boyhood

.

days when h e wen t as envoy to Peki n g A t that .

ti me stran ge barbari an peoples used a lso to com e

,

a n d p ay thei r trib ute P u k-c han g p icked u p ac .

quai ntance wi th them o n the way Heari n g thei r .

lan guage b u t once he was read i ly able to com,

m u n i c ate w i th them H i s o w n cou n trymen who

.

accom pa n ied h i m were n ot the o n ly o nes aston

i sh e d n or the Ch i na m en them se l ves b ut the
, ,

barbarian s as wel l There a re n u merou s i n teresti n g

.

stori es hi n ted at i n the h istory of P u k chan g b u t -

,

few su itab le records were made o f the m a nd so ,

many are lost .

D
34 KO RE A N I MPS , GHOS TS AN D F A IR I E S

There i s o ne however that I recal l that , ,

comes to m e th rou gh trustworthy w it nesses : P u k

chan g o n a certai n day wen t t o vi si t h i s patern al
, ,

a u n t S he asked h i m to b e seated a nd as they

.
,
“
tal ked together sa id to h im ,
I had some har ,

vesti n g to d o i n Yo ng n am Cou n ty an d sen t a -

,

servan t to see to i t H is retu rn i s overdue an d yet

.

he d oes n o t C ome I am a fraid he has fal l en i n with

.

th ieves or cha nced o n a fi r e or som e other

,

”
m isfortu n e .

P u k -c han g repl ied S hal l I tel l y o u h ow i t goes

,

w ith h im a nd h o w far he has come on the way

,
“
S he l aughed sayi n g ,
D o you m ea n t o j oke ,

”
about i t ?
P u k -chan g from w here he was sitti n g looked
, ,

o ff appare ntly t o the far south an d at last sa i d to ,

“
h i s au n t He i s j u st n o w crossi n g the h i l l cal led
,

B i rd Pass i n M u n kyon g Cou n ty Kyon g san g -

,
-

P rovi nce Hal lo ! he is getti n g a b eati n g j u st now

.

from a passi n g y an g ban ( gen tlema n ) b ut I see i t ,

i s h i s o w n fau lt so y o u n eed not troub le about

,
”
him .

The au nt lau gh ed a n d asked Why sho u ld he

, ,
’
be beaten ; what s the reason p ray ? ,
“
P u k chan g repl ied
- I t seem s th i s o ffi cial was
,

eati n g h is di n n er at the top of the h i l l when you r

servan t rode by h im w i thout d i smou n ti n g The .

gentlema n w as natu ral ly very an gry a n d had h i s

 C HE UN G PU K CH AN G
-
, TH E SEE R 35

servants arrest you r m an p u l l h i m from h i s horse

, ,

and beat hi m over the face w ith thei r rough straw

”
S hoes .

The au n t cou l d not bel ieve i t true bu t treated ,

the matter as a joke ; an d yet P u k chan g di d n o t-

seem to b e j ok i n g .

I nterested a nd curious S h e made a note O f the day

,

o n the wa l l after P u k chan g had taken h i s depart

-

u re an d when the ser v a n t ret u rned sh e asked h i m

, ,

w hat day he had come over B i rd Pass a n d i t ,

proved to be the day recorded S he added a lso

.
,

D id you get i nto troub le w ith a y an g ban there

w hen yo u came by
The servan t gave a startl ed look a n d asked , ,
”
How d o y o u k now ? H e then tol d al l that had
happened to h im an d i t was j ust as P u k c ha n g had
,
-

g iven i t even to the smal lest detai l .

I M B A NG .
 YUN S E- P Y O N G , THE W I! A R D

[ Y U N S E -P Y O NGwas a m an of S eou l w h o l ived to

the age O f ove r ni n ety When he was you n g h e
.

loved archery an d went as m i l i tary attach é to the

,

cap ital o f the M i ngs ( Nan ki n g ) There he m et a

.

prophet w h o taught h i m the W h an g j o n g Ky on g -

,

o r S ac red B ook o f the Ta o i sts and th u s he learn ed

,

thei r l a w s a nd p ractised thei r te ach i n gs H i s l i fe .

was wr itte n by Y i S o kwan g ] - .

( C H O N U C
- H I was a m agici an Of So ngdo who
l ived about 1 5 5 0 a n d was associated i n h is l i fe w ith
,

S h i n Kwang h u A t th e l atter s resi dence o n e day

- .
’

w hen a fri en d cal led Kwan g h u a sked Chon to

,
-

S how them o ne of h i s S pecial feats A l ittle later .

they b rought i n a tab le of rice fo r eac h of the pa rty ,

a n d Chon took a mo u thfu l o f h i s a nd the n b l ew i t

,

out toward the cou rtyard w hen t h e rice chan ged

,

i nto beauti f u l b utterfl i es that fl e w gai ly away .

Chan g O sa u sed to tel l a story of h i s father w h o

-
,

said that o n e day Chon ca m e to ca l l upon h i m at h i s

house a n d asked for a book en titled Th e Tu si wh ich -
,

36
 Y U N SE P YO N G -
, TH E W I ! A R D 37

“
he ga v e to h im I had n o i dea sai d the fathe r
.
, ,

that he was dead an d that i t was hi s gh ost I gave .

h i m the book though I d id n o t learn ti l l afterwards

,

”
that h e had bee n dead fo r a lon g ti me .

The H i stor y of F am o u s Me n says He was a ,

ma n w h o u n derstood h ereti ca l magi c and other ,

dan gerou s teach i n gs by wh ich he decei ved the

people He was arrested for thi s an d locked u p i n
.

prison i n S i n -chon Whan g hai Provi n ce a nd there

,
-
,

he d ied H i s b u rial was ordered by the p rison

.

au thori ties an d later when h i s relatives c am e to

, ,

exh ume h is remai n s they fou n d that the co ffi n was ,

”
e mpty .

Th i s a n d th e sto r y of I m B an g d o n o t ag r e e a s to
h is d e a th a n d I am n o t a ble to j u dg e be tw e e n
, .

th e m — J S G ]
. . . .

[ The tran sformati o n of m en i nto beasts bu gs ,

an d creepi n g th i n gs c o m es from B uddh ism ; on e

seldom fi n ds i t i n Taoism ] .

Th e S tor y .

Y u n S e Pyon g w as a m i l itary m an w h o rose to

-

th e ran k of m i n ister i n the days o f Ki n g Choo ng

jon g I t seem s that Y u n l earn ed the doctri ne of
.

magic from a passi n g stran ger w hom he met o n h i s ,

way to Peki n g i n co m pa n y w i th the envoy Whe n ‘

.
38 KO R E AN I MPS , GHOS TS AN D FA I R IE S
at home he l i v ed i n a se parate house qu ite apart ,

from th e other members of hi s fam i ly H e w as a .

m a n s o greatly feared that even h i s w i fe an d

ch i ldren dared n o t app roach h i m What he did i n .

secret n o o n e seemed to k n o w I n w i n ter he was

.

seen to pu t i ron clea ts u nder each arm an d to chan ge

them freque ntly an d w hen they were pu t O ff they
,

seeme d to be r ed hot - .

A t the same time there w as a magicia n i n Korea

cal led Cho n U ch i who u sed to go ab ou t Seou l
-
,

p lyi n g h is craft So sk i l fu l w as he that he cou l d

.

even si m u late the form of the master of a house

’
an d go freely i n to the wome n s quarters O n th is .

accou n t he was greatly feared an d detested Y u n .

heard of h im o n more tha n o n e occasion a n d deter ,

m i n ed to ri d the earth o f h i m Cho n heard also o f

.

Yu n an d gave h i m a w ide berth n ever a ppeari n g i n

,
“
h i s presence. H e used frequ ently to say I am a ,
”
magician on ly ; Y u n i s a God .

O n a certai n day Ch o n i n formed his w i fe that

Y u n wou ld come that afternoon an d try to k i l l h i m ,

“
an d said he I shal l chan ge my shape i n order
,

to escape h i s cl utches I f any o n e comes ask i n g for

.

”
m e j ust say that I am n ot at home H e then .

metamorphosed h i msel f i nto a beetle and craw led ,

u n der a c r oc k that stood overtu rn ed i n the cou rt

va r d
.

Wh en even i n g began to fal l a you n g woman

40 KO R E AN I MPS , GHOSTS AN D FA I R IES

H e w rote a letter a nd after seal i ng i t sa id to on e

, ,
“
o f h i s attendan ts I f you go j ust o utside the gate
,

y o u w i l l meet a man weari n g a h orsehai r cap and a

sol d ie r s u n i fo rm Cal l h im i n H e i s stan di n g
’
. .

”
there ready to b e su mmon ed .

H e w as cal led i n an d su re e nough he w as a Ko n

,

yu n n o ( ser v a nt of the gods) H e cam e i n an d at

- .

on ce p rostrated h i msel f before Y u n Y u n sa id M y .

,

sister has j ust now d ied i n such a place i n Ch u l la

P rovi nce Take th i s letter an d go at once I shal l
. .

expect y o u bac k to n ight w i th the a nswer The

- .

matter i s of such great i mportance that i f you do

n ot b ri n g i t as I order a n d w i th i n the ti me ,
”
appoi n ted I shal l have y o u pu n i shed
,
.

“
H e rep l ied I shal l b e i n tim e be n o t anxiou s
, ,
.

Y u n then gave h i m the letter a nd the b u ndle an d ,

he wen t ou tside the m ai n gateway an d di sappeared .

B efo re da rk he retu rned w i th the a n swer The .

“
letter read : S he d ied at such an hou r to day an d -

we were i n strai ts as to w hat to d o w hen you r ,

letter cam e w i th the supp l i es j ust as though w e had ,

seen each other Won derfu l i t i s The man w ho

’

b rought the a n swe r i mmediately wen t o u t a n d di s

appeared The hou se o f m ou rn i n g i s si tuated over
.

’
ten days jou rn ey from S eou l b ut he retu rn ed ere ,

su n set i n the spa ce O f tw o o r th r ee hou rs

, .

I M B A NG .
 T H E W I L D C A T W O M AN
-

[ KI M SU - IK was a n ative o f S eou l w h o m a tri c

u l ate d i n 1 6 2 4 a nd graduated i n 1 6 3 0 I n 1 63 6 .
,

when the Ki n g made h i s esc ape to Nam b a n from -

the i n v adi ng M an ch u a rmy K i m S u ik ac o m pa n i e d

,
-

h im He opposed any yieldi ng to Ch i na o r any

.

treaty w i th them b u t because h is cou n se l was n o t

,

r e cei v ed he w ithd rew from p ub li c l i fe ] .

[ To ng Ch u n g so w as a Chi nama n o f great note

- .

He o nce desi red to g ive h i mself u p to study an d ,

di d not go o u t of h is room fo r th ree yea rs D u ri n g .

this time a yo u ng ma n o n e day cal led o n h i m and ,

“
w h i le he sto od wai ti n g sai d to h i msel f I t w i l l rai n
,
” “
to day
- . Ton g rep l ied at o nce I f y o u a re not a
,

fox you are a wi ld cat— ou t of this and the ma n at

,

once ran away H ow he came to k now th i s was

.

from the words B i rds that l i v e i n the trees k n ow

,

when the wi nd w i l l b low ; beasts that l i ve i n the

”
grou n d k now w hen i t i s goi n g to rai n The .

wi ld cat u ncon sciously told o n h imself ] .

41
42 KO R E AN I MPS , GHOSTS AN D FA I R IE S

Th e S tor y
The former m agist r ate of ! uel pa rt Ki m S u ik ,
-
,

l i v ed i nside of the South Ga te o f Seou l When he .

was you n g i t was h is hab i t to study C h i nese dai ly '

u n ti l late at n i ght O nce when feel i n g h u n gry h e

.
, ,

cal led fo r hi s wi fe to b ri n g h i m someth i n g to eat .

“
The wi fe repl ied We have n oth i n g i n the house
,

except seven or ei ght chestn uts S hal l I r oast these .

an d b ri n g them to y o u
Ki m repl ied Good ; b ri n g them
, .

The servan ts were asleep an d there w as no o n e ,

on han d to an swer a cal l so the w ife wen t to ,

the k itchen made a fi re a n d cooked them hersel f

,
.

Ki m waited mean wh i le fo r her to com e

, , .

A fter a l i ttle wh i le sh e b rought them i n a ha nd

basket cooked an d ready se r ved for h i m Ki m ate
, .

and enj oyed them m u ch M eanwh i le sh e sat .

before h i s desk a n d wai ted S udden ly the doo r .

ope ned an d a nother perso n e n te red Ki m rai sed

, .

h is eyes to se e an d there was the exact dupl icate of

,

h i s w i fe w i th a basket i n h er ha nd and roasted

,

chestn u ts A S he looked at both o f them be neath

.

the l ight the t w o women were perfect facsim i les o f

each other The two al so looked back a n d forth
.

“ ’ ’
i n alarm sayi n g , What s th is that s hap pe ned ?
,

W h o are you ? ”

Ki m once agai n recei ved the roasted n uts laid ,

 TH E W I L D CA T W OM AN -

them do w n a n d then too k fi r m hold o f each woman

, ,

the fi rst on e by the ri gh t han d and the secon d by

the left holdi n g fast t i l l the b reak of day
,
.

A t last the cocks c re w a n d the e ast began to

,

l ighten The o n e whose ri gh t han d he held said

.
'

, ,

“ ”
Why d o y o u hold me so ? I t h u rts ; let me g o .

S he shook an d tugged b u t Ki m held al l the tighter

'

, .

I n a l i ttle after struggl i n g sh e fel l to the floor and

, ,

sudden ly chan ged i nto a w i ld ca t K im i n fear an d .

,

su rprise let he r go and sh e made her esc ape

‘

, ,

th rough the doo r W hat a p i ty that he did n o t

.

make the beast fast fo r good and al l !

N o te by t h e w r i te r —
F oxes t urn i n g i n to w omen
.

a n d dec eivi n g people i s told of i n K w an g — k e u i an d

’
other Ch i n ese novels b u t the w i l d cat s transforma
,

tion i s more won derfu l sti l l an d someth i n g that I ,

have n ever heard of B y w hat law d o creatu res

.

l i ke foxes and w i ld ca ts so chan ge I am u nab l e to

fi n d an y law that govern s i t Some say that the fox .

car ri es a magic charm by wh ich i t doe s the se magic '

th i n gs b ut ca n th i s accou n t for the wi ld cat ?

,

I N B A NG .
 T H E I LL - FATE D P R IE S T
A C E R TA I N scribe of C hu n g chon g P ro v i nce whose -
,

n ame was K i m Kyon g—j i n on ce told m e the fol low

,

i n g story S aid he : I n the year 1 6 4 0 as I was

.
,

j ou rn ey i n g past B i g H orn B ridge i n Ta i a Cou n ty -

,

I saw a scholar w h o w i th h is fou r o r fi v e ser v a n ts

, , ,

had m et w i th some accide n t a na al l were reduced to

a state of u n consciousness ly i n g by the ri ver s i de
, .

I asked the reason for what had be fal len them an d ,

they at l ast sai d i n rep ly We were eati n g ou r

,

n oon meal by the side of the road w hen a B uddhist ,

pri est came by a proud arrogan t fel low who

, , ,

refused to b o w or S how any recogn i tion of u s O n e .

o f th e servan ts i ndign ant at th is shouted at h im

, , .

The pri est however beat h i m w i th h i s stick a nd

, , ,

w hen othe rs wen t to help he beat them al so so that

, ,

they were com pletely w orsted an d u n ab le to

rise o r wal k H e the n scolded the schola r say i n g
.
, ,

“
You di d n o t repri mand yo u r serva n ts fo r thei r
’
i n su l t to me so I l l have to take i t ou t o f you as
,

wel l The B uddh i st gave h im a n umber of v ici ous

44
 T H E I LL FA TED P R IE ST -

b low s so that he completely col lapsed ; an d when

,

I l ooked there w as the p riest a li o r two ahead .

J ust then a m i l i tary man aged abou t forty or so , ,

cam e my w ay H e was poo r i n flesh an d seemed .

to have n o stren gth R idi n g a cadaverou s po ny

.
,

he came shu ffl i n g along ; a bo y accom pany i n g

carried h i s hat-cover a nd bow an d arrows He .

arri ved at the stream and seei n g the peopl e i n thei r , ,

p l i ght asked the cause The offi cer was very an gry
, .
,

an d sa id Yo nder i m puden t pri est endowed w i th

, ,

n o e n d of b rute force has attacked my people a nd ,

’
me .

’
I n deed said the stran ger I have been aware
, ,

o f h i m fo r a lon g t ime an d have decided to ri d ,

the earth o f h i m b u t I have n ever had a n opp o r,

t u n i ty before Now that I have at last come o n h i m

.

I am deter m i n ed to ha v e sati sfaction S o he dis

’
.

mou nt e d from h i s horse ti ghten ed h is gi rth too k , ,

h is bow an d an arrow that had a fi st h ead and

, ,

m ade o ff at a gal lop after the p riest Soon he over .

took h i m J ust as the priest loo k ed back the archer

.

let fly with h i s arr o w wh ich en tered deep i nto the ,

chest H e then dismou n ted drew h i s sword pierced

.
, ,

t he tw o hands of the priest an d passed a stri n g

through them ti ed h i m to h i s horse s tai l an d ca m e
,
’
,

tri u m phan tly back to where the scholar lay a nd ,

said No w d o w ith th i s fel low as yo u pl ease I

,
.

am goi n g
’
.
46 KO R E AN I MPS , GHOSTS AND FA I R IES

The scholar bo wed before the archer than ked ,

h im , asked h i s place of residence a n d name H e .

repl ied M y hom e i s i n the Cou nty o f Ko cha n g

,
-
,
’

b ut he d id n o t give h i s n ame
.

“
The scholar l oo ked at the priest an d n ever
,

before had he seen so powerfu l a gian t b u t n ow

, ,

wi th h i s chest shot th rou gh an d h i s hands pierced ,

he was u nab le to speak ; so they a rose made m i nce

,
”
meat of h im an d wen t o n thei r way rej oici n g
,
.

I M B A NG .
48 KO R E AN I MPS , GHOSTS AND FA I R IE S

th i rst a n d i n the hot days of sum mer wou l d avo id

,

dri n k i ng He sti fled al l pa i n a n d su ff eri ng so that

.
,

w hen he wal ked an d hi s feet were b l istered he pai d

n o atten tion to i t .

Wh i le you n g he was a disci pl e of a famou s

Ta oist S O Wha dam A s h i s fol lower he u sed to
‘

,
- .

d ress i n grass cloth ( the po o r man s garb ) wea r ’

straw S hoes a n d carry h is b u n dle o n h is back H e .

woul d be o n fam i l iar term s w ith Mi n isters of State ,

an d yet S how i n d iff erence to thei r greatness a nd

pomp H e was acquai n ted w ith the various magic
.

p ractices so that i n boati n g he used to h an g out

,

gou rd cups at each corn er of the boat an d th u s ,

equ ipped he we n t man y times to an d from ! uel part

an d n ever m et a w i n d H e di d mercha ndisi n g .
,

m ade mon ey an d bought lan d wh ich yielded severa l

,

thousan d bags of rice that he distrib uted amon g the

poor .

H e l i ved i n S eou l i n a l ittle d u g o u t so that h is ‘

-
,

n ame becam e M u d Pav i l i on or To j on g H i s ,

- .

cap was m ade of m etal w h ich h e used to coo k h is ,

food i n an d w h ich h e then washed a n d put back

,

o n h i s head agai n H e u sed al so to wea r wooden

.

shoes an d ride o n a pack sadd le .

H e b u i lt a ho u se fo r the poor i n A san Cou n ty

'

w hen he was m agi strate there gathered i n al l the ,

n eedy a nd had them tu rn to an d work at whatever

they had any sk i l l i n so that they l ived a n d ,
 TH E V IS IO N O F TH E HO L Y MAN 49

flo u rished Wh en an y on e had n o special ab i l ity

.
,

he had h i m weave straw S hoes H e u rged them .

o n ti l l they cou ld m ak e as m an y as ten pai rs a day .

Y u l gok sa id of h i m that he was a dreamer an d

-

n o t su itab le for th is matter o f fact world because

- -
,

he belon ged to the realm of flowers a n d pretty b i r ds ,

son gs an d swee t b reezes an d not to the common ,

clay of corn an d beef an d radi sh es T O-jon g heard .

“
this and repl ied
, Though I am n o t of a k i n d
,
’

equal to bean s an d corn sti l l I w i l l ran k with acorn s

,

a nd chestn uts W hy am I w hol ly useless ?

.

KO R E A S R E C O R D O F F A M OU S ME N
’
.

Th e S tor y

Teacher T O j o n g w as o nce upo n a ti me a mer

-

chant a n d i n h i s m erchan disi n g we n t as fa r as the

,

E ast Sea O n e n ight h e slept i n a fi shi n g vi l lage

.

o n the shore A t that ti me a nother stran ger cal led

.

“ ”
w h o was said to be a n i i h or holy man - The .

th ree met a n d tal ked ti l l late at n ight— the master

“
of the house the holy m an an d T O-jon g I t w as
,
.

“
very clea r an d beauti fu l ly calm The holy m an .

look e d fo r a ti me o u t over the expan se o f water

'

then sudden l y gave a great start of terror a n d sa id , ,

“ ”
A n awfu l thi n g is abou t to happen .

H is co m pan io ns alarmed at h is m an ner asked

, ,

“
hi m what h e meant H e re pl ied . I n two hou rs ,

or so there w i l l be a tidal wave that w i l l en gu lf th is

E
 KO R E AN I MPS GHOSTS AN D FA I R IE S
‘

50 ,

whole vi l lage utte rly destroy i n g everyth i n g

, If .

you do n o t make haste to escape al l w i l l b e as fi sh

”
i n a n et .

To j on g bei n g someth i ng of an astrologer h i m

-
,

self tho u ght fi rst to so lve the mystery o f th is b ut

, ,

coul d arri ve at n o expl an ation .

The ow ner o f the hou se wou ld not bel ieve i t an d ,

refused to prepare fo r escape .

“
The hol y ma n said however E ve n though , ,

you do n o t bel ieve what I say let us go for a l ittle ,

up the face O f the rear mou n ta i n I f my words fai l .

we can o n ly co m e dow n agai n an d no on e w il l b e ,

the worse fo r i t I f you S ti l l d o n o t w ish to tru st

.

m e leave you r goods a n d fu rn i tu re j u st as they a re

,
”
an d let the peop le come away .

To jon g was greatly i nterested though he cou ld

-
,

n ot u n der sta n d i t The master too cou l d n o

.
, ,

lo n ger refu se th i s proposal so he took h i s fam i ly

,

“
a nd a few l i ght th i n gs a n d fol lowed the holy
man u p the h i l l .

H e h ad them asce n d to the very top i n order , ,

”
sai d he to escape
,
.

To-j on g d i d n o t g o to the to p b u t se ated h im sel f ,

abou t hal f way u p H e asked the holy m an i f

- .

he wou ld n o t be safe enough the re .

“ ” “
The holy m an repl ied Others wou ld n ever
,

escape i f t hey rem ai n ed where you a re b ut you w i l l ,

si mply get a fri ght an d l i ve th rough it .

 TH E V ISIO N O F TH E HO L Y MAN 51

W hen cock cro w came

- su re en ough the sea
,

sudden ly l ifted its face o v e rfl o w e d i ts ban ks a nd

, ,

the waves came rol l i n g up to the heaven s cl i mb i ng ,

the mou n ta i n sides ti l l they touched the feet of

-

T O jon g The whole town o n the seashore was

- .

e n gu l fed W hen dayl i ght came the waters receded

. .

“
TO-jon g b owed to the holy ma n a nd asked that
“ ”
he m i ght become h i s d isci ple The hol y m an
.
,

however d isclaimed any k nowledge sayi n g that he

, ,

had simply k now n it b y accide nt He was a man .

who did not speak of h i s ow n attai n ments T O-jon g .

asked for h is place o f reside nce w h ich he i ndicated

,

as near by a n d then l eft H e wen t to seek hi m o n

,
.

the fol low i n g day b u t the house was vacan t a n d

, ,

there was n o o ne there .

I M B A NG .
 T H E VI S I T O F T H E M AN O F GO D
IN the th i rty th i rd year o f M al yok of the M i ngs
- -

( A
. D . bei n g the year E u lsa o f the rei gn O f

So n j o i n the seve n th m oo n a great rai n fel l such

-
, , ,

a rai n as had n o t b ee n see n si nce the fou ndi n g of

the dy n asty B efore that rai n c am e o n a ma n of
.
,

Kan g—won P rov i n ce was c utti n g wood o n the h i l l

‘

side . Wh i le th us e n gaged an an gel i n golden ,

a rmou r ridi n g o n a w h ite horse an d carryi ng a

,

sp ear came dow n to h im from heaven H i s ap pear

,
.

a nce was most dazzl i n g an d the woodma n look i n g, ,

at h i m recogn i zed h im as a M a n of Go d A lso a

,
.

B uddhist p riest carry i n g a sta ff came dow n i n

, ,
’
h i s trai n The priest s appearance too was very
.
, ,

re m arkab le .

Th e Ma n o f G od stop pe d h is horse a n d seemed to

be tal ki n g w ith the pri est w h i le the woodcutter , ,

alarmed by the great sight h i d h i m sel f amon g t he ,

trees .

The M a n o f G o d see med to b e very an gry for

som e re ason o r other raised h i s spear a nd poi n t
, , ,
’

i n g to the fou r w i nds said I S hal l fl o od al l the

, ,

52
 TH E V IS IT OF T H E M A N O F GOD 53

earth from such a poi n t to such a poi n t an d dest r oy ,

the i n hab itan ts thereof .

The priest fol low i n g cried an d prayed h i m to

“
desist sayi n g
, Th i s w i l l mean u tter destructio n
,

”
t o mo rtals ; please let thy wrath rest on m e As .

he prayed thus ea rn estly the M an of G o d agai n

“
sai d The n shal l I l i m i t i t to such a nd such p laces
, .

Wi l l that d o ?
B ut the priest p rayed more earn estly sti l l ti l l the ,
“
M an rep l ied emphat ical ly I h ave lessen ed the
,
‘

pu n ishmen t more than a half al ready o n you r

”
accou n t ; I can d o n o more T hough the priest
.

p rayed stil l the Ma n o f Go d refused h i m so that

, ,

at last he subm issively said Thy w i l l be don e ,

.

They en ded t h u s an d both dep arted passi n g ,

away through the upper ai r i n to heaven .

The tw o had tal ked for a lon g ti me b u t the ,

d istance bei n g some w hat great betwee n them an d

the woodman he did not hea r d isti n ctly al l that w as
,

said .

He wen t ho m e however i n great haste an d w i th

, , ,

h i s w i fe an d fa m i ly made h is escape a nd from that ,

day the rai n bega n to fal l I n i t M ou n t O tai c o l

.

lapsed the earth ben eath i t san k u n ti l i t became a

,

v a st lake al l the i n hab itan ts were destroyed an d

, ,

the woodcu tter alon e made h i s escape .

I M B A NG .
 T H E L I T E R A R Y MA N O F IM SIL

[ TH E cal l i n g o f sp i ri ts i s o n e of the powers

supposed to b e possesse d by di sciples of the O ld
Ph i losopher ( Taoists) who reach a hi gh state of
,

S p i ri tual at tai n ment Wh i le the n atu ral desi res

.

rema i n they clou d an d obstruct spi ritu al vision ;

once rid of them even an gels a n d i m mortal bei n gs
,

become u n folded to the s ight . They say I f o nce “

,

al l the obstruction s o f the flesh are el im i nated eve n

” “
God ca n b e seen They also say I f I have n o
.
,

sel fi sh desi re the n i ght arou n d m e w i l l sh i n e w ith

,

golden l i ght ; an d i f al l i nj u rious thoughts are tru ly

p u t away the w i ld deer o f the mou n tai n w i l l come
,

dow n an d pl ay be si de m e .

H a S a—gon g a Taoist of h igh attai n men t as an

, ,

O ld m an used to go ou t fi shi n g when the pi geon s

'

woul d settle i n fl ights upon h is head a n d shou lders .

O n h is retu rn o n e day he told h is wi fe that they

“
were so m an y that they bothered h im Why not
.

“
catch o n e of them sai d h is w i fe Catch o n e
.

“ “
sa id b e . Wh at wou ld y ou do w ith i t ? Why ,

eat i t of cou r se
, . S o on the second d ay Ha wen t
S4
56 KO R E AN I MPS , GHOSTS AND FA I R IE S

gon gs ban gi n g fu r i ously The master sudden ly .

rushed o u t to the b amboo grove that stood beh i nd

the o ffi ci al y am en a nd looki n g very a n gry an d w ith
, ,

glari n g eyes he shou ted an d made ba re h i s arm

, ,

as i f to dri ve o ff the fu ries A fter a time h e ceased . .

The frien d thi n ki n g th is a pe cul ia r pe rf or m ance

, ,

“
asked w hat i t mean t H i s repl y was A crowd of
.
,

devi l s have come f r om the h e at an d are co n g re gat ,

i n g i n the grove of bam boos ; i f I d o n o t d ri v e

them o ff troub le w i l l fol low i n the to w n a nd for ,

that cause I shou ted .

A gai n he w as mak i n g a j ourne y w ith a certai n .

frien d when su dden ly o n the way he cal led ou t

, , ,

“
to the m id ai r say i n g
-
,
L et her go let her go I
, , ,
’
say o r I l l have you pu n ished severely
,
.

H i s appe arance was so pecul iar an d threaten i n g

that the fri en d asked the cause F or the t ime bei n g .

he gave no an swer and they si mpl y wen t on thei r

,

way .

That n i gh t they entered a vi l lage w here they

wished to sleep b u t the ow n e r of the house w here
,

they appl ied sai d that they had sickn ess an d asked ,

them to go They i n sisted ho w ever ti l l he at las t

.
, ,

se nt a servan t to drive them o ff M e anwh i le the .

women fol k watched the a ff ai r t hrou gh the ch i n ks

of the wi ndow a nd they talked i n sta rtled wh i spers
, ,

so that the scholar overheard them .

A few m i n utes later the ma n of the house fol lowed

 T H E L I TE R A R Y MAN O F IMSI L 57

i n the most h umble an d abject man ner ask i n g them ,

to return an d accept en tertai n me n t and lodgi n g at

“
h i s house . Sai d he I have a daugh te r si r and
, , ,

S he fel l i l l th is very day a n d died an d after some ,

time cam e to l ife agai n Said sh e A devi l cau gh t

.
,

me an d carried my sou l o ff d o w n the mai n road way

’

w here we met a man w h o stopped u s an d i n fi erce

, ,

to nes d rove o ff the S pi rit who let m e go an d so

, ,
’
I return ed to l i fe . S he looked ou t on you r E xcel
l e n cy th rou gh the C h i n k of the w i ndow and behold , , ,
’
y ou are the ma n . I am at m y w its end to kno w
what to say to yo u A re you a gen i i o r are yo u
.

a B uddh ist so marvel lously to bri n g bac k the dead

,

to l i fe ? I o ff e r th i s smal l refreshmen t ; p le ase

accept .

The scholar laughed a n d sai d Non sense J ust

, ,
’
a wom an s haveri ngs H o w cou ld I do such
.

”
t hi n gs ? H e l i v ed fo r seven or ei gh t years more ,

an d died .

I M B A NG .
 THE S O LDIER OF K AN G W H A -

[ TH E East says that the ai r i s fu l l of i nvisible

con sti tuen ts that o nce taken i n h an d an d c o n
,

trol led w i l l take o n various forms of l i fe The man

,
.

of Kan g wh a had acqu i red the art of cal l i n g

-

together the elemen ts necessary for the b utterfly .

Th is too co mes from Ta o ism and i s cal led son su l

, , ,
-
,

Taoist magic ] .

Th e S tor y
There w as a soldier once of Kan g-wha w h o w as
the c h ief man of hi s v i l lage ; a lo w class man he -
,

w as appare n tly
, w i thou t any gi fts O n e day h i s
,
.

w i fe overcom e by a fi t of j ealousy sat sew i n g i n

, ,

he r i n ner room I t was m idwi n ter a n d he was

.
,

ob l iged to be at home ; so w i th i nten t to cheer he r

,

u p and take her m i n d o ff the b l u es he sa id to her , ,

“
Wou l d you l i ke to se e me make some b u tterfl ies
H i s w i fe m ore angry than ever at th is rated h im
, ,

for h i s i m pudence an d paid n o fu rt her atten tion

, .

The soldier then took her workb asket a n d from

i t selected b i ts of si l k of va riou s colou rs tucked ,

58
 TH E SO L DIE R OF K AN G W H A
-
59

them i n to h is palm closed h i s hand upon them

, ,

and repeated a prayer after w h ich he th r e w the

,

han dfu l i n to the ai r I m mediately beautifu l b u tter

.

fl ies fi l led the room dazzl i n g the eyes an d sh i n i n g

,

i n al l the colou rs o f the s i l k i tself .

The w i fe mystified by the wo n der of i t forgot

, ,

her an ger The so ldier a l i ttle later opened h is

.

han d held i t up an d t hey al l flew i n to i t He

, , .

cl osed i t ti ght an d then agai n ope ned h i s hand an d ,

they were pieces of S i l k on ly H i s w i fe alone saw

.

this ; i t w as u n k no w n to others No such st r an ge .

magic was ever hea rd of before .

I n 1 6 3 7 whe n Kan g—
, wha fel l before the M anchus
’

al l the peopl e of the place fled c ry i n g for thei r l i ve s ,

w h i le the soldier remai ned u n disturbed at h i s home

eati n g h i s m
,

eals w i th h is wi fe an d fam i ly j ust as

u sual H e lau ghed at the n ei ghbou rs hu rryi n g by
. .

“
S aid he Th e b arbarian s w i l l not touch this tow n ;
,
”
w h y d o you ru n so ? Th us i t tu rn ed out that ,

wh i l e the whole i slan d was devastat ed the soldier s ,

’

vi l lage escaped .

I H B A NG .
 C URS E D B Y T H E S N A KE
‘

[HA Y ON graduated i n the year 1 3 9 6 an d became ,

magistrate o f A n ak Cou n ty H e b u il t man y .

pavi l ion s i n an d about h i s O ffi cial pl ace o f resid

ence w here people m i gh t rest A s he wen t abou t
,
.

h i s d istrict seei n g the fa rmers b u sy he wrote m any

, ,

so n gs an d verses to en cou rage them i n thei r work .

H e became late r a royal censor an d Ki n g Ta i jon g ,

-

“
commen ded h im sayi n g , W el l done good an d , ,
”
fai thfu l servan t L ater he be came Ch ief J ustice
. .

He cleared ou t the pub l ic o ffi ces of al l disr eputab le

o ffi ci als a n d m ade the Cou rt cl ean When he had
, .

lei su re i t was h is h ab i t to dress i n ceremon ia l garb ,

b u rn i ncen se si t at atten tion and w ri te prayer

, ,

verses the l i velon g day .

W he n he w as you n g once i n the Cou rt o f the, ,

Cro w n P ri nce he w rote a verse w h ich was com

,
“
me n te d u pon thu s : B eau ti fu l w ri ti n g beautifu l ,
”
thought ; tru ly a treasu re H e w as a great studen t
.

and a great i n qu i rer a n d gra tefu l and lovab le as a

,

frien d . H e studied as a b o y u n der the pat r iot

Cheu n g M on g j u a nd w as u pri gh t a n d pu re i n al l
-
,

60
 C UR SED B Y THE S NA KE

h i s ways H i s obj ect w as to become as on e o f the

.

A ncien ts an d so he fol lowed tr u th and encou raged

, ,
"

men i n the study of the sacred books H e used to .

awake at fi rst cock crow of the morn i n g wash -

, ,

dress a n d n ever l ay aside h i s book O n h i s ri ght

,
.

were pictu res o n h is left were books an d he happy

, ,

between He rose to be P ri me M i n ister ]

. .

Th e S to r y
The o ld f am i ly seat o f P ri nce Ha Y u n was i n
the Co u n ty O f Keu m chon H e was a fam ous
- .

M i n i ster O f Stat e i n th e d ay s o f peace an d pros

'

p e r i ty a nd used frequen tly to fi n d rest a n d leisu re

,

i n hi s summer house i n th is sa m e cou n ty I t was a

-
.

large an d wel l ordered man sion an d was occupi ed

-
,

by h i s ch i ldren fo r m any years after h i s death .

The people of that cou nty used to tel l a very

stran ge story of H a a n d hi s p rosperity w h ich ru n s ,

th u s : He had placed i n an u pper roo m a large

crock that was u sed to hold flou r O n e day o n e .

o f the servan ts w ish i n g to get som e flou r from the

,

j ar l i fted the l id whe n sudd e n ly from the depths

, ,

o f i t a hu ge snake m ade i ts appeara nce Th e .

ser v ant startled fel l bac k i n great alar m an d then

, , ,

wen t an d told the master w hat had happe n ed The .

m as ter se n t h i s men sl aves a n d had the j ar b rought

-

dow n . They b roke i t O pe n an d let out a hu ge ,

awf u l looki ng snake such as one had never seen

-
,
62 KO R E AN I MPS , G HOSTS AND FA I R IE S

before S everal of the servan ts j oi n ed i n w i th cl ub s

.

an d ki l led the b rute They then pi led woo d on i t

.

a nd set fi re to the w hole V i le fu me s arose t hat

. . .

fi lle d the house F rom the fu mes al l the peopl e o f

.

the place died leavi n g n o on e behi n d to rep resen t

,

the fam i ly Others w h o en tered the house d ied

.

also so that the place beca m e cu rsed an d was left

, ,

i n desol ation A l ittl e l ater a mysteriou s fi r e b roke

.

out an d b u rn t up the remai n i n g b u i ldi n gs leavi n g,

o n ly the vacan t s ite To th i s day the place i s

.

“ ”
know n as hau nted an d no on e ven tu res to b u i ld
,

u po n i t .

I M B A NG .
64 KO R E AN I MP S , GHOS TS AN D FA I R IES

T he people percei vi n g h is m i n d so comp osed

,

an d h i s appeara nce devoid o f fear an d they hav i n g ,

n o way of escape di d as he bade them a n d sat

,

down .

The caval ry of the enemy moved by i n great

n umbers k i l l i n g every on e they m e t n o t a si n gl e
, ,

p erson escap i n g ; b u t whe n they reached the p lace

w here the m agicia n sat they wen t by w ithout , ,

apparen tly see i n g anyth i n g T hus they con ti n ued

,
.

ti l l the even i n g w he n al l had passed by

,
The .

stran ge r a n d the peopl e with h i m sat the day

th roug h w ithou t any harm overtaki n g them even ,

’
though they were i n the m idst of the en emy s camp ,

as it were .

A t last awak i n g to the fact that he w as possessor

of som e won de rfu l m a gic they al l w i th o n e acc o rd
‘

came and bowed before h i m ask i n g h is n ame a n d ,

h is place of residence H e made n o a n swer how

.
,

ever b u t m ou nted h is beauti fu l horse a n d rode

,

swi ftly away no on e b ei n g ab le to overtake

,

h im .

The day fol low i n g the party fel l i n w ith a ma n

w h o h ad been captu red bu t had made hi s escape .

They asked i f he had seen anyth i n g speci al the day

“
before H e said Whe n I fol lowed the barbaria n
.
,

army passi ng such and such a poi n t — i ndicati n g

,

the place where the magician had sat w i th the

— “
people w e S ki rted great wal l s and prec ip itous
 TH E M AN ON TH E R O AD

roc ks agai n st w h ich n o one cou ld move an d so

, ,
”
we passed by .

Thu s were the few yards o f cotto n cloth m eta

mo r p h o se d before t he eyes of the passers-b y
.

I M B A NG.
T H E O L D MA N W H O B E C A M E A F I S H
S OM E years ago a n oted O ffi cial became the
m agistrate of KO son g Cou n ty O n a certai n day
‘

- .

a guest cal led o n h i m to pay h i s respects an d ,

w hen n oo n cam e the magistrate had a tab l e of food

p repared fo r h i m o n wh ich was a dish of skate
,

sou p When the g uest sa w the S O u p he twi sted

.

“
h i s featu res an d refused i t say i n g T O-day I am
, ,

fasti n g from m eat a n d so beg to b e excu sed

, His .

face grew ve ry pal e an d tears flowed from h i s eyes

,
.

The m agistrate thought th i s behaviou r stran ge and ,

asked h i m tw o o r th ree ti mes the m ean i n g o f i t .

Whe n he cou ld n o longer w i thhold a reply he wen t ,

i nto al l the particu lar s a n d told h i m the story .

“ ” “
You r h umb le servan t he said h as i n h is l i fe
, ,

m et w i th m uch u n heard o f an d u n happy experience

-
,

wh ich he has n ever told to a l ivi ng sou l b u t n o w ,

that you r E xcel le ncy asks i t o f me I can not refrai n

,
’
from tell i n g You r servan t s fathe r was a very old
.

m an n early a h u n dred w hen on e d ay he w as t aken

, ,

dow n w i th a h i gh fever i n wh ich h i s body was l i ke

,

a fi ery fu rnace Seei n g the dan ger he was i n h i s

.
,

66
TH E O L D M AN WH O B E CAM E A F I S H 67

ch i ldren gathered abou t w eep i n g thi n ki n g that the ,

ti me of h i s depa rtu re had su rel y come B u t he .

l ived a n d a fe w days later sai d to u s I am b u r

, ,

d e n e d w ith so great a heat i n th i s sickn ess that I

am n ot ab le to endu re it lon ger I wou ld l i ke to .

o out to the b an k o f t he r iver that ru n s b efore the

g
house and see the water flowi n g by and be refreshed ,

by i t Do not disobey m e n ow b ut carry me ou t

.
,
’ ’
at once to the water s edge .

“
We remon strated w i th h im a nd begged h i m n ot
‘
to d o so bu t he gre w very a n gry a nd said
, If , ,

you do n ot as I com mand yo u w i l l be the death ,

of m e and so seei n g that there was n o help for

,

i t we bore h i m out a n d placed h i m o n the b an k o f

,

the ri ver H e seei n g the water w as greatly de

.
, ,

‘
l ighted a n d said The clear flo w i n g water cu res
, ,

my sick n ess A momen t later h e sa i d fu rther

.
’
,

I d l i ke to b e qu ite alon e an d r i d of you al l for

’

a l ittle Go away i n to the woo d an d wai t ti l l I tel l

.

’
yo u to co me .

“
We agai n remon strated abou t th is b u t he grew ,

fu riousl y an gry so that we were helple ss ,

We .

feared that i f we i n sisted h i s sick n ess wou ld grow

,

worse an d so we we r e compel led to y ield

,
We .

wen t a short distance away an d then tu rn ed to look ,

w hen sudden ly the ol d father was go ne from the

place where he had bee n seated We hu rried back .

to see w hat had happened M y father had tak en .

68 KO R E AN I MPS , GHOST S AND F A I R IE S

O ff h is clothes an d pl u n ged i nto th e water wh ic h ,

was m uddied H i s body was al ready hal f meta

.

m o r p h o se d i n to a S kate
. We saw i ts tran sf ormatio n
i n terro r a n d di d not dare to g o n ear h im w hen
, ,

al l at once i t becam e chan ged i n to a great fl atfi sh ,

that swam an d p l u n ged and d isported itse l f i n the

water w ith i n ten se deli ght H e looked back at u s
.

as though he cou ld hardly bear to go b ut a momen t ,

later he was O ff en tered the deep se a an d did n o t

, ,

agai n appear .

“
O n t h e edge of the stream w here he had
ch an ged h i s form we fou n d h is fi n g e r n ai l s an d a -

tooth These we b u ri ed and to day as a fam i ly

.
,
-

we al l abstai n from skate fi sh an d w hen we see

,

the n ei ghbou rs fry i n g o r eati n g i t w e are overcome

”
w ith disgust an d horro r .

I M B A NG .
 T H E G E O M ANC E R
-S I N
[ Y I E U I was a special i st i n G eomancy H i s .

craft came i n to be i n g eviden tl y as a b y product of -

Taoism b u t has had m ixed i n i t elements of a ncien t

,

Ch i nese ph i losophy The Positive an d the Nega

.

tive the Two P rimary Pri nciples i n Natu re p lay

, ,

a great part ; also the F i ve E leme nts Metal Wood , , ,

Water F i re a n d Earth I n the selectio n o f a site

,
.
,

“
that for a house i s cal led a male choice wh i le ,
“
the grave i s denom i n ated the femal e choice .

M i l l ion s of money have b ee n e xpe n ded i n Korea

o n the geomancer an d h is associates i n the hope
o f fi n di n g l ucky homes for the l i v i n g an d a usp i

c i o u s resti n g places for the dead

- the Korea n i dea
,

bei n g that i n som e m ysteriou s way al l o u r

, ,

fortu n e i s associated w i th M other E arth ] .

Th e S tor y
There was a geoman cer once Y i E u i si n w ho i n
,
-
,

seek i n g o ut a specia l mou ntai n v ei n started wi th ,

the D ragon R idge i n North Ham kyon g P ro v i nce -

,

an d traced i t as far as P i n e M ou n tai n i n Yan g j u -

69
70 KO R E AN I M P S , GHOS T S AND FA I R I ES

Cou n ty where i t stopped i n a beau ti fu l ly r ou nded

,

end form i n g a perfect si te for b u rial

, A fter .

’
wan deri n g al l day i n the h i l ls Y i s h u n gry spi ri t ,

cried ou t fo r food He saw beneath the h i l l a

.

smal l hou se to wh ich h e wen t a n d rappi n g at the

, ,

door asked for someth i n g to eat A mou rner .

,

rece n tly bereaved cam e ou t i n a respectfu l a n d

,

k i n dly way an d gave h i m a dish of w h ite gruel

, .

Y i afte r h e had eaten asked what ti me the fr ien d

, ,

had b ecom e a mou rn er a n d i f he had al ready ,

“
passed the fu neral The o w ne r a nswered
. I am ,

j ust n o w en teri n g upon fu l l mou rn i n g b u t we have ,

”
n o t yet arran ged fo r the fu ne r al H e spoke i n a .

sad an d disheartened way .

Y i fel t sorry fo r h im an d asked the reason

,
I .

’
won der i f i t s because y o u are poor that y o u have
n ot yet made the n ecessary arran gemen ts o r pe r ,

haps you have n ot yet fou n d a su i tab le si te ! I

am a n expert i n readi n g the h i l ls an d I l l tel l you ,
’

”
O f a si te ; wou ld yo u care to se e i t ?
The mou rne r than ked h i m m ost grateful ly an d ,
“ ’ ”
said I l l be del i ghted t o k n ow of i t
, .

Y i then S howed h i m the e n d o f the great vei n

that he had j ust d i scovered also the S pot fo r the ,
“
grave an d how to place i ts com pass poi n ts A fter .

”
possessi n g th is site sai d he you w i l l be greatly
, ,

en riched b u t i n ten years you w i l l have cause

,

to arran ge for another S ite When that comes to .

72 KO RE AN I MP S , GHOSTS AN D F A I R IE S

P h e asan t fo r mation I f the phe asa n t k n eels too

.

lon g i t can not en dure i t so that w i th i n a l i m ited

,
’
ti me i t m ust fl y Ten years i s the time ; that s why
.

”
I spoke .

Y i lau ghed and said You r idea i s o n ly a partial

,

view , you have thought of o n ly on e th i ng there ,

are other c on di tion s that en ter Then he showed

'

“
th e peak to the rear an d said Yon de r is Dog
, ,
” “ ” “
H i l l an d the n on e b el ow wh ich sai d he i s
, , , ,

”
F alcon H i l l an d then the stream i n fro nt wh ich
, , ,
“
sai d he i s Cat R i ver Th i s i s the w hole group
, .
,

the dog b ehi n d the falcon j ust ab ove a n d the cat

, ,

i n fron t how then can the pheasan t fly ? I t dares

,
”
not .

T he guest repl ied Teacher su rely you r eyes

, ,

are e n l i ghten ed a n d se e fu r ther tha n those of

,
”
ordi n ary men .

F rom that day forth the Y i s of P i n e H i l l b e

came a g reat an d n oted fam i ly .

ANON .
 T H E M AN W H O B EC A M E A P I G

[ KI M Y U was the of a cou n try magistrate

so n

w h o graduated w i th l iterary ho nou rs i n 1 5 9 6 In .

1 6 2 3 h e was on e o f th e faithfu l cou rtiers w h o joi n ed

forces to dethron e the w icked Pri nce Kwan g hai -

,

an d place I n jo o n the th rone H e w as raised to

- .

the ran k O f P ri nce an d becam e later Prim e , ,

M i n i ster I n the year 1 6 2 4 when Y i Kwai raised

.
,

a n i n su rrectio n h e w as th e m ean s of putti n g i t

,

dow n an d o f b ri n gi n g ma n y of h i s fol lowers to

j ustice I n 1 6 4 8 h e died at the age o f seven ty
.
,

seven .

I n the last year of S o n j o the K i n g cal led h is

-

gra ndch i ldren togethe r an d h ad them wri te C hi nese

fo r h i m a n d draw p ictu res A t that ti me I n j o
.
-

was a l ittle boy an d he drew a p ictu re of a horse

, .

K i n g Son jo gave the p icture to Y i Han g bok b u t

- -
,

w hen the latter some years late r wen t i n to exi le

he gave the p ictu re to K i m Y u Ki m Y u took i t .
,

a n d hu n g i t up i n h i s house an d there i t rem ai ned .

Pri nce I n jo was o ne day mak i n g a j ou rney out

-

of the P alace when he was overtaken by rai n an d ,

73
74 KO R E AN I MPS , GH OS TS AND F A I R I E S

too k refuge i n a n ei ghbou ri n g gate quarters A - .

servan t maid came ou t an d i n v i ted h i m i n ask i n g

-
,

h im n ot to stan d i n the wet b u t P ri nce I n j o ,

-

decl i n ed The i n vitation however was i n sisted

.
, ,

o n an d he wen t i n to the guest room where he saw

,
-
,

the p ictu re of a horse o n the wal l O n exam i n i n g .

i t carefu l ly he recogn i zed i t as the pictu re he had

dra w n whe n a fad an d he won dered how i t cou ld
,

have com e h ere K i m Y u then cam e i n a n d they

.

met for the fi rst time P ri nce I h j o told h i m how .

-

he h ad been overtaken by rai n an d i n vited i n He .

asked concern i n g the p ictu re of the horse that h u n g

o n t h e wal l a n d K i m Y u i n reply asked why he
,
“
i n qu i red P ri nce I n j o said I drew that pictu re
.
-
,

”
m yse l f w he n I w as a bo y J ust as they spoke .

together a rich tab le of food was b rought i n from

the i n n er quarters Ki m Y u n o t k no w i n g yet w h o
.
,

h is guest was loo ked w i th won der at th is su rprise

, ,

an d after P ri nce I n jo had gone he i n qu i red of

-
,

h is wi fe w hy sh e had sen t such del icious fare i n

“
to a stran ge r The wi fe repl ied
. I n a d ream last ,

n i ght I saw the Ki n g come an d sta n d i n fron t of

,

ou r h ou se I w as j ust th i n k i n g i t over when the

.

servan t ca me i n an d said that some o ne was stan d

i n g before the door I looked o ut a n d 10 i t was
.
, ,

the man I had seen i n my d ream I SO I have treated

h i m to the best of hosp ital i ty that I was ab le .

Ki m Y u soo n learn ed w h o h i s cal ler had bee n an d ,

 TH E MAN WH O B E C AME A P I G 75

b ecame from that ti me the fai thfu l supporter of

Pri n ce I n j O an d later hel ped to pu t h im o n the
-
,

th ron e.

A fter I n j o be came k i n g he asked privately of

-

Ki m Y u where he had got the p ictu re K i m Y u .

“
said I go t i t from P r i nce Y i Han g bok
,
- .

’
K i m Y u then cal led Y i s so n an d i n qu i red of
h i m as to how h is father had g o t it The so n said .
,

I n the last year of K i n g S o n jo he cal led my -

father alon g w ith al l h is gra ndch ildre n an d ,

showe d h i m the wri ti n gs an d d raw i n gs o f the

you n g pri n ces My father looked at them w i th
.

i nterest b ut the Ki n g gave h i m on ly o n e as a

,

keepsake n amely the draw i n g of the horse

, , In .

the pictu re there w as a wi l low tree an d a horse

tied to i t Ki m Y u then recog n i zed the thou gh t
.

that u n derlay the gi ft of the pictu re n amely that , ,

Pri n ce Y i Han g bok shou ld support I n j o i n the

- -

succession to the throne ] .

Th e S tory
A certai n Mi n iste r o f S tate cal led K im Y u , ,

l i v i n g i n the Cou n ty o f S eu n g pyon g had a relative

-
,

w h o resided i n a fa r distan t part of the cou n tr y ,

-

an old man aged n early o ne hu ndred O n a cer .

tai n day a so n of th is patriarch cam e to the o ffi ce

of the M i n ister a n d asked to se e h im Kim .

ordered h im to be adm itted an d i n qu i red as to ,

76 KO R E AN I MPS , GHOS TS AND FA I R IE S
“
why he had come S aid he I have someth i n g
.
,

very i mportan t to say a pri vate matter to lay ,

before you r E xcel lency There are so many guests .

’
w i th y o u now that I l l come agai n i n the even i n g
”
a n d tel l i t .

I n the e v en i n g when a l l had departed he came

, , ,

an d the M i n ister ordered ou t h is person al retai n ers

an d asked the m ean i n g of t he cal l The ma n .

“
repl ied S ayi n g M y father though very o ld was
, , , , ,

as you perhaps k n ow a stro n g an d hearty man , .

O n a certai n day he cal led us ch i ldren to h i m a n d

‘
sai d , I wish to have a siesta SO n ow close the ,

door a n d al l o f you go ou t o f the roo m Do n o t .

"
let an y o ne ven tu re i n ti l l I cal l you .

We ch i ldren agreed o f cou rse an d di d so Ti l l , , .

l ate at n i ght there w as n ei ther cal l n o r com man d to

ope n the door so that we began to be anxious We
, .

at l ast looked throu g h the ch i n k a n d 10 there , ,

was o u r father chan ged i n to a h uge pi g Terrified

by the si ght of i t we O pen ed the doo r an d l oo ked
i n w hen the an i mal gru n ted a n d growl ed an d
,

m ade a rush to get o u t past u s We h u rri e dly .

cl osed the door agai n an d hel d a con su ltation .

“ ’
Som e said Le t s kee p the p ig j ust as i t i s
, ,

w ith i n doors a n d care fo r i t

, Som e said L et s ,
’

’
have a fu neral an d b u ry i t We i gnoran t cou n try .

fol k not k now i n g j u st w hat to d o u nder such p e c u

l ia r ci rcu msta n ces I have come to ask cou n sel of
,
 TH E MAN WH O B ECAME A PIG 77

you r E xcellency P lease th i n k over th is sta rtl i n g

.

”
pheno m enon an d tel l us what we ou ght to do .

P ri nce K i m heari n g th is gave a great start

, , ,

thought i t over fo r a lon g ti me an d at last said , ,

“
N O such mysteriou s th i n g was ever heard of
’
before an d I real ly don t k now what i s best to
,

d o u nder the c i rcum stan ces b ut sti ll i t seems to , ,

m e that si nce th is m etamorp hosi s has come about ,

o u had b e tter n o t b u ry i t befo re death so give

y ,

u p the fu n eral i dea S i nce too i t i s n ot a hu man

.
, ,

bei n g an y l on ger I d o n o t th i n k i t ri ght to keep

,

i t i n the hou se You say that it wan ts to make i ts

.

escape an d as a cave i n the woods or h i l ls i s its

,

proper abode I th i n k y o u had b etter take i t ou t

,

a n d let i t g o free i n to the trackless depths of som e

m ou n tai nou s cou ntry w here n o foo t of man has
,
”
ever trod .

The so n accepted thi s w ise cou n sel an d did as ,

the M i n i ster advised too k i t away i n to the deep

,

mou n tai n s a n d le t i t g o Then he don n ed sack

.

cloth mou rn ed b uried h is father s clothes for a

, ,
’

fu neral an d observed the day Of metamorphosis

,

as the day of sacri fi cial ceremon y .

I H B A NG .
 XV I I

T H E O L D W O M AN W H O B E C A M E
A G O B LIN
T H ER E was a Con fucian scholar once w h o l ived
i n the sout hern part o f Se ou l I t i s sa id that h e .

wen t o u t fo r a wal k o n e day wh i le h i s w ife remai n ed

alo n e at home W hen he was ab se n t there cam e
.

by beggi n g an ol d woman w h o looked l i ke a B ud

d h i st priestess fo r wh i l e very old he r face was
,
’
n ot wri n kled T he scholar s w i fe asked her i f sh e
.

kn ew h ow to sew S he sai d S h e d id an d so th e
.
,

W i fe m ade th i s proposition I f y o u w i l l stay an d

,
’
work for me I l l give yo u you r b reakfas t a n d
’
you r sup pe r an d you l l n ot have to beg an ywhere ;
,

wi l l you agree ?
S he repl ied O h than k you so m uch I l l be
, , ,
’

de l ighted .

’
The scholar s w i fe wel l sati s fi ed w ith her bar
,

gai n took her i n a n d set her to pick i n g cotton and

, ,

mak i n g an d S p i n n i n g thread I n on e day she di d .

m ore tha n eigh t o rdi nary women an d yet had , ,

seem i n gl y pl en ty o f ti m e to spare The w i fe

, .
,

del ighted above measure treated her to a great ,

feast A fter fi ve o r si x days however t he feel i n g

.
, ,

78
 XVI I I

T H E G R A T E FU L G H OST
IT i s often told that i n the day s of the Koryo
Dynasty ( A D 9 1 8
. . w hen an exam i nation was
t o be held a certai n scholar came from a far-distan t
,

part o f the cou ntry to take part O nce o n h i s

.

j ou rn ey the day was drawi n g to a close a nd he ,

fou n d h i m sel f amon g the mou n ta i ns S udden ly.

h e heard a sn eez i n g from amon g the creepers a nd

bushes by the roadside b u t co u ld see n o on e
, .

Th i n k i n g i t stran ge he dis m ou nted from h i s horse

, ,

wen t i nto the b rake an d l isten ed H e heard it aga i n

.
,

a nd it seemed to c o me from the roots of the creeper

close beside h i m so he o rdered h i s servan t to di g
,
’
ro u nd i t an d se e H e du g a n d fou n d a dead m an s
.

S ku l l
. I t was fu l l O f earth a n d the roots of the
,

creeper had passed throu gh the nostri ls The sn e e z .

i n g was caused by the an noyance fel t by the spi ri t

from havi n g the nose so discommoded .

The can didate felt sorry washed the sku l l i n c lea n

,

water w rapped i t i n pape r an d reb u ried i t i n its

,

former place o n the h i l l side He also b rought a

- .

80
 TH E G RA T EFUL GHOST

tab le of food a n d o ff ered sacrifice an d said a ,

praye r .

That n ight i n a dream a sc holar came to h i m an

, , ,

O l d ma n w ith wh i te hai r who bowed than ked h im , , ,

“
a nd said O n accou n t O f si n comm itted i n a forme r
,

l i fe I died out of season before I had fu l fi l l ed my

,

days . M y posteri ty too were al l destroyed m y

, , ,

body crumb led back i nto the dust my sku l l alon e ,

remai n i n g a n d that i s w hat you fou n d below the

,

creeper O n accou n t of the roo t passi n g throu gh

.

i t the an noyance was great a n d I cou ld not hel p ,

b u t sneeze B y good l uck yo u an d you r k i n d heart

.
,

b lessed of H eaven took pity o n me b u ried me i n

, ,

a clean place an d gave me food Yo u r ki n dness .

i s greater tha n the mou n tai n s an d l i ke the b lessi n g ,

that fi rst b rou ght m e i nto l i fe T hou gh my sou l .

is by n o m ean s perfect yet I lon g for som e way by

,

wh ich to requ ite you r favou r a n d so I h ave ,

exercised my powers i n you r b ehal f You r present .

jou rney i s fo r the p u rpose of try i n g the offi cial

E xam i nation so I shal l tel l you beforehan d w hat
,

th e form i s to be an d the subj ect I t i s to be of

, .

characte r groups of fi ves i n coup lets ; the rhyme ,

‘ ’ ‘
sou n d i s pon g a n d the subj ect P eaks a n d
,
’
S pi res of the S umm er C lou ds I have al ready .

composed on e for you wh ich i f y o u ca re to u se i t

, , ,

w i l l u ndoubtedly w i n yo u the fi rst place I t is .

th is
G
82 KO R E AN I MPS , GHOSTS AND FA I R I ES
‘
Th e w h i t e sun r od e h i gh u p in th e h e aven s ,

A n d th e fl oat i n g c l o ud s form e d a l oft y p ea k ;

Th e p r i e st w h o saw t h e m ask e d if t h e r e w as a t e m pl e
t h e re ,

An d th e c ran e l ame n t e d th e fact t h at n o p i n e s w e re

vi sibl e ;
B u t th e l i gh t n i n g s fr o m th e c l o u d w e r e t h e fl ash in gs o f
th e w oo d man s ax e
’
,

A n d th e mu ffl e d t h u n d e r s w e re th e be ll c all s o f t h e h oly
t e m pl e .

W i ll an y say t h at th e h i ll s d o n ot move ?
O n t h e su n se t b r ee ze s t h e y sai l e d aw ay .
’

A fter thus stati ng it , h e bowed an d took h i s

departure .

The m an i n wonder awakened from h is dream

, , ,

came u p to S eou l ; an d behol d the subj ect was as

,

foretol d b y the spi ri t H e wrote w hat had b ee n

.

g iven h i m and b ecame

,
fi rst i n the honours o f the
occasion .

IM B A NG .
 T H E P LU C KY M A I D E N

[ H AN M Y O NG -H O I — . W e are told i n the Y o l-r y o k

K e u i -su l that wh en Han was a b oy he had fo r
p rotector a n d frien d a ti ger w ho u sed to acco m
,

pa ny h i m as a d o g does h i s master O n e even i n g .

,

when he started O ff i n to the h i l l s he heard the dis ,

tan t tram p O f the great beast w h o had got scen t ,

o f h is goi n g a n d had come rush i n g after h i m

, .

“
When Han saw hi m he tu rn ed a nd said Good , ,

o l d chap you come al l th i s distance to be my frien d ;

,

”
I love y o u fo r i t Th e tiger p rostrated h i mself
.

an d nodded w i th his head se v eral ti m es He used .

to accom pan y Ha n al l th r ou gh the n i ghts b u t whe n ,

the day daw ned he wou ld leave h i m .

Ha n later fel l i nto bad co m pany grew fon d of ,

dri n k an d was on e of the boisterous co m pan ion s of

,

Ki n g Se jo ]
- .

Th e S tor y
Han M yon g hoi was a renow n ed M i n i ster of the
-

R ei gn o f S e j o (A O 1 4 5 5
- . T he Ki n g app re
.

c i ate d an d enjoyed h im greatly an d th ere was n o ,

83
84 KO R E AN I M P S , GHOSTS AN D FA I R I E S

o n e of the Cou rt who cou l d s u rpass h im fo r i n fluence

a nd royal favou r Co nfiden t i n h i s posi tio n Ha n
.
,

did as he pleased w ieldi n g ab sol ute power

, At .

that ti me l i ke grass before th e w i n d the world

, ,

bowed at h is com i n g ; n o o n e dared utter a word of

remonstran ce .

When Ha n wen t as governor to Pyon g a n -

P rov i n ce he did a l l m an n er of l awless th i n gs A ny .

o n e dari n g to cross h is wi shes i n the least was

deal t w i th by tortu re a nd death The w hole .

P rovi nce feared h i m as they wou l d a ti ger .

O n a cer tai n day Governor Ha n heari ng that the ,

D eputy P refect of Son cho n had a very bea uti fu l

-

“
daughter cal led the D eputy an d said I hear that
, , ,

you have a very b ea u ti fu l dau ghter w hom I wou ld ,

li ke to make my concub i n e W h en I am o n my .

o ffi cial rou nds shortly I shal l expect to stop at

,

you r town an d take he r S O be r eady for me . .

“
The D eputy alarmed said H o w can you r E x
, , ,
’
c e l le n cy say that you r serva n t s co ntem ptib l e
daughter is beauti fu l ? Som e o ne has reported her
wron gly B ut S i nce you so com man d h ow ca n I
.
,
”
d o b ut accede gladly ? So he bowed sai d h is ,

farewel l a n d wen t home

, .

O n h is retu rn h is fam i ly n oticed that h i s face

was c louded w ith a nxiety an d the dau ghte r asked ,

w hy i t was D i d the Governor cal l y o u father ,

asked S he ; an d w hy are you so a n xi ou s ? Tel l

 TH E PLU C K Y M A IDE N
”
me p lease
,
.A t fi rst feari n g that sh e would be
,

distu rbed he di d not reply b u t he r repeated ques

, ,
“
tion s forced h im so that he sa id I am i n troub le
, ,

”
o n you r accou n t a n d the n tol d o f how the
,
“
Governor wanted her for h i s con cub i n e I f I had .

refused I wou ld ha v e been k i l led so I y ielded ; b u t ,

’
a gentleman s daughter b ei n g made a conc u b i n e
is a d isgrace u n heard of .

The dau ghter made l i ght of i t a nd lau ghed .

Why di d you not th i n k i t out better than that ,

father Why S hou ld a grow n man lose hi s l i fe for

the sake of a gi rl ? L et the dau ghter go By .

losi n g o n e daughter an d savi n g you r l i fe y o u ,

su rely d o better tha n savi n g you r daughter an d

losi n g you r l i fe O ne can easi ly see w here the
.

greater ad v an tage l ies A dau ghter does n ot cou n t ;

.

’ ’
gi ve her over that s a l l Don t for a momen t th i n k
,
.

other w ise j ust pu t a w ay you r distress an d a nxiety

, .

We wome n every on e of us are u n der the ban

, , ,

an d such th i n gs are decreed by F ate I S hal l accept .

w ithout any opposition so please have n o an xiety , .

I t i s settled n ow an d y ou fathe r m ust y ield an d

, , ,

”
fol low I f you d o so a l l wi l l b e wel l
. .

The father sighed an d said i n reply S i nce you

, ,

”
seem so w i l l i n g my m i n d i s so mew hat rel ieved
, .

B ut fro m th is ti me o n the w hole house was i n

d istress T he gi rl alon e seemed perfectly u n mo v ed
.
,

not S howi n g the sl i ghtest S i gn of fear S he .

86 KO R E AN I MPS , GHOS TS AND FA I R I E S

laughed as u sual her l i ght an d happy laugh an d

, ,

her actions seem ed won derfu l ly free .

I n a l i ttle the Govern or reached S o n c ho n o n h is -

rou n ds . H e then cal led the D epu ty an d said , ,

“
M ake ready you r daughter fo r to morrow a n d al l -

the th i n gs n eeded The D eputy came home a nd

.

m ade p reparation for the so cal led wedd i n g T he - .

“
daughter said Th i s i s n ot a real w eddi n g ; i t i s
,

on ly the taki n g of a co ncub i ne b u t sti l l make , ,

everyth i n g ready i n the way of refreshments a n d

”
ceremo ny as fo r a real marr iage S o the father.

did as sh e requested .

O n the day fol low i n g the Governo r came to the

house of the Depu ty H e was n o t d ressed i n h is
.

o ffi cial robes b u t ca me sim ply i n the dress an d hat

,

o f a commo ne r When he wen t i n to the i n ner

.

quarters he met the daughter ; sh e stoo d strai ght

before h i m . H er tw o ha nds were l i fted i n cere
mon ial form b u t i nstead of holdi n g a fan to h ide
,

her face S he hel d a sword before he r S he w as very .

pretty . H e gave a great start of su rprise a n d ,

asked the mean i n g of the kn ife that sh e held S he .

“
ordered her n u rse to reply w h o said E ven though , ,

I am a n obscu re cou n try w oman I do n ot forget ,

that I am born of the gen try ; a n d though you r

E xcel lency is a h igh M i n i ster of State sti l l to ta ke ,

me by force i s a n u n he ard O f dishonou r I f yo u -

.

take m e as you r r eal an d true wi fe I l l serve you ’

88 KO RE AN I MPS , GHOSTS AND F A I R IE S

fi rst w i fe treated her as a con cub i n e a n d al l the ,

relatives said l i kew ise that sh e cou l d n e v er b e con

s i d e re d a real w i fe A t that tim.e K i n g Se j o f r e -

quen tly i n the dress of a commoner used to v isi t

, ,

H an s hou se
’
Han en terta i n ed h i m royal ly wi th
.

refresh men ts w h i ch h is w i f e? used to b ri ng an d

,
“
O ff er b efore h i m H e cal led her h i s l ittle sister
.
.

O n a certai n day Ki n g S e j o as he was accustomed -

, ,

cam e to the house and wh i l e he w as dri n ki n g he

,

sudden ly saw the woma n fal l o n her face b efore

h i m The K i n g i n su rprise i n qu i red as to w hat
.

s h e cou ld possib ly mean by such a n act S he the n .

tol d al l the story of her b ei n g taken by force a n d

b rought to S eou l S he wept w h i le she said
.
,

Though I am from a far distan t part of the -

cou n try I am of the gen try by an cestry an d m y ,

h usban d too k me w i th al l the requ i red ceremon ies

o f a w i fe so that I ou g ht not to be cou nted a co n
,

cub i n e B u t there i s n o law i n thi s land by w h ich

.

a secon d real w i fe may b e taken after a fi rst real

w i fe exists so they ca l l me a con cub i ne a matter
, ,

of deepest disgrace P lease you r Majesty take .

, ,
”
pi ty o n me an d decide my case .

The K i n g l au ghed a n d said Thi s i s a si mple

, ,

m atter to settle ; w h y shou ld my l i ttle sister make

so great an aff ai r of i t a n d b o w before m e ,I wil l
”
decide you r case at once Com e He then wrote . .

ou t w i th h i s ow n han d a docum en t m aki n g he r a

 TH E P LU C K Y MA IDE N

real w i fe an d he r ch i ldren el ig ib le fo r the h ighest

,

O ffi ce He w rote i t si gn ed i t stamped it an d gave

.
, ,

i t to he r
.

F rom that time o n sh e was k now n as a rea l wi fe ,

i n ran k an d sta ndi n g eq u al to the fi rst o n e Nd

.

fu rthe r word was ever sli ghti n gly spoken an d her

,

c hi ldren shared i n the a ff ai rs o f S tate

.

I M B A NG.
 TH E RE S O URCEF U L W I FE
IN the last year o f Yon san terrib le evi ls were
-

abroad amon g the peop le S uch w ickedn ess as

.

the worl d had n ever seen b e f ore was perpetrated ,

of w h ich h i s M aj esty was the e v i l gen i us H e .

even gave orders to h i s eu n uchs an d u n derl i n gs to

bri n g to h i m any women of special beauty that
they m i ght se e i n the hom es o f the h ighest nob i l i ty ,

and whoever pleased h i m he used as h is ow n .

“ ”
Never m i n d obj ection s said he take them b y
, ,

force an d co m e S uch were h i s orders No on e

. .

escaped h i m H e even wen t so far as to pub l ish

.

’
ab road that M i n ister S O an d so s w ife preferred
h i m to her h usban d a n d w ou l d l i ke to l ive al w ays
i n the Palace I t was the com mon tal k of the ci ty
.
,

a n d people were dumb fou nded .

F o r that reaso n a l l hearts forsook h im a n d ,

because o f th i s he w as deth ron ed an d K i n g ,

Choo n g jon g rei gn ed i n h i s stead

- .

I n these days o f troub le there was a you n g w i fe

of a certai n m i n ister w h o was v ery b eautifu l i n
,

form an d face On e day i t fel l about that sh e was

.

90
 T H E B OX E D U P G O VERN O R
-

A C E R TA I N l i terary o ffi cia l was at on e time Gover

nor o f the c i ty of Kyon g j u When ever he visi ted
- .

the M ayor O f the pl ace i t was h i s custom o n see

, ,

i n g danci n g gi rls to tap them o n the head w ith

-
,

“
h i s pipe an d say These gi rl s are devi ls ogres
, , , ,

gob l i n s H ow ca n you tolerate them i n you r

.

presence ?
Natu ral ly those who heard th i s di sl i ked h i m
, ,

a n d the Mayor h i m sel f detested h is behaviou r and

ma n n ers He se n t a secret message to the da n ci n g
.

“
gi rls say i n g I f any of you b y a n y mean s what
, , ,

ever can deceive th i s governor an d p ut h i m to

, ,
’ ”
sh am e I l l reward y o u rich ly
, A mon g them there
.

was o n e gi rl a m ere ch i ld who S aid she cou ld

, , .

The G overn or resided i n the qua rter of the ci ty

w here the Con fucian Tem ple w as an d he had b u t ,

o n e ser v a n t w i th h im a you n g lad Th e danci ng

, .

gi rl w ho had decided to e n snare h i m i n the dress ,

of a comm on woman of the tow n used frequen tly ,

to go by the mai n gateway of the Te m le an d i n

p ,

92
 TH E B O X ED UP G O VE R N O R -

’
goi n g wou ld cal l the Governor s b oy to her .

So m eti mes S h e showed her p rofi le a n d someti mes

S h e S howed her whole form as she stood i n the ,

gateway T he b oy wou ld go ou t to he r an d S h e
.

wou ld speak to h i m for a momen t o r tw o an d the n

go S he came sometim es once a day someti mes
.
,

tw ice an d thi s sh e kept up fo r a lon g tim e T he

,
.

Governo r at last i n qu i red of the b oy as to w h o

th i s woma n was that came so frequently to cal l
him .

“
S he is my sister sai d the b oy , H er husban d .

wen t away on a peddl i n g rou n d a year or so ago ,

a n d has n o t yet retu rn ed ; co nsequently she has n o

on e else t o help her so sh e frequently cal ls a nd
,

con fers with m e .

O n e even i n g when the b oy h ad gon e to eat h i s

,

meal an d the Governor was al one the woma n came ,

to the mai n gateway a n d cal led fo r the boy,

.

H i s E xcel lency a n swered fo r h i m a nd i nvi ted ,

her i n When she came she b lu shed a n d appeared

.
, ,

very d i ffi d e n t standi n g modestly aside

,
.

The Governor sa id M y b oy i s absen t j ust now

, ,

bu t I wan t a smoke ; g o an d get a l i ght for my

p i pe w i l l yo u pl ease
, , .

S he b rou gh t the l i ght an d then he sa id S it

, ,
’
down too a n d smoke a l ittle wo n t you
, ,

“
She repl ied How cou ld I dare d o such a
,

th i n g
94 KO R E AN I MPS , GHOSTS AN D FA I R IE S
“
H e said There i s n o o n e else here n ow ; n ever
,
”
m i nd .

Th ere bei n g n o help fo r i t she d i d as he bade ,

her and smoked a l ittle H e felt h i s heart sudden ly

,
.

“
i n c l i n e d i n her favou r a nd he sai d
~
I have seen
, ,

many b ea uti fu l wom en b u t I surely th i n k that you ,

are the prettiest o f them al l O nce seei n g you I .

,

have qu ite forgotten how to eat or sleep Cou ld .

you n o t come to m e to l ive here I am qu ite alone

”
an d n o o n e w i l l k n ow i t .

S he prete n ded to be greatly scan dal ized You r .

E xcel len cy i s a n ob le a n d I a m a lo w -c lass woman ;

,

how can you th i n k of such a th i n g ? D O you m ea n

i t as a joke ?
H e repl ied I mean i t tru ly n o j oke at al l
, ,
.

H e swore a n o ath say i n g R eal ly I mean i t every

, , ,
”
word .

S he then sa id S i nce you speak so I am real ly

, ,
”
very gratefu l a n d S hal l come , .

Sai d he M eeti n g yo u th us i s wonderfu l i ndeed

, .

S he wen t o n to say There i s a nother matter, ,

however that I w i sh to cal l to you r atten tio n I

, .

bn de r stan d that w here you r E xcel lency i s now

stayi n g i s a very sacred place and that accordi n g ,

to a ncien t l aw m en were forb idden to have women

here I s that true

.

The Governor clapped h er shou lder an d sa id , ,

Wel l real ly n o w how i s i t that y o u k now o f

, ,
96 KO R E AN I MPS , GHOS TS AND FA I R IE S
l

equal . Three years ago he left m e and I took

’
a nother h u sband an d we ve had n oth i n g to d o w ith
,
’
each other S i nce I can t i magi ne w hy he S hou l d
.

come n ow H e i s ev iden tly very dru n k , too from

.
,

the sou n d of h i s voice Y ou r E xcel lency has

.

real ly fal len i nto a terrib le pl i ght W hat shal l I

.

do ?
The woma n wen t ou t then a n d a n swered sayi n g , ,

W h o comes thu s at m idn ight to m ake such a

d istu rba nce ?
’
The vo ice rep l ied Do n t y o u k now my voice ?
,
’
W hy don t you open the door ?
“
S he an swered , A re yo u n o t C h ol lo ( B rass-

Ti ger ) a n d have we not sepa rated for good years

, ,

ago ? W hy have you co i n e ?

T he vo ice f r om withou t a nswered back You r ,

leav i n g me an d taki n g another man has always

been a matter of deepest rese ntmen t o n m y part ;
”
I have someth i n g special to say to you an d he ,

pou n ded the door open an d came thu n deri n g i n .

The wom an rushed back i n to the room say i n g , ,

You r E xcel lency m u st escape i n some way or

”
other .

I n such a l ittle thatched b u t there was no place

possib le for conceal men t b u t a n empty rice box -

“ ”
on ly. P lease get i n to th i s sa id S h e and she
, ,

l i fted the l id an d h u rried h i m i n The Govern or

.
,
 TH E B O X E D UP G O VE RN O R
-

i n h i s haste an d d é shab i l le was b u ndled i n to the

,

box He then heard from w i th i n th i s fel l ow com e

.
, ,

i nto the roo m a nd qua rrel w ith h is w ife S he sa i d .

,

We have been separated th ree years al ready ; what

reason have you to come now a nd make such a
distu rbance
“
Said he Yo u cast m e o ff an d took an other man
, ,

therefore I have come fo r the clothes that I left a n d ,

”
the other th i n g s that belon g to m e .

Then she threw out h i s belon gi n gs to h im b u t ,

“ ”
he said poi n ti n g to the box That s m i n e
, ,
’
.

’
S he repl ied That s n o t you rs ; I bought that
,

myse l f w i th two rol ls of si l k goods .

“ ” “
B ut sai d he on e o f those rol l s I gave you
, , ,
’ ”
an d I m not goi n g to let you have it .

E ven though y ou d id give it d o you mea n to ,

say that for o ne rol l of si l k yo u w i l l carry away

”
th i s box ? I l l n ot con sen t to it
’
Thu s they .

quarrel led an d co n tradicted each other

,
“ ’ ” “
I f you do n t g ive me the box said he I ll , ,
’

”
enter a su i t agai n st you at the M ayor s ’
.

A l ittle later the day daw n ed an d so he ha d the ,

’
b ox ca rried o ff to the M ayor s offi ce to have the
case deci ded by l aw w h i le the woman fol lowed
,
.

When they en tered the cou rt al ready the M ayo r ,

was seated i n the j u dgmen t p lace a n d here they -

,

present e d thei r case concern i n g the box .

H
98 KO R E AN I MPS , GHOSTS AND FA I R IE S

The M ayor after heari n g decided th us : S i nce

, ,

y o u each have a hal f S hare i n i ts purchas

- e there i s ,

noth i n g for me to d o b ut to d i vide i t between y o u .

”
B ri n g a saw said he ,
.

The servan ts b rought the sa w a n d began o n the

box w hen sudden ly from the i n n er region s cam e
,

“
forth a cry Save me ; oh save m e l
, ,

The M ayor i n preten ded aston i shmen t said

, , ,

’ ’
Why there s a man s voice from the i n side an d
, ,

ordered that i t shou ld be opened The serva n ts .

m anaged t o fi n d the key an d at l ast the l i d came ,

back a n d from the i n ner quarters there came forth

,

a half dressed man

- .

O n seei n g h im the whole place was pu t i n to

con vu lsion s of lau ghter fo r i t was n on e other than
,

the Govern or .

“
H o w i s i t that you r E xcel len cy fi nds you r sel f
i n th i s b ox i n thi s u naccou ntab le way ? asked the
“ ”
M ayor P lease come o u t
. .

T he Govern or h uddl i n g h im sel f together as wel l

,

as he could cl i mbed o n to the O pen verandah

, .

He held h is head dow n a n d n early died for

‘

sham e .

The M ayor spl i tti n g h is sides w ith l aughter

, ,

ordered clothes to be b rou ght an d the fi rst th i n g ,

that came was a woman s gree n dress coat The ’

- .

Governor hasti ly tu rn ed it i nside o u t sl ipped it o n , ,

 XX I I

T H E M AN W H O L O S T H I S LE G S
T H ER E was a m erchan t i n Chon g j u who u sed to
-

g o t o ! uelpart t o b uy seaweed On e time

. w he n
h e dre w u p o n the S hore he saw a man sh u ffli n g
a lon g o n the grou nd toward the boat H e crept .

n earer an d at l ast too k hold o f the side w ith both

,

h is hands a n d j umped i n .

“
When I looked at h i m sa id the mercha nt
, I ,

fou n d he w as a n o l d m an w i thou t a ny l egs A s .

to n i sh e d I asked sayi n g
, , How i s it old man that
, , ,
’
you have l ost you r legs ?
“
H e sai d i n rep ly I l ost m y legs o n a tri p o nce
,

w hen I w as sh ipwrecked an d a great fi sh b i t them

,
’
o ff .

However d id that happen i n qu i red the

m erchan t A nd the ol d m a n said
. We were ,

caught i n a gal e an d driven ti l l we touched o n

som e i sla n d o r other B efore us on the shore stood
.

a h i gh ca stle w ith a grea t gateway The twen ty o r

.

so o f u s w h o were together i n the stor m tossed boat -

were al l exhau sted fro m cold a nd h u n ge r and ly i n g ,

1 00
 TH E M A N WH O L OST H IS L E G S 1 01

exposed We la nded an d managed to go together

.

to the ho u se There was i n i t one man on ly w hose

.
,

height was terrib le to be hold a n d w hose chest was ,

man y span s rou n d H is face was b lack and h i s

.

eyes large an d rol l i n g H i s voice was l i ke the

.

b ray i n g of a mo n ster don key O u r peopl e made .

moti on s show i n g that they w anted someth i n g to eat .

The man made n o rep ly b u t securel y fasten ed the ,

fron t gate A fter th i s he b rou gh t a n arm fu l of

.

wood pu t i t i n the m i ddle o f the cou rtyard an d

, ,

there m ade a fi r e Whe n the fi r e b lazed u p he

.

rushed after u s an d caught a you n g lad o ne of o u r ,

compan y cooked h i m before o u r eyes pu l led hi m

, ,

to p ieces an d ate h i m We were al l reduced to a

.

state o f horror not k n ow i n g w h at to d o We gazed

,
‘

at each other i n d ismay an d stu pefaction .

“
When he had eaten h i s fi l l he wen t u p i n to a ,

veran dah a n d open ed a j ar fro m w h ich he dran k ,

some ki n d o f spi ri t A fter dri n ki n g i t he u ttered

.

the most gruesome a nd awfu l noises ; h i s face grew

very red a n d he lay dow n and slept H i s snori n gs .

were l i ke the roari n gs of the th u nder We plan ned .

then to m ake o u r escape an d so tried to open the ,

large gate b ut o n e leaf was a b ou t twen ty fou r feet

,
-

across an d so th ick a n d h eavy that w i th al l ou r

,

stren gth we cou l d n o t move i t The wal ls to o .

, ,

were a h u ndred an d fi fty feet h igh a n d so we could ,

do noth i n g w i th them We w ere l i ke fi sh i n a po t

.
1 02 KO R E AN I MPS GHOSTS AND FA I R IES ,

beyon d al l possib le way of escape We held each .

’
other s han ds a nd cried ,
.

“
A mon g us o n e man though t of th is plan We
,

had a k n i fe an d he took i t a n d wh i le the mon ster ,

was d ru n k an d asleep dec ided to stab h is eyes out

, ,

an d cu t h i s th roat We said i n reply We are al l

.
,

doomed to death an yway ; let s try a n d w e

,
’
,
’

m ade ou r w ay up o n to the verandah and stab bed

h i s eyes H e gave an awfu l roar an d stru ck ou t o n
.
,

a l l sides to catch u s We rushed here and there

.
,

mak i n g o ur escape out of the cou rt back i n to the

rear garden There were i n th is en closu re pi gs a n d
.

sheep abou t si xty o f them i n al l There we rushed

, .
,

i n amon g the pi gs a n d sheep H e fl o u n d e r e d abou t .

,

wa v i n g h is tw o arms after u s b ut n ot o n e o f u s did ,

he get hold o f we were a l l m i xed u p— sheep pigs ,

a n d people When he d i d catch anyth i n g i t w as a

.

sheep ; a nd w hen i t was n o t a sheep i t was a p i g .

S O he O pened the fron t gate to send al l the a n i m a ls

out
We the n eac h of us took a pi g o r sheep o n the
back an d made strai ght fo r the gate The monster .

fel t each a n d fi ndi n g i t a p i g or a sheep let i t go

,
.

Thu s w e a l l g o t o u t an d ru shed fo r the boat A .

l ittle later he cam e an d sat o n the ban k a n d roa red

h i s th reaten i n gs at u s A lot of other g ian ts cam e
.

at h i s cal l They to o k steps o f th i rty feet o r so

.
,

ca m e racin g after us cau gh t the boat an d m ade i t

, ,
 XX I I I

TEN T H O U S AN D D E VI L S

H N C H U N-H Y OM th e so n of a pro v i n cial

[ A w as

se cretary H e matricu lated i n the year 1 5 7 9 a n d

.

graduated i n 1 5 86 He received the last w i shes o f

.

Ki n g So n j o a n d sat by h is side tak i n g notes fo r

-
,

se v en hou rs F rom 1 60 8 to 1 6 2 3 he was g e n e rali s

.

si m o of the army a nd later w as rai sed to the ran k

,

o f P ri nce ] .

A certa i n P ri nce H an of C hoon g chon g P ro v i nce -

had a distan t relative w h o w as a n u ncouth cou n try

man l i vi n g i n extreme po v erty Th is relati v e came .

to vi si t h i m from time to ti me Han p itied h is cold .

a n d h u n gry con di tion ga v e h i m clothes to w ea r

,

an d shared h i s food u rgi n g h i m to stay a n d to

,

prolon g h i s visi t O ften i nto several m onths He .

fel t sorry f o r h im b ut disl i ked h is u n cou th n ess a n d

,

stup idi ty.

O n o n e of these v isi ts the poor relation sudden ly

a n nou nced h i s i n ten tion to retu rn hom e althou gh ,
’
the New Year s seaso n was j ust at ha n d Han .

“
u rged h i m to remai n sayi n g I t wou ld be better
, ,

1 04
 TE N THO U S AN D DE V I L S

for y o u to be comfortab l y housed at my home eat ,

i n g cake an d soup an d e njoyi n g qu iet sleep rather

than ridi n g th ro u gh w i n d an d weather at th is season
of the year .

H e said at fi rst that he wou l d ha v e to go u nti l ,

h i s host so i n sisten tly u rged o n him to stay that at

last he yielded an d ga v e con sen t A t New Year s .
’

E v e he rem arked to P ri nce Han I am possessor ,

of a pec u l iar ki n d of magic by wh ich I have u n der

,

my con tro l al l ma n ner o f evi l gen i i a nd New Y ear ,

i s the season at wh ich I ca l l the m u p ru n over thei r ,

n ames a n d i n spect the m I f I d id n o t d o so I

,
.

shou ld lose co n trol al together a n d there w o u ld ,

fol low no en d o f troub l e amon g mortals I t is a .

matter o f n o smal l m omen t a nd that i s why I ,

wished to go S i nce however you ha v e detai ned

.
, ,

me I shal l ha v e to cal l the m u p i n yo ur E xcel

,
’
l e n cy s house an d look them over I hope y o u wi l l .

”
n o t obj ect .

Ha n w as greatly aston ished a n d alarmed b u t

-

gave h i s con sen t The poor relation wen t o n to

.

“
say further Th is is a n extremely i mporta n t matter
, ,

a n d I wou ld l i ke to ha v e for i t you r cen tral guest

hal l .

H an consen ted to this also so that n i ght they ,

washed the fl oors a n d scou red the m clean The .

relation also sa t h i msel f w ith a l l dign i ty faci n g

the south w h i le P ri nce Han took u p h i s station o n
,
1 06 KO R E AN I MPS GHOS TS AN D FA IR IES
,

the outside prepared to spy Soo n he saw a sta rt .

l i n g variety o f demon s crush i n g i n at the door ,

horrib le i n appearance an d awesome o f man ner .

They l i n ed u p o ne after another an d sti l l an other , ,

an d an other ti l l they fi l led the e n ti re cou rt

, ,

each bowi n g as he came before the master w h o at , ,

th i s poi nt dre w o ut a book open ed i t b efore h im

, , ,

a nd began cal l i ng o ff the names D emon guards .

w h o stood by the threshold repeated the c al l an d

checked o ff the nam es j ust as they d o i n a govern

men t y am e n F rom the secon d watch i t w en t o n
.

“
ti l l the fi fth o f the morn i n g Han remarked It .
,

‘
w as i ndeed no l i e when he told m e ten thou sa n d
’
devi ls .

O ne late comer a rri v ed after the mark i n g w as

-

over an d sti l l anothe r came cl i mb i n g over the wal l

, .

The man ordered them to be arrested a n d i n qu i ry ,

m ade of them u n der the paddle The late arri val .

“
said I real ly have h ad a hard ti me of i t of late to
,

l i ve an d so was ob l i ged i n order to fi n d anyth i n g

, , ,

to i nj ect smal l pox i n to the home o f a scholar w h o

l i v es i n Yon g n am I t i s a lon g way o ff an d so I

- .
,

have arrived too late fo r the rol l cal l a serious fau l t -

,
”
i ndeed I con fess ,
.

The o n e w ho cl imb ed the wal l said I too have , , , ,

k now n wa n t a nd h u n ger an d so had to i nsert a ,

l i ttle typhu s i n to the fam i ly o f a gen tlema n w h o

1 08 KO R E AN I MPS GHOS TS AND FA I R IE S ,

most pecu l iar cou n tenance A ma n feeb le a nd .

ready to di e he se em ed
, A l l the p riests made
.

sport of hi m a n d treated h i m w i th co ntempt I .

alon e had p i ty o n h is age a nd often gave h i m of ,

m y food a n d a lways treated h im k i n dly O ne e v en .

i n g when the moo n w as b ri ght the old priest said

, ,

to me ,There i s a cave beh i n d thi s monastery fro m

w h ich a beauti fu l view m ay b e had ; w i l l yo u n ot

come wi th m e an d share i t ?
“
I wen t w ith h i m an d when we crossed the ridge
,

of the h i l ls i n to the sti l l ness of the n i ght he drew

a book from h is b reast an d ga v e i t to me say i n g , ,

I w h o am old a n d ready to d ie have here a great

, ,

secret w h ich I have lon g w ished to pass o n to

,

some o ne w orthy I ha v e travel led o v er the w ide

.

len gth of Korea a n d ha v e n ever fou n d the man

,

ti l l n o w I meet you a n d my heart i s sati s fi ed so

, ,
’
p lease receive i t .

“
I open ed the book a n d fou n d i t a catalogue l ist
of de v i ls w i th magic w ri ti n g i nterspersed a nd a n
, ,

exp lan ation of the laws that govern the spi ri t world .

The o ld priest w rote ou t o n e magi c recipe an d ,

havi n g se t fi r e to i t cou n tless devi ls at o nce

assemb led at wh ich I w as greatly alarmed
, He .

the n sat w i th m e an d cal led O v er the names on e

‘
after the other a nd said to the dev i ls I am a n
, ,

old man n o w am goi n g away an d so am about to

, ,
 TE N T HO U S AN D DE V I L S

pu t you u nder the care of thi s you n g ma n ; O bey

h i m and al l w i l l be wel l .
’

“
I al ready had the book an d so cal led them ,

to me , read ou t the n ew orders and d ism i ssed ,

them .

“
The old pri est a nd I retu rned to the Tem ple a nd
wen t to sleep I a w oke early n ext morn i n g an d
.

wen t to ca l l on h im b ut he was gone Th us I

,
.

came i n to possessio n o f the magi c art a nd have

-
,

possessed i t for a score of years a nd more What .

the world knows noth i n g of I have th us made

”
k nown to you r E xcel lency .

Ha n was asto n ished b eyon d m easu re a nd asked , ,

M ay I not al so com e i nto possessio n of th i s

”
wonderfu l gi ft ?
The man repl ied You r E xcel lency has great
,

ab i l ity an d can d o won derfu l th i n gs ; b u t the pos

,

se sso r of th is craft m u st b e on e poo r a n d desp ised ,

a nd o f n o accou n t F or y ou a m i n i ster i t wou ld

.
, ,
”
n ever do .

The n ext day he left sudden ly an d retu rned n o ,

m ore . Han se n t a serva n t w ith a m essage to h i m .

The serva n t w ith great diffi cu lty at last fou n d h i m

, ,

a lo ne among a thou sa n d mou n ta i n peaks l ivi n g i n ,

a l ittl e straw b u t n o b i gger than a coc kle shel l .

N o neighbours were there no r a n y on e b eside , He .

ca l led h i m b u t he refused to co m e
,
H e sen t .
110 KO R E AN I MPS GHOS TS AND F A I R IE S
,

a nother messen ger to i n vite h im b ut he had moved

,

away an d no trace of h im was left .

P ri nce Ha n s ch i ldren had heard th is story from

’

h imsel f a n d I the w riter recei ved i t from the m

, , ,
.

IM B ANG
.
112 KO R E AN I MPS GHOSTS AND FA I R IE S ,

you n g ma n w hy he wept an d the rep ly was that ,

h i s servan t was dead hi s horse was dead that i t

, ,

was rai n i n g a n d that he d id n o t know the way

,
.

The patriarch o n heari n g th i s took p ity o n hi m

, , ,
“
a nd l i fti n g h i s staff poi nted sayi n g There i s a
, , ,

house yonder j ust b eyond those p i n es fol low that

, ,

stream an d i t wi l l b ri n g y o u to w here there are

”
peop le .

The you n g man looked as d i rected a n d a li o r so ,

beyon d h e saw a cl u m p o f trees H e bowed .

,

than ked the stran ger an d started o n h is way ,

.

When he had gon e a fe w paces he looked back b ut ,

the frien d had disappeared G reatly wonderi n g .

,

he wen t o n towa r d the place i n dicated a n d as he ,

drew n ear he saw a grove of pi nes hu ge trees they ,

were a w hole forest o f them B amboos appeared

,
.
,

too i n cou ntless n u m bers w i th a w ide strea m o f

, ,

water flowi n g by U n derneath the water there

.

seem ed to be a ma rbl e floori n g l i ke a great pave

m en t w h ite and pu re A s he wen t alon g he saw
,
.

that the water was al l of an even depth such as on e ,

co u l d cross easi ly A m i le or so farther on he saw

.

a bea u ti fu l ly decorated hou se The p i l lars an d .

entra nce approaches were perfect i n form H e co n .

t i n u e d h is way wet as he was carry i n g h i s thorn

, ,

staff a nd e ntered the gate a n d sat down to rest

,
.

I t was paved to o w ith marbl e and smooth as

, , ,
 TH E HOME O F TH E F A I R IE S 113

pol ished glass There were n o ch i n ks or creases

.

i n i t al l was of o n e perfect surface I n the room

,
.

was a marb le tab le an d o n i t a copy o f the B ook

,

of Chan ges ; there was al so a b raz ier of j ade j u st i n

fro n t I ncen se was b u rn i n g i n i t a n d the fragrance
.
,

fi l led the room B eside these nothi n g else was

.
,

v i sib le T he rai n had ceased a n d al l was qu i et a nd

.

clear w ith n o w i n d n o r anyth i n g to di st u rb The

, .

world of co n q I O n seemed to have receded from

h im.

Wh i le he sat there looki n g i n aston ishmen t he

, ,

sudden ly heard the sou n d o f footfal ls from the rear

o f the b u i ldi n g Startl ed by it he tu rn ed to see
.
, ,

when a n ol d man appeared He looked as though .

he m i ght equal th e tu rtle or the cran e as to age ,

a n d was very di gn i fi ed He wore a green dress

.

ari d carried a jade sta ff o f n i n e sect ion s The .

appeara nce of the old man was such as to st u n an y

i n hab i tan t o f the earth H e recogn ized h i m as
.

the m aster o f the place and so he wen t forward

,

a n d made a lo w obeisance .

“
The ol d man received h i m k i ndly a n d said I , ,
”
a m the master a nd have lon g wai ted for He
yo u .

took h i m by the hand an d l ed h i m away A s they .

wen t alon g the h i l ls grew more a n d more en chan t

,

i ng w h i le the soft breezes an d the l i ght touched

,

h i m w i th mysti fyi n g favou r S u dden ly as h e

.
,
114 KO R E AN I MPS GHOSTS A ND FA I R IES ,

looked the man was gon e SO h e we n t o n by h i m ,

sel f a n d arri ved soon at a nother palace b u i lt l i ke

,

w i se of precious sto nes I t was a great hal l .

,

stretch i n g o n i n to the di stance as far as the eye

cou ld see .

The you n g ma n had seen the R oya l Palace fr e

qu en tly when i n S eou l atten di n g exa m i n ation s b u t ,

compared w ith th is the R oyal P alace was as a m u d

,

h u t thatched w i th straw .

A s he reached the gate a man i n ceremon ial

robes rece i ved h i m a n d led h i m i n He passed .

tw o or th ree pavi l ion s a nd at last reached a S pec ial

,

o n e a n d wen t u p to the upper storey There r e c l i n .

,

i n g at a tab le he saw the a nci en t sage w hom he

,

had m et before A gai n he bowed . .

Th i s you n g man b rou ght up poorly i n the

,

cou n try was n ever accustom ed to seei n g or deal i n g

,

w ith the great I n fear he d id n o t dare to l i ft hi s

.
,

eyes T he an cient master however agai n wel

.
, ,

comed h i m a n d asked h i m to be seated say i ng , ,

“
Th is i s n o t the dusty world that you are accu s
to m e d t o b u t the abode o f the gen i i
, I k n ew you .

”
were co m i n g a n d so was wa iti n g to recei ve you
, .

“
H e tu rn ed a n d cal led sayi n g B ri n g so m eth i n g
, ,
”
for the guest to eat .

I n a l ittle a serva n t b rought a rich ly laden tab le .

I t w as such fare as w as n ever seen on earth a nd ,

116 KO R E AN I MPS G H O STS A ND FA I R IES
,

o ffi cial of the gen i i ca m e forward dressed i n l i ght ,

an d ai ry garments H is appeara nce and expressi on

.

were very beautifu l a man he seemed of glad an d

, , ,

happy m i en .

The master sa id S how th is you n g man the way

,

to h i s apartm ents a n d treat h i m wel l ti l l the tim e

”
o f the weddi n g .

The o ffi cial then led the way a n d the you n g ma n,

bowed as he left the room When he had passed .

outside the gate a red sedan cha i r was i n waiti n g

,

fo r h i m
. H e was asked to mou n t E i ght bearers .

bore h i m smooth l y a lon g A m i le o r so d istan t

.

they reached a nother palace equal ly wo nderfu l , ,

w i th n o speck o r flaw o f a ny ki n d to mar its beau ty .

I n gracefu l groves of flowers a n d trees he descended

to en ter h i s pavi l i on B eauti fu l garmen ts were
.

taken from j ewel l ed boxes an d a perfum ed bat h

,

was given h i m a n d a chan ge made Thus he la id .

aside h i s weather beaten clothes a n d do n ned the

-

vestme n ts o f t he gen i i T he o ffi cial rema i ned as

.

company fo r h im ti l l the appoi n ted ti m e .

When that day arri ved other beauti fu l robes were

b rought a nd agai n he bathed an d chan ged When
, .

he was dressed he mou nted the palan qu i n a nd rode

,

to the Palace of the master twenty or mo re O ffi cials

,

accom panyi n g O n a rri v al a gu ide di rected them

.
,

to the special Palace B eauti fu l Here he saw pre .

 TH E HOME O F TH E FA I R IES 117

p a r a t i o for the weddi n g an d here he made h i s

ns ,

b ow Th is fi n ished he m oved as d i rected fu rther i n

. , .

The ti n kl i n g sou nd of j ade bel ls a nd the b reath o f

sweet perfu mes fi l led the a i r Th us he made h i s .

en try i n to the i n ner quarters .

M any beauti fu l wome n were i n waiti n g al l ,

gorgeously apparel led l i ke the women of the gods

, .

A mon g these he i magi ned that he wou ld m eet the

’
master s dau ghter I n a l i ttl e accompan ied by a
.
,

host of others S he came sh i n i n g i n j ewels a n d

, ,

beau ti fu l cloth i n g so that sh e l i ghted u p the

Palace He too k h i s stan d before her thou gh her
.
,

face w as h idden from h i m by a fan of pearls W hen .

he saw her at last so beauti fu l w a s sh e that h is eyes

,

were da z zled The other women compared w i th

.
,

her were as the magp i e to the p hoen ix So be

,
.

w i ldered was he that he dared n ot look up The .

fri en d accompanyi n g assisted h i m to b o w an d to

g o th rough the n ecessary forms The ceremon y .

was m uch the same as that observed amon g m en .

When i t was over the you n g ma n wen t back to h i s

b ri degroo m s chamber
’
There the emb roidered
.

cu rtai ns the golden screen s the si l ken cloth i n g

, , ,

the j ewel led floor were such as n o m en o f earth

,

ever see .

O n the secon d day h i s mother i n law cal led h i m - -

to her Her age wou l d be abou t th i rty an d her

.
,
118 KO R E AN I MPS GH OSTS A ND FA I R IE S
,

face w as l i ke a fresh ly b low n lotus flower H ere

-
.

a great feast was S pread w i th man y guests i n v ited

, .

The accompan i men ts thereof i n the way of m usic

w ere sweeter than mo rtals e v er dreamed of When .

the feast was o v er the w o m e n cau ght u p thei r sk i rts

, ,

an d l i fti n g thei r slee v es dan ced together an d san g

, ,

i n sweet accord T he sou n d of thei r s i n gi n g cau sed

.

even the clouds to stop an d l isten When the .

day w as over an d al l had wel l di ned the feast

, ,

b roke u p .

A you n g m an b rou ght up i n a cou ntry h ut had

, ,

al l of a sudden m et the ch ief of the gen i i a nd had ,

beco m e a S harer i n h is glory an d the acco mp an i

ments o f h i s l i fe H is m i n d was dazed a n d h is
.

thoughts overcam e h im Doub ts were m ixed w i th

.

fears H e k new n ot what to do

. .

A S harer i n the j oys o f the fai ries he had actual ly

b eco m e a n d a year or so passed i n such del ight as
,

n o w ords ca n e v er describe .

O n e day h i s w i fe sa id to h im Wou ld y o u l ike ,

to en ter i n to the i n n er en closu re a n d se e as the

fai ries se e
H e repl ied G ladly w ou ld I
, .

S he then l ed h i m i n to a special park where there

we re lo v ely w al ks su rrou n ded by green h i l ls A s
, .

they ad v anced there w ere charm i n g vie w s w i th ,

spri n gs o f water an d sparkl i n g cascades The .

1 20 KO R E AN I MPS GHOSTS AND FA I R IE S ,

tears soi led h is face S he asked i n amaze m en t fo r

.

“ ” “
the cause o f i t I w as th i n k i n g said h e of how
.
, ,

a p lai n cou n tryman l iv i n g i n poverty had thu s

become the so n i n law of the k i n g of the gen i i B u t
- - .

i n my home i s m y poor o l d mothe r w hom I have ,

n ot seen for these years ; I wou l d so l i ke to see her

”
that m y tears fl o w .

The w i fe lau ghed a n d said Wou ld you real ly

, ,
”
l i ke to see her ? T hen go b ut do not cry S he , .

told her father that her h usban d wou ld l i ke to go

a n d se e h is mother The master cal led h i m a n d
.

ga v e h is perm issio n The so n thought o f cou rse .

, ,

that he wou l d cal l many ser v a n ts an d sen d h i m i n

s tate b u t n ot so
, H is w i fe gave h im o n e l i ttl e
.

b u ndl e an d that w as al l so he sai d good bye to h i s ,

-

“
father i n law whose parti n g word w as Go now
- -
, ,

a n d se e you r mother a n d i n a l ittle I shal l ca l l fo r

,
”
you agai n .

He sen t w i th h i m o n e servan t an d so he passed ,

out th rough the mai n gateway There he saw a .

poor th i n horse w i th a worn rag of a saddl e on h i s

back .H e looked carefu l ly an d fou nd that they
w ere the dead horse a nd the dead servan t w hom ,

he had lost restored to h i m

, H e gave a start a n d .
,
”
asked H ow did you com e here ?
,
“
The servan t answered I was com i n g w i th you ,

o n th e r oad w hen some on e cau gh t me away an d

 TH E HO ME O F TH E FA I R IE S 1 21

b rou gh t me here I did n o t know the reason b ut

.
,
”
I ha v e been here fo r a lon g tim e .

The man i n great fear fasten ed o n h i s b u n dle

, ,

an d started o n hi s j ou rney The gen ie se rvan t .

b rought u p the rear b ut after a short di stance the

,

world of wonder had b ecome tran sformed i n to the

O l d weary world agai n Here i t was w ith its fogs
.
,

and thorn an d preci p ice

, H e looked O ff towa rd
.

the worl d o f the ge n i i a n d i t w a s b u t a drea m

, .

S O overcome was he by h i s feel i n gs that he br oke

dow n an d cried .

The gen ie servan t said to h i m w hen he saw h im

“
weepi n g You ha v e bee n for several years i n the
,

abode o f the i m mortals b u t yo u have n o t yet ,

atta i n ed thereto fo r y ou have not yet forgotten the

,

se v en th i n gs of earth : an ger sorrow fear a m , , ,

b i t i o n hate an d sel fi sh ness

, I f y ou o nce get ri d of
.

”
these there w i l l be n o tears fo r y o u O n heari n g .

thi s he stopped h i s cry i n g w i ped h is cheeks a n d , ,

asked pardo n .

When he had gon e a m i l e farther he fou n d hi m

sel f o n the mai n road The serva n t sai d to hi m
.
,
“
Y ou k now the way from th is po i n t on so I shal l ,

”
go back an d th u s at last the yo u n g man reached
,

h is ho m e .

He fo u n d there a n exorcisi n g ceremony i n p r o

gress Wi tches and S p i ri t worsh ippers had been
.
1 22 KO R E AN I MPS GHOSTS AND FA I R IE S
,

cal led an d were say i n g thei r prayers The fam i ly .

,

seei n g the you n g man come home thu s w ere al l ,

“ ”
aghast . I t i s h i s ghost sa id they H owe v er they
,
.
,

sa w i n a l ittle that i t w as real ly he hi msel f The .

m other asked why he had n o t come home i n al l that

ti me . S he bei n g a v ery v iolen t w oman i n dis
"
posi tion h e d id n o t dare to te ll her the truth so he
, ,

m ade u p someth i n g else The day of hi s retu rn

.

was the a n n iversary of h i s su pposed death a n d so ,

they had cal led the w itches fo r a p rayer ceremon y .

H ere he open ed the b u ndle that h i s w i fe had gi v en

h i m an d fou n d fou r su i ts of clothes on e fo r each ,

season .

I n about a year after h is retu rn home the moth er ,

seei n g h i m a lon e made app l icatio n fo r the dau ghter

,

o f o n e of the v i l lage li te r a ti T he ma n bei n g tim id

.
,

by n atu re an d afra i d of o ffendi n g h i s mother di d ,

not dare to refu se and w as therefore married ; b u t

,

there w as no joy i n i t an d the tw o n ever looked at

,

each other .

The you n g man had a frien d whom he had

k no w n i n ti m ately from ch i ldhood A fter h is.

retu rn the fri en d cam e to se e h i m frequen tly an d ,

they used to S pen d the n i ghts tal ki n g together I n .

thei r talks the frien d i n qu i red w hy i n al l these

years h e had n ever com e home T he you n g man .

then tol d h i m w h at had befal len h i m i n the lan d

1 24 KO R E AN I MP S GHOSTS A ND FA I R IE S
,

The year fol low i n g was the M an ch u i nvasion ,

when the vi l lage where the you n g man had l ived

w as a l l d e stroyed
. To th is day you n g an d old i n
Ka pyon g tel l th is story
- .

I M B A NG.
 X X V

T H E H O N E S T W I TC H

[ S O NG S A NG - N
I matricu lated i n 1 60 1 H e w as a .

j u st man an d feared by the dishonest ele m en t o f

,

the Court I n 1 6 05 he graduated a n d becam e a

.

provi nci al governor H e nearl y lost h is l i fe i n the

.

di stu rbances of the rei gn of Ki n g Kwan g—hai a n d ,

w as exi led to ! uel part fo r a period O f ten years ,

b ut i n the spri n g of 1 6 2 3 he was recal led ] .

Th e S tory
There was a Ko rean o nce cal led Son g San g i n
,
-
,

w hose m i n d was u pri ght an d w hose S p iri t was true

H e hated w i tches w i th al l h is m i ght a nd regarded

,

them as decei vers o f the people B y thei r so ca l led

.
-

“ ’
p rayers said he they devou r the people s goods
, ,
.

There is n o l i m i t to the fool ish n ess an d e x tr av a

gance that accompan ies them Th is doctri ne of
.

thei rs i s al l no n sen se Wou ld t hat I coul d r id

.

the earth of them a nd w i pe o u t thei r n am es for

ever )’
1 26 KO R E AN I MPS GHOSTS AND FA I R IES ,

Som e tim e later Son g was appoi n ted m agistrate

of Nam Wo n Co u nty i n Chu l l a P ro v i nce O n h is .

“
arri val he issued the fol low i n g order I f a ny w itch
i s fou nd i n th is cou n ty let her b e beaten to death , .

The w hole p lace was so thorough ly sp ied upon that

a l l the w itches made thei r esca p e to other p r e fe c
tu res Th e magistrate thought
. Now we are ri d ,

o f them a n d that en ds the matter for th i s cou n ty

,
”
at a ny rate .

O n a certai n day he wen t o u t fo r a wal k an d ,

rested fo r a ti m e at K w an g h an Pavi l ion A s he - .

looked o u t fro m h i s coi gn o f van tage he saw a ,

wo m a n approach i n g o n horseback w i th a w i tch s ’

d r u m o n her head H e looked i nten tly to make

.

s u re an d to h i s aston ishmen t he saw that sh e was

,

i n deed a m u tan g ( w itch ) H e sen t a y am e n r u n n er .

-

to have her arrested a nd whe n sh e was b ro u ght ,

before h i m he asked A re y o u a m u tan g ? ,

“
S he repl i ed Y e s I am , ,
.

“
Then sa id he yo u did n o t k now of the o ffi cial
, ,

order iss u ed ?
Oh yes I heard o f i t was her reply
, , .

H e the n asked A re you not afrai d to die that

, ,
”
you stay here i n thi s cou n ty ?
The m u tan g bowed a nd m ade an swer I have
’

, ,

a matter o f complai n t to lay before yo u r E xcel l ency

to be p ut ri ght ; p lease take note o f i t and gran t

my req u est I t is this : There are true m u tan g s

.
1 28 KO R E AN I MPS GH O STS AND FA I R IES ,

The m u tan g sa id also I wan t a su i t o f you r

,
”
c lothes to o please
, ,
Th is was b rought an d S h e
.
,

spread her mat i n the cou rtyard placed the food ,

i n order don n ed the dress an d so m ade al l pre

, ,

l i m i nary a rran gemen ts S he then l i fted her eyes .

towa rd heaven a nd uttered the stran ge magic

so u nds by w h i c h spi ri ts a re c a l led , m ea nwh i le
shak i n g a ti n k l i n g bel l I n a l i ttle sh e turn ed a nd
.

“
sa id I ve com e
,
’
Then sh e began tel l i n g the sad
.

story o f h is sick ness an d death an d thei r separat ion .

S he rem i nded the magi strate of how t hey had

p layed together a nd of th i ngs that had happened
,

when they were at school at thei r lesson s ; o f the

di ffi cul ties they had m e t i n the exa m i natio ns ; of
experiences that had come to them d u ri n g thei r
te rm s of o ffi ce S he told secrets that they had
.

co nfided to e ach other as i nti mate fri ends and many ,

matt e rs most de fi n itely that on ly they two knew .

No t a si n gle m istake d id sh e make b u t told the ,

truth i n every detai l .

The magistrate w hen he heard these th i ngs

, ,

“
began to cry sayi n g , The sou l o f my friend i s
,

real ly presen t ; I ca n no lon ger do ubt o r deny

”
it
. Then he ordered the choicest fare possib le
to be prepa red as a sacri fi ce to h is friend In .

a l i ttle the fri en d bade h i m farewel l a nd took h is

departu re .
 TH E HO N ES T W I TCH

The magi strate sa id A las ! I thought m u tan g s

,

were a brood of l iars b ut now I k now that there ar e

,

true m u tan g s as wel l as false

. H e gave her rich
rewards sen t her away i n safety recal led h is order
, ,

agai nst w itches a n d refrai ned from an y matters

,

pertai n i n g to them for ever a fte r .

I M B A NG
.
 XX V I

W H O M T H E KI N G H O N O U R S
IN the days of K i n g S e jon g studen ts o f the
-

Co n fucia n Co l lege were havi n g a p icn ic to celeb rate

the Sp ri n g F est i val Th ey met i n a wood to the
.

n orth o f the col lege near a bea utifu l spri n g of

,

water an d were dri n k i n g an d feasti n g the n ight

,

through Wh i le they were thu s enj oyi n g them

.

selves the rooms of the col lege were left deserted .

On e studen t from the cou n try a backwoodsman i n

,

h i s way w ho w as of no accou n t to others thought

, ,

that w h i le the rest wen t away to e njoy themselves

som e o n e ought to stay beh i n d to guard the sacred
preci ncts of th e tem pl e ; so he decided that he wou ld
forgo the pleasu res o f the pic n ic stay beh i n d an d
,

watch .

Th e Ki n g at that ti me se nt a eu n uch to the

col lege to se e how many of the students had r e
m ai n ed o n guard T he eu n uch retu rn ed sayi n g
.
,

th at al l had gon e O ff o n the p icn ic except o n e ,

man a raw cou n t rym an who was i n sole charge

, ,
.

The K i n g at once se n t for the man ask i n g h i m to

,

com e j ust as he was i n h is common clothes .

1 30
1 32 KO R E AN I MPS GHOSTS A ND FA I R IES
,

they question ed as to w hat i t coul d mean Th is .

was n ot the time fo r n ew grad uates to g o ab road .

Wh i le they loo ked behol d here came a victorious

, ,

can d idate dressed i n cerem on ial robes heralded

, ,
’
by boys an d ridi n g on the Ki ng s pal frey to g reet
, ,

them . O n closer view they saw that i t was the

u ncouth cou n tryma n w hom they had left beh i n d at
the Tem ple They asked w hat i t mean t a n d then
.
,

learn ed to thei r ama z eme n t that the Ki n g had so

, ,

hon oured h i m The compan y i n con stern ation a nd

.
,

su rpri se b roke u p an d retu rn ed home at o nce

,
.

T his special graduate b ecame later th rough the ,

favou r o f the K i n g a great a n d n oted man

, .

IM B AN G .
 XX V I I

T H E F O R T UN E S O F Y OO

T H ERE was a man of Yon g nam n amed Yoo

-
, ,

w h o l i ved i n the days of S e jon g - He had studied

.

the classics had passed h i s exam i n ations an d had

, ,

becom e a petty O ffi cial attached to the Con fucian

Col lege H e was n o t even of the S ixth degr ee so
.
,

that promotion was ou t of the question He was .

a cou n trym an w h o had n o friends a n d n o i n fl ue nce ,

an d though he had lon g been i n S eou l there was

n o l i kel i hoo d of an y advancemen t S uch bei n g the
.

case dishearten ed an d lonely h e deci ded to leave

, ,

the ci ty an d g o back to h is cou n t ry home .

Th ere w as a palace secretary w ho k new th i s

cou n try ma n a nd w h o wen t to say good bye to h i m
,
-

be fore he left .

Ta k i n g adva n tage o f the opportu n i ty the cou n t ry

,

“
man sa i d , I have l on g been i n S eou l b u t h ave ,

n ever yet seen the r o yal o ffi ce o f the secretaries .

M i ght I accompany you some day whe n you take

v ou r tu rn
Th e secretary sa i d , I n the daytime there i s
always a crowd of pe ople w h o gather there fo r
U3
1 84 KO R E AN I MPS GHOSTS AND FA I R I ES ,

b u si n ess a n d n o o n e is allowed i n wi thout a special

,

pass .I am goi n g i n to morrow however an d

’

-
, ,

i n ten d to S leep there so that i n the even i n g we ,

cou ld ha v e a good chance to l o ok the Palace over .

Peop le are n o t a l lowed to sleep i n the Palace as a

ru le b ut doi n g so on ce wou ld not be special ly
,
”
n oticed T he secretary then gave orders to the
.

m i l i tary guard w h o accompa n ied hi m to escort th is

man i n the n ext day .

A s the secretary had arran ged the cou ntryman , ,

o n the even i n g fol low i n g made h i s way i n to the ,

Palace enclosu re b u t w hat was h i s su rprise to fi n d

,

that fo r some reaso n o r other the secretary had

, ,

n o t come The gates also were closed beh i n d hi m

.
, , ,

so that he cou ld n o t get o u t R eal ly he w as i n a

'

fix . There chanced to be a body servan t of the -

secretary i n the room a n d he feel i n g sor ry for the

, ,

stran ger arran ged a h idden corn er w here he m i ght

,

pass th e n i ght and then qu ietly take h i s departu re

,

i n the morn i n g .

T he n ight was beautifu l ly clear a n d apparen tly ,

every on e S lep t b ut Y oo H e w as w ide awake a n d .

,

wo n deri n g to h i msel f i f he m igh t n o t g o qu ietl y o u t

a n d se e the place .

I t w as the ti me o f the rai ny season a nd a portion ,

of the wal l had fal len from the e n closu re j ust i n

fron t S o Yoo cl imbed over th is b roken wal l a nd
.
, ,

n o t k nowi n g w here he wen t fou n d h i m sel f sudden ly

,
136 KO R E AN I MP S GHOS TS AN D F A I R IE S ,

he asked that wou ld bothe r h i msel f abou t me ?

,

Th us al l my hopes h ave fai led a nd I have j ust ,

deci ded to leave the ci ty an d go back home an d l ive

”
out my d ays there .

T he Ki n g asked agai n You k no w the classics ,

so w el l , do y ou k now someth i n g al so o f the B ook

”
of Chan ges ?
H e repl ied The deepe r parts I d o n ot k no w
, ,
”
b u t the easier parts o n ly .

T hen the Ki n g o r dered a e u n uch to b ri n g the

'

B oo k of Chan ges I t was the time w hen h is

.

M aj esty was readi n g i t for h i mself The book was .

b rough t and opened i n th e moon li ght The Ki n g .

l ooked up a part that had g i ven h i m specia l

di ffi cu l ty a n d th is the stra nger exp la i n ed character
,

by character gi vi n g th e mea n i n g w i th co nv i nci n g

,

cl earn ess The Ki n g was del ighted an d wondered

.

g r eatl y an d so they read together al l th rou gh the

,
“
n ight When they separated the Ki n g sai d You
.
,

h ave al l th is k n ow ledge an d yet have n ever been

”
m ade u se o f ? A las for my cou n try ! sa id h e , ,

S igh i n g .

Y OO remarked that he w ou ld l i ke t o g o strai ght

h ome n ow i f the master wou l d k i ndly open the d oo r
,

for h i m .

The K i n g sa id however that i t was too early

, ,

yet and that he m ight b e arrested b y the guards

,
 T H E F O R T UN E S O F Y OO
“
w ho were abou t GO then. said he to w here , ,

you were an d whe n i t i s b road dayl ight you ca n

,

g o throu gh the open gate .

Y o o then bade good bye a n d wen t b ac k over -

,
’
the b roken w al l to hi s corner i n the secretary s
roo m When mo rn i n g came he wen t ou t th rough
.

the mai n gateway an d retu rned to hi s home .

O n the fol low i n g d ay the Ki n g sen t a spec ial

secretary an d had Yoo appoi n ted to the offi ce of
O v erseer of L i teratu re O n the prom u l gatio n of
.

thi s the o ffi cials gathered i n the pub l ic cou rt a n d ,

protested i n h igh d u dgeon agai nst so great a n o ffi ce

bei n g gi ven to a n u n k no w n person .

“
H i s M ajesty ho w ever said
, I f you are so , ,

”
’
opposed to i t I l l desist , .

B u t the day fol lowi n g he appoi n ted h i m to an

o ffi ce o n e degree sti l l h igher A gai n they al l p r o .

“
tested an d h i s Maj esty said
, R eall y i f you so , ,
’ ”
obj ect I l l d rop the matter
, .

T he day fol lowi n g he appoi n ted h i m to an O ffi ce

sti l l o n e degree h i gher A gai n they al l protested
.

an d he appare n tly yielded to them B ut the day .

fol low i n g h i gher sti l l he was promoted and agai n ,

the protests pou red i n so m u ch so that h is M aj esty

,

seemed to y ield O n the day fol lowi ng th i s the

.

K i n g wrote out for h i m the o ffi ce o f V i c e P r e si d e n t s

of al l the L i ter ati .

138 KO RE AN I MPS GHOSTS AND FA I R IE S ,

The hi gh o ffi c i al s gathe red agai n and i n qu i red

o f o n e another as to w hat the K i n g mean t a n d ,
“
what they had bette r d o abou t i t I f we d o n o t .

i n some way preven t i t he w i l l appo i n t h i m as

,

Presiden t of the L i tera ti They deci ded to drop

.

the m atter for the presen t an d se e later w hat was ,

best to do .

A roya l ban quet was a n nou n ced to take place ,

w he n al l the offi cials gathered O n t h is occasion .

the h igh M i n isters of S tate sa i d qu ietly to the Ki n g ,

“
I t i s n ot fi tti n g that so obscu re a perso n have so
’
i mportan t a n o ffi ce You r M ajesty s promoti n g
.

h im as you have don e h as throw n the w hole offi cial

body i n to a state O f consternation O n ou r p rotest .

y o u have merely promoted h im more What is .

’
you r M ajesty s reaso n please fo r th is action
, ,

The Ki n g made n o reply b u t ordered a eu n uch ,

to b ri n g the B oo k o f Chan ges H e opened i t at .

the place o f special d i ffi cu lty and i n qu i red as to ,

i ts mean i n g E ve n amon g the h ighest m i n isters

.

not o n e cou ld gi ve a n an swe r H e i n qu i red by .

n am e o f th is on e and that b u t al l were sil en t The

, .

“
Ki n g the n sa i d , I am greatly i nterested i n the
readi n g o f the B ook of C han ges ; i t is the great
book of the sages A ny o n e who u nderstan ds i t
.

su rely ou ght to be promoted Y o u al l o f y o u fai l .

, ,

to g rasp i ts mean i n g w h i le Y o o whom you protest

, ,
1 40 KO RE AN I MP S , GHOS T S AN D F A I R IE S

such happen i n gs i ndeed ! S o al l men wondered

,

ove r what had befal len these tw o . I however

, ,
’
wo ndered more over the K i n g s sagaci ty i n fi ndi n g
them To my day h i s vi rtue an d accom pl ishmen ts
.

are kn own so that the world cal ls h im Ko r ea s

,
’

Ki n g o f the Golde n A ge .

I M B A NG .
 XX V I I I

A N E NC O U N TE R W IT H A H O B G O B L IN
I G OT myself i nto troub le i n the year Pyon g si n -
,

a n d was locked up ; a m i l itary ma n by the name

of Cho i Won so w h o was captai n of the guard

-
, ,

was i n vol ved i n i t an d locked up as wel l We .

often met i n priso n an d w h i led away the hou rs

tal ki n g together O n a ce r ta i n day t he tal k turn ed
.

o n gob l i n s when Captai n Cho i sa id Whe n I was

, ,

you n g I m et w ith a hobgob l i n wh ich by the frac , ,

t ion of a hai r al most cost m e my l ife A stran ge

, .

case i n deed l
I as ked h i m to tel l m e of i t when he repl ied I , ,

had ori gi nal ly n o home i n Seou l b ut heari n g of a ,

vacan t place i n B el t Tow n I made appl ication a nd

,

got i t We wen t there my father a nd the rest of

.
,

the fam i ly occu pyi n g the i n ner quarters w hi le I ,

l i ved i n the fron t room .

“
O n e n i ght late w hen I w as hal f asleep the door
, , ,

sudden ly open ed an d a woman came i n an d stood

,

j ust before the lamp I saw her cle arly an d k n ew

.
,

that sh e was from the home o f a scholar friend fo r ,

I had seen her before an d had been greatly attracted

14 1 .
1 42 KO R E AN I MPS GHOS TS AND F A I R IE S,

by her beauty b ut had n ever had a cha nce to meet

,

her Now seei n g her en ter the room thu s I greeted

.
, ,

her gladly b ut she made n o reply I arose to take

,
.

he r by the ha nd when sh e began wal k i n g back

'

wa rds so that my ha n d n ever reached her

, I .

rushed towards her b u t S he h astened her back ward

,

pace so that sh e el uded me We reached the gate

, .
,

wh ich S he opened w i th a rear k ick an d I fol lowed ,

on after ti l l S h e sudden ly di sappeared I searched

, .

o n al l sides b ut n o t a tr ace was there o f her I

,
.

thought S h e had m erely hi dden herse lf and never ,

drea m ed o f anyth i n g else .

“
O n the n ext n i ght sh e ca m e agai n an d stood
before t he lam p j ust as sh e had done the n i ght
previo us I got u p an d agai n tri ed to take hold
.

of her b u t agai n sh e bega n her pecu l iar pace back

,

wards ti l l sh e passed out at the gate and di sappeared

,

j ust as she had done the day before I was o nce .

more su rp rised an d d isappoi n ted b ut d id n ot th i n k ,

of he r bei n g a hob gob l i n .

“
A few days later at n i ght I had lai n down , , ,

w hen sudden ly there was a sou n d of crac kl i ng

paper overhead from ab ove the cei l i n g A fo r .

b iddi n g creepy sou n d i t se emed i n the m idn i ght

, .

A momen t later a cu rtai n was l et dow n that d ivided

the room i nto tw o parts A gai n later a large fi r e .
, ,

of coals descen ded right i n fron t of me w hi le an ,

im men se heat fi lled the place Where I was seemed .

1 44 KO R E AN I MPS GHOSTS AN D FA I R I E S ,

h u rt h im don t h u rt h i m ,
and he on the other
’
,

ha nd cried Never y o u m i n d ; n on e o f you r b usi

, ,

n ess . They shouted The ma n i s a gentleman of

’
,
’
the m i l itary class ; d o n o t h urt h im .

“
Th e fel low merely said i n reply E ve n though ,

he i s i t s n on e of you r b usi ness

,
’
so he took m e

by the two ha n ds an d fl u n g m e up i n to the ai r ti l l ,

I wen t hal f way and m ore to heave n Then i n my

- .

fal l I wen t shooti n g past Kyon g ke u i Provi nce past -

,

Choon g chon g an d at last fel l to t he grou n d i n

-
,

Ch u l l a I n my fl igh t th rou gh space I saw al l the

.

cou n ty tow n s of the three provi nces as clear as day .

A gai n i n Chu l la he tossed m e up once more A gai n

‘

I wen t shooti n g u p i n to the sk y a n d fal l i n g n ort h

ward ti l l I fou n d m ysel f at hom e lyi n g stu pe fi e d
, ,

be l ow the veran dah terrace On ce more I cou ld .

hear the voices of the grou p i n the garde n shouti n g ,

’
Don t hu rt h i m — h u rt h i m
’
B u t the ma n sa i d .
,

Non e of you r b usi n ess— you r b usi n ess .

’

“
H e took me up o nce m ore an d fl u n g me u p
agai n a n d away I wen t speedi n g o ff to Ch ul la an d
, ,

back I came agai n t w o o r three times i n a l l,

.

“
Then o ne o f the grou p i n the garden cam e
forward took my tormentor by the han d an d led
,

h i m away They al l met fo r a l i ttle to tal k a n d

.

l au gh over the m atter and the n scattered an d were ,

gon e so that they were n o t seen aga i n

, .

“
I lay motio n less at the foot of the terrace ti l l
AN E N C O U N TE R W ITH A HO B G O B L I N 1 45

the fol low i n g morn i n g w hen my fathe r fou n d m e

,

an d had me taken i n ha nd an d c ared fo r so that I

,

came to a nd we al l left the hau nted hou se never to

, ,
”
g o bac k .

N o te .
—T here
are var ious reaso n s b y wh ich a
place may be denom i nated a hau n ted house .The
fact that there are hobgob l i n s i n i t m akes i t ha u nted .

“
I f a good o r superior ma n en ters such a place
t he gob l i n s move away a n d n o word of b ei n g
,

hau nted wi l l be he ard Cho i saw the gob l i n a nd

.

was greatly i nj ured .

I u nderstan d that i t i s n ot o n ly a question of m en

feari n g the gob l i n s b ut they a lso fear me n Th e
, .

fact that there are so few peop le that they fea r i s

the saddest case of al l C hoi was a fraid of the
.

gob l i n s that i s w hy they troub led h i m

, .

I M B A NG .
 XX I X

S N A KE S
’
THE RE VEN GE

T H E RE l i ved i n ancien t days a n a rcher whose ,

home was near the W ater Gate o f Seou l He was .

a man of great stren gth a n d famou s for h i s valou r .

Wate r Gate has reference to a hole u n der the

ci ty wa l l by w h ic h the waters of th e G ran d Ca nal
,

fi n d thei r exit I n i t are i ron p ickets to preven t

.

people s en teri n g o r departi n g by that way

’
.

O n a certai n afternoon w he n th i s m i l itary O fficer

w as tak i n g a wal k a great snake was see n maki ng
,

i ts way by mean s of the Water Gate T he sn ake s .

’

head had al ready passed between the bars b ut its ,

body b ei n g larger cou ld not get th rou gh so there

, , ,

i t was held fast The soldier drew a n a rrow a n d

.
, ,

fi tti n g i t i n t o the stri n g shot the sn ake i n the head

, .

I ts head bei n g fatal ly i n j ured the creatu re died ,

.

T he archer then drew i t out pou n ded i t i nto a pu l p

, ,

an d l eft i t .

A l ittle ti me later the man s wi fe concei ved an d ’

bore a son F rom the fi rst the ch i l d was afraid

.

of i ts father an d when i t saw h i m i t u sed to cry

,

an d seem greatly frighte n ed A s i t grew i t hated .

1 46
1 48 KO R E AN I MPS GHOSTS AND F A I R IE S
,

beco m i n g my so n w as a horrib l e deed S uch a .

t hi n g as th i s is p roof that my s u sp icion s of yo u

were ri ght a n d j ust Y o u became my so n i n order
.

to ki l l m e you r father ; w hy therefore shoul d I not

, , ,

i n m y tu rn ki l l yo u ? I f you attem pt i t agai n i t ,

w i l l certai n ly e n d i n my taki n g you r l ife You .

have al ready had you r reven ge an d ha v e o nce ,

more tran s m i grated i n to you r ori gi na l shape let ,

u s drop the past an d be friends from now on .

What d o y o u say ?
H e repeated th is over an d u rged h i s p roposa ls ,

w hi le the snake w ith bowed head seemed t o l isten

i n ten tly H e then open ed the door a n d said No w
.
,

y o u may g o as y o u please The s nake then

.

departed mak i n g strai ght fo r the Wate r Gate an d

, ,

passed out between the bars I t did n o t agai n .

appear .

N o te —. M an i s a spi ri tual bei n g an d di ff eren t ,

from al l other created th i n gs an d thou gh a snake

,

has powe r o f ven om i t i s sti l l an i n si gn i fi can t th i n g

,

com pared w i th a man T he sn ake d ied an d by

.
,

mean s of the tran sm i gration o f its sou l took i ts

reven ge M a n d ies b u t I have n e v er heard that
.
,

he can tran sm igrate as the sn ake did Why i s i t .

that tho ugh a spi ritual bei n g he is u n ab le to d o

what beasts d o ? I have see n m an y i n nocen t men
k i l led b ut n o t o n e of them has ever retu rned to
,
 ’
T H E S NA KE S R E V E N G E

take h is reven ge on the lawless o n e w ho did it a n d

,

so I won der more than ever ove r these stories of

’
the sn ake Th e S u perior M an s k now i n g n othi n g
.

o f the law that govern s these th i n gs is a regret to

me .

I M B A NG .
 X X X

T H E B R A VE M A GI S TR ATE
IN olden ti mes i n on e o f the cou n ties of North
Ham -kyon g P r ovi n ce there was a n evi l smel l i n g
,
-

gob l i n that cau sed great destructio n to l i fe S uc .

c e ssi v e m agistrates appeared b u t i n ten days or so

,

after arri val i n each case they died i n great agon y

, ,

SO that n o man w ished to have the b i l let or a ny

th i n g to d o w ith the p lace A h u n dred or m ore
.

w ere asked to take the post b u t they al l refused , .

A t last o n e b rave soldier w h o was w i thou t an y

,

i n fluen ce soc ial ly or po l itical ly accepted He was ,

.

a cou rageous man stron g an d fearless

, He .

“
thought E ve n thou gh there i s a devi l there al l
, ,

men w i l l n ot di e su rely I shal l make a trial of

, .

”
him . S O he sai d h i s farewel l an d e n tered o n ,

hi s O ffi ce H e fou n d h i msel f alon e i n the y am e n

.
,

as al l others had taken fl i ght He co n sta n tly .

carried a lon g k n i fe at h is be lt a n d we n t th us ,

armed for he noticed from the fi rst day a fi shy

, ,

sti n ki n g O dou r that grew gradual ly more an d more

,

m ark ed .

A fter fi v e or si x days he took n ote too that what , ,

1 50
152 KO R E AN I MPS GHOS TS AND F A I R IE S
,

prepare h i m for b uri al w hen su dden ly he came to

,

l i fe looked at them i n an ger a n d asked what they

, ,

mea n t. F ear a n d amazeme n t possessed them .

F rom t hat ti me on there was n o more smel l.

I M B A NG
.
 XXX I

TH E TE M P LE TO T H E GO D OF WAR

[ Y I H ANG BO K —When he w as a ch i ld
- . a blind
fortu n e tel ler came a n d c ast h i s fu tu re
-
, sayi n g,

“ ”
Th is b oy w i l l be very great i ndeed .

A t seven years of age h i s father ga v e h im fo r

“
s u bj ect to w rite a verse o n Th e Harp a nd the
S w ord an d he wrote
,

Th e S w ord pe r t ai n s t o th e H an d o f th e W arr i o r
An d t h e H arp t o th e M u si c o f th e A n c i e n t s ”
.

A t e ight he took the subject of the Wi l low

”
before the D oo r , an d wrote
Th e c ast i d b ru sh e s th e b r o w of th e c l i ff
w n
'

A n d th e w i ll ow on t h e e dg e n o d s fr e sh an d g r e e n .

O n seei n g a p ictu re o f a great ban quet amon g

the fi erce Tu rks o f Ce n tral A sia he wrote thus ,

Th e h unt is o ff i n t h e w i l d d ar k h i ll s,
A n d th e m o o n i s c ol d a n d g r a y ,
W h i l e th e t r am ping fe e t of a t h ou san d h or se
Ri n g on th e fros ty w ay .

I n th e te n ts of k th e m u si c th ri ll s
th e Tu r
A n d th e w i n e c u p s C h i n k for j o y
-
,
’
Mid t h e n oi se O f th e d an c e r s savag e tre ad ’

An d th e l i l t o f t h e w i l d h au t b o y .

l 53
15 4 KO R E AN I MPS GHOSTS AND FA I R I E S ,

A t twe l ve years of age he was prou d we are told , ,

an d hau ghty He dressed wel l a nd was e nvied by

.
,

the poore r lads o f the place an d o nce he took o ff ,

h is coat an d gave i t to a boy w h o looked w ith

en vy on h i m He gave hi s shoes as we l l an d cam e
.
,

back barefoot H i s mother w ishi n g to k n ow h i s

.
,

m i n d i n the m atter pretended to repri man d h i m

, ,

“
b u t he repl ied sayi n g M othe r when others
, , ,
”
wan ted it so how cou ld I refu se gi vi n g ?
, H is
mother pon dered these th i n gs i n he r heart .

Whe n he was fifteen he was stron g an d wel l

b u i lt a n d l i k ed vi gorous e x ercise so that he w as
, ,

a noted wrestler a n d sk i l fu l at shu ttlecoc k H is .

mother however frow n ed upo n these th i n gs

, , ,

say i n g that they were not d i gn ified so that he ,

gave them u p an d con fi ned h is atten ti on to

l itera r y studies graduati n g at twen ty fi v e years
,
-

of age .

I n 1 5 9 2 du ri n g the J apan ese W ar w hen the K i n g

, ,

escaped to E u i j u Y i Han g b o k wen t with h i m i n

-
,
-

h is fl i ght an d there he m et the Ch i n ese ( M i n g )

,

represen tative w ho sai d i n su rp ri se to h is M aj esty

, ,

“
D o you mea n to tel l me that you have m en i n
”
C h o se n l i ke Y i Han g bok ?
- Y a n g H O the
-
,

gene ral of the res cu i n g forces also con ti n ual ly ,

referred to h i m for advice an d cou n sel He l i ved .

to see the troub les i n the rei gn of the w icked

Kwan g hai a n d at last we n t i n to exi l e to P uk

-
,
15 6 KO R E AN I MPS GHOSTS AND FA I R IES
,

sen d ou t al l h i s retai n ers ti l l he tal ked to h im

pri vately They were sen t out an d then the
.
,

stran ger gave h i s message A fter he had fi n ished

.
,

he sa i d good bye an d left

- .

Y i had at that ti me an O ld fri en d stopp i n g w ith

h i m The frien d w en t ou t w i th the s ervan ts whe n
.

they were a sked to leave a n d n ow he came back

,

a ga i n When he came i n he n oticed that the face

.

of the master h ad a very pecu l iar expression a nd ,

he asked h i m the reason o f i t Y i made n o

.

reply at fi rst b u t later told h i s frien d that a very

,

extraord i nary th i n g had happen e d The m i l i ta ry .

ma n w h o had come a n d ca l led w as non e other

than a m essen ger of the God of War H is com i n g .
,

too was o n accou n t of thei r n o t yet havi n g decided

,
“
i n regard to the si te for the Te m ple He cam e .
,

said Y i to S how m e where i t ou ght to be

, He .

u rged that i t was not a matter for ti me o n ly b ut for ,

the etern i ties to come I f we d o n ot get i t ri ght

.

the God O f War w i l l fi n d n o peace I told h i m .

in reply that I wou l d d o m y best Was th is n ot .

stran ge ?
The frien d w h o heard this was greatly exercised ,

b u t Y i warned h i m n o t to repeat i t to a ny o n e .

Y i used al l h is e ff orts a n d at last the b u i ldi n g was

,

placed on the approved si te where it now s tands

, .

I M B A NG .
 XXX I I

A V I S I T F R O M T H E S H A DE S

[ C H O I Y U W O N
-
( The
. story
-
of meeti n g h is
mother s ghost i s re ported to be of th i s man )
’
.

Choi Y u wo n matricu lated i n 1 5 7 9 a n d graduated

-

i n 1 60 2 becom i n g C hief J u stice an d havi n g con

,

ferred o n h i m the ra n k o f pri nce When he was .

a b oy h is great-a u n t on ce gave h i m cloth fo r a

su i t of clothes b u t he refused to accept o f i t an d
, ,

from th is h is a u n t prophesied that he would yet

become a famous man He studied i n the home
.

of the great teacher Y u l gok an d Y u l gok also -

,
-

foretold that the day wou ld come w hen h e wou ld

be a n honou r to Korea .

Y u won once met Chan g H an kan g an d i n qu i red

- -

of hi m concern i n g P y on w h a K e u i j i l ( a law by
- -

w hic h the weak became stron g the w icked good , ,

a n d the stu pi d w ise ) H e a l so asked that i f o n e

.

be tru ly transform ed wi l l the sou l chan ge as wel l

as the body or the body o n ly ? Chan g repl ied
, ,

B oth are chan ged fo r how cou ld the body chan ge

,
”
wi thou t the so u l ? Y u w o n asked Yu l g o k co n
- -

I S7
15 8 KO R E AN I MPS GHOSTS AND FA I R IES ,

’
cer n i n g th is also an d Y u l g o k repl ied that C han g s
,
-

words were true .

I n 1 60 7 Choi Y u w o n memorial i z ed the K i n g

-
,

cal l i n g atten tio n to a l etter recei ved from J apan i n

a nswer to a com mu n icatio n sen t by h is M aj esty ,

wh ich had o n its address the n ame of the P rim e

M i n i ster w ritten a space lowe r than good form
,

requ i red Th e Korean e n voy had n ot protested

. ,

as duty wou ld requ i re of h i m a n d yet the Ki n g ,

had advanced h i m i n ran k The various o ffi cial s .

com men ded h i m for h i s cou rage .

I n 1 6 1 2 w h i l e he was Ch ie f J ustice K i n g
, ,

Kwan g hai tried t o degrade the ! ueen Dowager

-
,

w h o was n o t h i s own m o the r he bei n g born o f a ,

con cub i n e b u t Y u won be sou ght h i m w i th tears

,
-

n ot to d o so i l legal a n d u n natu ral a th i n g St i l l .

the K i n g overrode al l opposition an d d id accordi n g ,

to h i s u n fi l i al w i ll I n i t al l Cho i Y u won was

.
-

proven a go od man an d a j ust H e u se d to say .

“
t o h i s com pan ion s even as a youth
, Death is ,
’
dreadfu l b u t sti l l better death fo r ri ghteousn ess
, ,

sake an d hon ou r than l i fe i n d isgrace A nother .

“ ’
sayi n g of h i s r un s A l l o n e s study i s fo r the
,

developmen t of character ; i f i t en ds not i n that i t

”
i s i n vai n .

’
Korea s ancien t bel ief was t hat the b lood of a
faithfu l so n served as a n el ixi r o f l i fe to the dyi n g ,

so that when h i s mother was at the poi n t of death

1 60 KO R E AN I MPS GHOSTS A ND FA I R IES ,

fou r seasons also o n the fi rst an d fi fteen th of ea ch

,

m on th
’
. Why do yo u g o to a servan t s hou se an d
n o t to m i n e

The mother repl i ed You r sacri fi ces are of n o

,

i n terest to me I l i ke the prayers of the w itches I f

,
.

there i s no medi u m we spi rits fi n d n o satisfaction .

” “
I am i n a h u rry said sh e , an d ca n not wai t ,

”
l o nger ,
so she spoke her farewel l an d was gon e .

T he secreta ry awoke w i th a start b u t fel t that ,

he had actual ly see n w hat had co m e to pass .

H e then cal l ed a servan t an d told h im to go at

once to S o an d S o s hou se i n Yon g san an d tel l
- -
’
-
,

a certa i n serva n t to com e that n ight w i thout fai l .

“ ” “
Go q u ick ly ,
said the secretary so that you can ,
”
be back b efore I en ter the Palace Then he sat .

do w n to medi tate over it .

I n a l i ttle th e servan t had gon e a n d come agai n .

I t was n ot yet broad dayl ight an d beca u se i t was ,

cold the servant d id n o t e n ter stra ight b u t we n t ,

fi rst i n to the k itchen to warm h i s han ds be fore the

fi re. There was a fel lo w servan t there w h o asked -

“ ”
him , Have yo u had someth i n g to dri n k ?
“
H e repl ied They are havi n g a b i g wi tch b usi
,

ness o n at Yo n g san an d w hi le the m u tan g ( w itch )

-
,

was perform i n g sh e sa i d that the sp i ri t that pos

,

sessed her was the mother o f the master here O n .

my ap pearance sh e cal led o u t m y n a m e an d said ,

‘ ’
Th is i s a servan t from o u r house The n she .
 A V IS I T F R OM TH E SH A DE S 161

cal led m e an d gave m e a b i g gl ass of sp iri t S he .

added fu rt her O n my way here I m et m y so n

,
’
goi n g i n to the Palace .

Th e se creta ry o v e r h e at i n g this tal k from the

,

room where he was wai ti n g b roke dow n an d

,

bega n to cry H e cal led i n the servan t an d made

.

f u l ler i n qu i ry an d more than e v er he fe l t assu red

,

that h is mother s spi ri t had real ly gone that morn

’

i n g to share i n the k o ot ( w itches sacri fi cia l cere

’

mon y ) H e then cal led the m u tan g an d i n be half

.
,

of t he spi ri t of h i s mother made her a great o ff er

i n g E ver afterwa rds he sac r i fi ce d to her fou r
.

ti mes a year at each return i n g season .

I M B A NG .
 XXX I I I

T H E FE A R LE S S C A P T A I N
T H ERE was formerly a soldier Yee M an j i of ,
-

Yon g n am a stron g an d m u scu lar fel low a n d b rave

-
, ,

as a l ion H e had green eyes an d a terrib le cou n

.

“
te n an ce . F requen tly he said F ear ! What i s
,

fear O n a certai n day w hen he was i n h i s house

a sudden storm of rai n cam e o n when there were ,

flashes of l ightn i n g an d heavy claps o f thu n der .

A t o ne o f them a great bal l of fi r e came tu mb l i n g

I n to h is home an d wen t rol l i n g over the vera ndah ,

throu gh the ro oms i n to the k itchen an d o u t i n to

,
’
the ya rd a n d agai n i nto the se rvants quarters
,
.

Sever al times i t wen t an d cam e bou nci ng about I ts .

b l az i n g l ight a nd the accom pany i n g noise made i t a

th i n g of terro r .

Yee sat i n the o uter veran dah whol ly u ndi s ,

t u rb e d
. H e tho ught to h imsel f I have done n o
,
”
w ro n g therefo r e why n eed I fear the l i ghtn i n g ?
,

A mom en t later a flash struck the large el m t ree i n

fron t of the house a n d smashed it to p ieces Th e
’
.

rai n t hen cea sed an d the th u nder l i kew i se .

Yee tu rned to se e h ow i t fared wi th h i s fam i ly ,

162
164 KO R E AN I MPS GHOSTS AND FA I R IES ,

O ffi ce I f y o u ha v e a ny co m p lai n t or matter to se t
”
’
right say so an d I l l se e to i t
, ,
.

“ ’
The m iddle devi l sai d i n reply I m h u n gry I m ,
’
,
’ ”
h u n gry I m h u n gry
,
.

“
Yee an swered H u n gry , a r e yo u ? V ery wel l
, ,

n o w j ust m o ve b ac k a n d I l l have f oo d prepared fo r

’

”
you i n ab u n dan ce H e the n rep e ated a m ag ic
.

form u l a that h e had learned a n d snapped h i s ,

fi n gers Th e three d evi l s seemed to b e afrai d o f

.
‘

th i s. Then M an j i su dden ly closed h i s fi st a n d

-

struck a b low at the fi rst dev i l I t dodged however .

, ,

most deftly a n d he m issed b ut h i t the fl oo r a ,

sou n di n g b low that cu t h is ha n d .

“ ’ ’
The n they al l sh p u te d We l l go we l l go si nce, , ,

”
yo u treat guests th us A t o n ce th ey b u nd led ou t
.

of the room an d di sappeared .

O n the fol low i n g day h e had oxen k i l l ed a nd a

sacri fi ce o ff ered to these devi ls a nd they retu rn ed ,

no more .

N ate —
M en have been ki l led by gob l i ns Th i s
. .

i s n o t so m uch due to the fact that gob l i n s ar e

w i cked as to the fact that men are afra i d o f them .

Ma ny d ied i n North Ham -kyon g b ut those agai n ,

w h o were b rave a nd clove the m wi th a k n i fe o r

, ,

struck them down l ived I f they had been afraid

, .
,

they to o wou l d have died .

I M B A NG .
 XXX I V

T H E KI N G O F Y O M N A ( HE LL ) -

[ P AK C H OM w as o n e of the R oyal Censors a n d ,

died i n the J apan ese Wa r of

Th e S tor y

I n Yo n nan Cou n ty Whan g ha i P rovi nce there

-
,
-
,

was a certai n l iterary graduate whose na m e I have

forgotten . H e fel l i l l o n e day an d remai ned i n
h i s room lean i n g help lessly agai nst h i s arm -rest
, .

S udden ly se v eral sp i ri t soldie rs a ppea r ed to hi m ,

“
sayi n g The Governor o f the lower hel l h as ordered
,
”
you r ar r est so they bou nd h i m w i th a chai n abou t
,

h i s n eck an d led h im away

, They journeyed for
.

man y hu ndreds of m i les an d at last reached a place

,

that had a very h i gh wal l T he sp iri ts then took

.

h i m w ith i n the wal ls an d wen t o n fo r a lon g distance .

There w as w i t h i n th is enclosu re a great structu re

w hose height reached to heaven They arri ved at
.

the gate an d the spi rits w ho had hi m i n han d led

,

h i m i n an d w hen they en tered the i n ner cou rtyard

,

they laid h i m dow n o n h i s face .

G lanci ng u p he sa w what looked l i ke a k i n g seated

1 65
1 66 KO R E AN I MPS , GHOS TS AND FA I R IE S

on a th ron e ; grouped about h i m o n each side were

atten dan t o ffi cers There were also scores of
.

secretaries a n d so ldiers goi n g an d com i n g o n

’
p ressi n g errands Th e K i n g s appearance w as most
.

terrib le a n d h i s comman ds such as to fi ll on e w ith

,

awe The gradu ate fel t the pe rsp i ration b reak o ut

.

o n h i s back an d he dared n o t look u p

, I n a l i ttle a .

sec r etary came forward st ood i n fro nt of the raised ,

dais to tra n sm i t comm an ds an d the Ki n g asked , ,

Where d o you come from What i s you r n ame ?

H o w old are you W h at d o y o u d o fo r a l i vi n g ?
”
Tel l me the truth now and n o d issem b l i n g ,
.

The scholar frighten ed to death repl ied

, My , ,

cla n n ame i s S o an d so a n d my given name i s S O

- -
,

and so I am so old an d I ha v e l ived fo r severa l

- .
,

gen eration s at Yon nan W han g hai P rov i nce I

-
,
- .

am stup i d and i l l equ i pped by n ature so have n o t

-
,

done a ny th i n g special I have hear d al l my l i fe

.

that i f you say you r beads wi th love an d p i ty i n

you r heart y o u w i l l escape hel l an d so ha v e given ,

m y ti me to cal l i n g o n the B uddha an d di spen si ng

.
,
”
alms .

The secretary heari n g th is wen t at o nce an d

, ,

reported i t to the Ki n g A fter som e tim e h e came .

“
back w i th a m essage say i n g Come up closer to , ,

t h e steps fo r you are n o t the pe rson i n ten ded

,
It .

happens that you bear the same name an d y o u have

”
thu s been w ro ngly arrested Y o u may go n ow . .
1 68 KO R E AN I MPS GHOSTS AND FA I R IES ,

The rep ly was P r epare a sacr ifice o ff er the coat

, ,
”
by fi re an d i t wi l l reach m e
,
.

H e then b ade good bye a n d the Ki n g sen t w i th

-
,

h i m two soldie r guards H e asked th e so ldiers as .

,

they came out w h o the o n e seated o n the thron e

,
“ ” “
w as . He i s the K i n g o f Hades said they ; h is ,

su rn am e i s P ak a n d h i s gi v e n n ame i s
They a r r ived at the ban k of a ri ve r a n d the tw o ,

S ol diers p ushed hi m i nto the water H e awoke w ith .

a st ar t , and fou n d that he had been dead fo r three

days .

When he recovered f rom h i s sick n ess he came u p

to S eou l searched o u t the house i n dicated a n d
, ,

m ade carefu l i nq u i ry as to the n am e fi n di n g that i t ,

was n o other than Pa k O o Pak 0 0 had two sons .

,

who at that time had graduated an d were holdi n g

o ffi ce T he graduate w a n ted to see the son s of th is
.

Ki n g of Hades b u t the gate k eeper wou ld not let

,

h im i n Therefore he stood before the red gate

.

wait i n g help lessly ti l l the su n wen t down Then .

came o u t from the I n ner quarters o f the house an O l d

servan t to w hom he earn estly made petition tha t he
,

m i ght se e the master O n bei n g t h u s r e quested the

.
,

ser v a n t retu rned a nd repo rt ed i t to the master w h o , ,

a l i ttle later ordered h im i n O n en teri n g he saw

, .
,

two gen tlemen w h o seemed to b e ch i efs They had .

h i m si t dow n a nd then questio ned h i m as to w h o he

,

w as an d w hat he had to sa
y .
 TH E KI N G O F Y OM NA ( HE LL ) -
1 69

H e rep l ied I am a studen t l iv i n g i n Yon na n

,
-

Cou n ty , Whan g ha i P rov i nce O n such an d such

‘
- .

a day I died an d wen t i n to the other world where

.
,

you r hon orab le father gave me such a n d such a

”
comm ission .

Th e two l istened fo r a l i ttle a n d then w ithou t ,

waiti n g to hear al l that he had to sa y grew very ,

an gry a nd b ega n to scold h im sayi n g How dare , ,

such a sca recro w as y o u come i nto o u r house an d

say such th i n gs as these Th is is stu ff a nd nonsense
”
that y o u talk P itch h i m out they shouted to th e
.
,

servan ts .

He howe v er cal led back say in g I ha v e a proof

, , ,
”
l isten I f i t fai ls w hy then p i tch me out
.
, , .

O n e of the tw o sa id Wh at possib le p roof can

,

y o u have ? Then the scholar told w ith great

exactn ess and care the sto r y of the h ead b u tto n .

The two i n asto n ish men t over this had the book
, ,

taken down an d exam i ned an d su re e nough i n V ol

!
,
.

I I I of the B ook of H isto ry w as the b utton referred

Not a si n gle partic u lar had fai led I t proved to
'

to. .

be a bu tton that they had m issed after the death of

thei r father an d that they had searched for i n vai n
, .

A ccepti n g t he m essage now as true they all ,

entered u po n a peri od of mou rn i n g .

The wom e n of the fam i ly al so ca l led i n the

scholar an d asked h i m special ly of what he had
see n S O they made the outer coat chose a day an d
.
, ,
170 KO R E AN I MP S , GHOS TS AND F A I R I ES

off ered i t by fi re befo re th e an cestra l alta r Th ree .

days after the sac ri fice the S cholar dreamed a nd the ,

fami ly of Pak dreamed too that the Ki ng o f H ades

,

had come and gi ven to each on e o f them h i s than ks

fo r the coat They lon g kept the scholar at thei r
.

h ome treati n g h i m wi th great respect an d becam e

, ,

h i s fi r m friends for eve r after .

Pak 0 0 was a great gra ndson of M i n ister P ak

-

Chom Wh i l e he hel d o ffi ce he was honest an d j ust

.

an d w as h igh ly ho nou red by the people When h e .

was M ayor o f Ha i j u there arose a dispute b etween

-

hi m and the Governor w h ich proved also that Pak

,

was the hon est m an .

W he n I was at Ha i j u C ho i Y u c hom a
-
,
-
,

graduate told m e th i s story

,
.

I M B A NG .
172 KO R E AN I M P S GHOSTS AND FA I R IES ,

Then the frien ds a n d relati ves left an d h i s w i fe ,

remai ned alon e i n char ge O f a sudden the body .

turn ed i tsel f an d fel l w ith a th ud to the grou n d .

The woman fri ghten ed fai n ted away and the other
, , ,

members o f the fam i ly cam e rush i n g to her help .

F rom th is time o n the body resu med i ts fu nctions ,

an d Hon g l i ved .

“
S ai d he I n m y dream I wen t to a certai n region
, ,

a p lace o f great fea r w here ma ny perso n s were

sta n di n g arou n d a nd awfu l ogres some of them
, ,
’
weari n g b u l ls heads a n d som e w i th faces o f w i ld
,

beasts . Th ey crowded about an d j u mped and

pou nced toward m e i n al l d i recti on s A scribe .

robed i n b lack sat o n a platform a nd addressed m e ,

sayi n g T here are th ree rel igion s o n ea rth Co n

, ,

fu c i a n i sm B uddh ism a nd Taoi sm

, A ccordi n g to .

B uddh ism you k now that heaven an d hel l are

,
’
p laces that deci de between ma n s good an d evi l
deeds You h ave eve r b ee n a b l asphemer of the
.

B uddha a nd a den ier of a futu re l ife acti n g always

, ,

as thou gh y o u k n ew everyth i n g b lusteri n g an d ,

storm i n g You are now to be sen t to hel l an d ten

.
,

1 ’
thou sa n d kal pas w i l l n ot see you ou t of i t .

“
Then tw o o r three con stab les carryi n g spears
‘
came an d too k m e off I scream ed You a re
.
,
’
wron g I am i n n ocentl y con dem ned
, J ust at that .

momen t a certai n B uddha w i th a face of sh i n i n g ,

Ka lpa m e an s a B u ddh i st i c age .

 H O NG S E X P E R IE N CES I N H A DE S
’
173

gold cam e sm i l i n g toward m e a nd said There is

, , ,

tru ly a m istake somew here ; th is ma n m ust attai n to

the age o f eighty three a n d become a n o ffi cer of the
-

’
S econ d Degree ere he d ies Then addre ssi n g m e .

he asked H o w i s i t that you have come here ?

,

T he order was that a certa i n Hon g o f C ho n j u b e -

arrested a nd b rou ght n ot you ; b ut n o w that you

,

have come loo k ab ou t the p lace before you go a n d

, ,
’
tel l the world afterwa rds o f what y ou have seen .

The g uards on heari n g th is took m e i n hand

, ,

a n d b rou gh t m e fi rst to a prison ho use where a S ign -

,
’
was posted up marked Sti rrers u p of S tri fe
, , I .

saw i n thi s priso n a great b razi er shaped p it b u i l t -

,

of stones an d fi l led w ith fi re F lames arose an d forked

.

to ngu es The sti rrers up of stri fe were taken an d

.

made to si t close before i t I then saw o n e i n fe r n al

.

guard ta ke a lon g rod o f i ro n heat i t red-hot an d , ,

put out the eyes o f the gu i lty ones I saw a lso that .

the o ff en ders were h u n g u p l i ke dried fi sh The .

gu ides who accom pan ied m e said Wh i le these , ,

were o n earth they did not loV e thei r brethren b u t ,

looked at others as en em ies They sco ff ed at the .

laws o f Go d a n d sought on ly sel fi sh gai n so they ,

are pu n i shed .
’

“
The n ext hel l was marked L iars I n that hel l , .
’

I saw an i ro n pi l lar o f several yards i n hei ght an d ,

great ston es p laced b efore i t The o ffen ders were .

ca l led u p an d m ade to k neel before the p i l lar

, .
174 KO R E AN I MP S GHOSTS AND F A I R IE S
,

Then I saw a n execu tio n er take a k n i fe a nd drive

a hol e th rou gh the ton gu es of the off enders pass ,

an i ron chai n throu gh e ach a n d han g them to the

,

pi llar so that they dan gled by thei r ton gues several

feet from the grou nd A ston e was then taken a nd
.

’
tied to eac h cu lpri t s feet The sto nes th us beari n g
.

down a nd the cha i ns bei n g fast to the p i l lar thei r

, ,

ton gues we r e pu l led out a foot o r more an d thei r ,

eyes rol l e d i n thei r sockets Thei r agon ies were

.

appal l i n g
. Th e gu ides a gai n said These ,

off e nders w hen o n earth u sed thei r ton gues sk i l fu l ly

to tel l l ies a n d to separate frien d f r o m fri end an d so ,

they are pu n i shed .

’

“
The n ext hel l had i n scribe d o n it Deceivers ,
.
’

I saw i n i t m any scores of people T here were ogres .

that cu t the fl esh f rom thei r bo d i es a n d fed i t to ,

s tarvi n g dem ons These ate and ate a nd the flesh

.
,

w as cu t and cut ti l l on ly the bon es rema i ned .

W hen th e wi nds of hel l b l ew fl esh retu rn ed to ,

them ; then meta l sn akes an d copper dogs c rowded

i n to b ite them an d suck thei r b lood The ir .

sc ream s of pai n made the earth to t remb le The .

gu ides sa i d to m e When the se O ff en ders were on

,

earth they hel d h i gh o ffi ce an d wh i le they pre

,

tended to be tru e and goo d they received b ribes i n

sec ret an d were doers of al l evi l A s M i n isters of .

S ta te they ate the fat of th e la n d an d sucked the

b lood of the peopl e an d yet advertised themselves
,
176 KO R E AN I MPS GHOSTS AND FA I R IE S
,

way I awaken ed w ith a start an d fou n d that I had ,

”
been dead fo r fou r days .

Hon g s m i n d was fi l led w ith pride o n th i s

’

accou n t , an d he freque ntly boasted o f i t H is age .

an d Secon d D egree of ran k cam e ab ou t j ust as the

B uddha had p redicted .

H i s experi ence alas ! w as used as a mean s t o

,

deceive people fo r the S u per ior M a n does n o t tal k

,

o f the se stran ge an d won derf u l th i n gs .

Y i Tan a C h i n am an of the S ong K i n gdom used

, ,
“
to say ,
I f th ere i s n o heaven there i s no heaven , ,

but i f there i s on e th e S uperior M a n alone can

,

attai n to i t I f there i s n o hel l there is n o hel l b u t

.
, ,

”
if there i s on e the bad man m u st i n h eri t i t .

’
I f we exam i n e Hon g s sto ry w h i le i t looks l i ke ,

a yar n to deceive the world i t real ly i s a story to

,

arou se o n e to ri ght action 1 I m B an g have

.
, ,
’
recorded i t l i ke Toi c h i say i n g Do n t fi nd fau l t
-
, ,

w i th the story b ut learn its lesson

,
.

I H B A NG .
 XXX V I

H AU N T E D H O U S E S

T H ERE o nce l ived a ma n i n Seou l cal led V i

Chan g w h o freque n tly told as an experience of hi s
,

own the fol lowi n g story : H e was p oo r an d had

no ho m e o f h is own so he l ived m uch i n quarters
,

loan ed h i m by others When hard p ressed he even

.

wen t i nto hau n ted houses an d l ived there O nce .

,

after fai l i n g to fi n d a place he heard of on e such

,

hou se i n I n k Tow n ( on e of the wards o f Seou l ) ,

at the foot of South M ou n ta i n which had been ,

hau n ted fo r gen erat i on s an d w as n o w left vacan t .

C han g i n vesti ga ted the matter an d fi n al ly decided

,

to take possession .

F i rst to fi n d whether i t was real ly hau nt e d or n ot

, ,

he cal led h is elder b rothers H ugh an d Haw a n d

, ,

fi v e o r six of h i s relati ves a n d h ad them help clean

,

i t ou t an d sleep there The house had o n e upper

.

room that was fast locked L oo ki n g throu gh a

.

ch i n k there wa s see n to be i n the roo m a tab let

,

chai r a n d a stan d for i t ; also there was a n o l d harp

wi thout an y stri n gs a pai r of worn shoes a n d som e
, ,

N 1 77
178 KO R E AN I MPS GHOS TS A ND FA I R I ES
,

sticks an d b its of wood Noth i n g else was i n the

.

room D ust lay th ick as thou gh i t had gathered

.
,

th rou gh lon g years of ti me .

The compan y after dri n k i n g w i n e sat rou n d

, ,

t he tab le an d played at games watch i n g the n ight ,

throu gh When i t was late towards m idn ight they

.
, ,

su dden ly heard the sou n d of harps a n d a great

m u lti tude of voices thou gh the words were m ixed
,

and u n i n tel l i gib le I t was as though man y peopl e

.

were gathered a n d carousi n g at a feast The .

com pa n y then con su lted as to what they shou l d do .

O n e dre w a sword an d struck a h ole th rough the

partition that looked i n to the towe r I n sta n tly .

there appeared f rom the other side a sha rp b lade

th ru st out towards them I t was b l ue i n c o lou r
. .

I n fear an d co n stern ation they desisted from further

i nterference wi th the place B u t the sou n d o f the.

ha rp a n d the revel ry kept u p t i l l the m orn i n g The .

compan y b roke up at dayl i ght w ithdrew from the ,

place a n d n ever agai n dared to en ter

, .

I n the South Wa rd there w as a nother hau nted

hou se of wh ich Chan g desi red possession so he
, ,

cal led h i s friends and b rothers once more to make

the experim en t a n d see w hether i t was real ly
hau n ted o r n o t O n en teri n g they fou n d tw o dogs
.
,

w ith i n the enclosu re o ne b lack a n d on e tan ly i n g

, ,

upo n the ope n verandah on e at each en d Thei r , .

eyes were fi ery red a n d thou gh the com pa ny

,
1 80 KO R E AN I MPS GH O STS AND FA I R IES ,

w i shed to k i l l the b rutes b u t were afraid so fear

, ,

som e was thei r appearance .

Th is n i ght agai n they rema i ned desiri n g to see ,

i f the same phenomen a wou l d appear A gai n at .

m idn ight the tw o dogs got dow n i nto the cou rt an d

bega n b ark i n g u p at the sky The ma n i n cere .

m on ial robes aga i n cam e a n d th e dev i ls j u st as the

, ,

day b efore .

The compa ny i n fear an d d isgu st left the

, ,

fol low i n g m orn i n g a nd di d n o t try i t agai n

,
.

A fri end heari n g th i s of Chan g wen t an d asked

, ,

abou t i t from H ugh an d H aw an d they co n fi rm ed ,

the story .

There i s sti l l a n other tale o f a g raduate w h o was

out of hou se and hom e an d wen t i n to a hau nted
dwel l i n g i n I n k Tow n w h ich was sa id to have had
,

the tower where the m ysteri ous s o u n ds were heard .

They open ed the door b roke o u t the w i n dow took , ,

out the O ld h ar p th e sp i ri t chai r the shoes a n d sticks

,
_
, ,

a n d had them b u rn ed B efore the fi r e had fi n i shed

.

i ts work on e of the servan ts fel l dow n a n d died

,
.

The graduate seei n g th is i n fear a n d dismay pu t

, ,

o u t the fi r e restored the th i n gs an d l eft the house

,
.

A gai n there was another ho m eless ma n w h o tried

i t I n the n ight a wo m an i n a b l ue sk i rt ca m e dow n
.

from the loft and acted i n a pecu l iar a n d u ncan ny

,

way The man seei n g th i s picked u p h is belon g

.
, ,

i n gs a n d left .
 H AUN T ED HO U SES

A ga i n i n Sou th Kettle Town there were a

, ,

n umber of woodmen w h o i n the early mo r n i n g

were passi n g behi n d the hau n ted house w hen they
,

fou n d a n old woman sitti n g weepi n g u nde r a tree .

They th i n k i n g her a n evi l bogey on e m an came u p

,

beh i nd an d ga v e her a th rust w i th h i s sickle The

.

w itch rushed o ff i nto the hou se her heigh t

,
,

appeari n g to b e on ly about o n e cub i t an d a span.

I M B A NG
.
 XXX V I I

I M, T H E H U N TE R

[ IM K Y O N G-U P —O n e of Korea s most famou s

.
’

genera ls w h o fought i n behal f o f Ch i n a i n 1 6 2 8

,

agai n st the M an ch us H e i s worsh i pped to day i n

.
-

man y parts of Korea ] .

Th e S to r y

When Ge n eral I m Kyon g— u p was you n g he

l i ve d i n the to w n o f Tal lai I n those days h e loved
.

th e chase an d con stan tly p ractised ri di n g an d

,

hu n ti n g O n ce he we n t o ff o n an excu rsion to
.

track the deer i n W O l lak M ou n tai n s H e ca rried

- .

o n ly a sword and made the cha se on foot I n h i s

, .

pu rsu i t o f the an i mal he w en t as fa r as Tai pai k -

M ou n tai n There n igh t overtook h i m an d the

.
,

way was h i dden i n the dark n ess There we re .

yaw n i n g chasm s a n d great horn s a n d cl i ff s o n

al l sides Wh i le he w as i n a state o f perplexity
.

he met a woodman an d asked h im w here the road

,

w as an d how he ou ght to o Th e woodman

g .

”
di rected h i m to a cl i ff opposi te where said he , , ,

1 82
1 84 KO R E AN I MPS GHOSTS AND FA I R IES ,

I t w as then abou t m idn i ght a n d the woodman , ,

w i th th e swo rd i n h i s hand took I m an d wen t to ,

one side thr ou gh a successio n of gates that seemed

n ever en di n g A t last they came to a place where
.

l i ghts were reflected on a pon d of water T here .

was a h i gh pavi l io n apparen tly i n th e m iddle of

the lake an d from the i n side of i t came the l ights
, .

There were sou n ds too of l au ghter a n d tal k i ng

.

, ,

that came from th e upper st o rey Th rough the .

sl idi n g doors he cou ld disti n gu ish two peop le seated

together There w as another pav i l io n to the ri gh t
.

of the lake a n d a large tree ne ar it up wh ich the ,

woodman tol d I m to cl i mb
“
When yo u get wel l up said he take you r , ,

belt tie yo urse lf fast to the tru n k an d keep per

,
”
fe c tly sti l l .

I m cl i mbed the tree as di rected an d made h im ,

sel f se cu re F rom th i s poi n t o f van tage h e looked

.

i n ten tly a n d the fi rst th i n g he saw w as the w ood

,

man give a leap that cleared the lake an d lan ded

h im i n the pavi l ion A t on ce he asce n ded to the .

u pper storey an d n ow I m cou ld disti n gu ish three

,

person s S i tti n g talk i n g an d l au gh i n g H e heard .

the woodman after dri n k i n g say t o h i s n eigh

, ,
“ ’
bou r , W e h ave m ade ou r wage r n o w let s se e ,
” ’
i t out . The ma n repl ied L e t s d o so Then ,
.

both a ro se cam e dow n to the en tran ce an d vau lted

, ,

off i n to m i d ai r w here they disappeared from S ight

-
,
.
 I M, TH E H UN TE R

N oth i n g could be disti n gu ished now b u t the clash

i ng of steel an d flashes of fi r e w hich kept u p for ,

a lon g time .

I n beholdi n g this from the tree top where he ,

w as stationed h i s bon es grew cold a nd h is hai r

,

stood sti ff on en d H e k n ew not w hat to do

. .

Then a momen t late r he heard somethi n g fal l to .

the grou n d w ith a great thud A cry of victory .

arose too an d h e recogn i z ed that i t was the wo od

,

man s voice C hi l ls ran a l l ove r h im an d goose

’
.
,

fl esh covered h i s S ki n ; on ly after a lon g time cou ld

he gai n co n trol o f h imsel f H e came dow n from .

the tree a nd the w oodman met h i m took h i m ,

su dde n ly u nder h is arm a n d vau lted over i n to the

,

pavi l ion . Here he met a b eautifu l woma n w i th

hai r l i ke fl e e c y clouds B efore the fi ght the
.

woma n s voice was e v i de n tly ful l o f h i lari ty b u t

’
,

n ow sh e was ove rcome w i th grief an d tears .

The woodman spoke rou ghly to her sayi n g Do , ,

you not k now that you a w icked woman have , ,

”
caused the death of a great man ? The wood
m an sa id also t o I m You h ave co u rage an d valou r
,

i n your way b ut i t i s n o t su ffi cien t to mee t a worl d

,

l i ke this I wi l l n o w gi v e y o u th i s w oman an d
.
,

th is house so y ou can b id farewel l to the dusty

,

worl d an d l ive here i n peace and qu iet fo r the rest

”
o f yo u r days .

I m repl ied What I have see n to n ight I am at

,
-
1 86 KO R E AN IMPS GHOSTS AND F AI R IES ,

’
a loss to u nderstan d I d l i ke to k n ow the mean in g
.

of i t first ; please tel l m e A fter heari n g that 1311 .

do w hat you a sk .

“
The woodma n said I am n o t a n ordi n ary mortal
,

of the world b u t am a n o utlaw o f the h i lls an d

,

woods I am a robber real ly an d by robb i n g

.
, ,

have m an y such a hou se as th i s Not o n ly here .

b u t i n al l the p ro v i nces I have homes ab u ndan t a ,

beauti fu l woman i n each a n d rich an d dai n ty fare ,

.

A l l u n expectedly th i s woma n has neglected m e fo r

anothe r man a n d he an d sh e have several tim es
,

tri ed to k i l l me There bei n g n o hel p fo r i t I had

.
,

to k i l l hi m. I have k i l led the man b u t I o ught ,

tru ly to have k i l led the woma n Tak e this place .

,

then off m y han ds w i l l you a n d th e woma n too ?

, , ,

B ut I m asked W h o was the man an d w here

“
, ,

di d b e l i ve ?
There were sai d the woodman m ighty possi
, ,

b i l i t i e s i n h i m th ough he l i ved h u mb ly i n side the

,

S outh Gate of S eou l an d sold cu t tobacco H e .

came here frequen tly an d I k n ew i t though I , ,

w i n ked at i t al l u n ti l they attem pted to k i l l me an d ,

that b rought m atters to a head I t was n ot my .

”
w ish to k i l l h i m a n d here the woodman b roke
,
“
dow n a nd cried A las alas ! sa i d he I have
, ,
”
k i l led a great an d gi fted man Th i n k i t over .
,

“
sai d he ; you have cou rage b u t not enou gh to ,

make a ny ma rk i n the wo rld Yo u w i l l fai l ha l f .

 XXX V I I I

T H E M A GIC IN VAS I O N O F S EO U L

A G E N TLE M A N o f Seou l was o ne day crossi n g the

Han R i ver i n a boat I n the crossi n g he nodded
.
,

for a momen t fel l asleep a n d dreame d a dream

, .

I n h is dream he met a man w h o had Goth ic eye

b rows an d almon d ey es w hose face was red as
,

ri pen ed date s an d w hose hei ght was ei ght cub its

,

an d a span H e w as dressed i n green an d had a

.

lon g b ea rd that came dow n to h is bel t stri n g A - .

man o f maj estic appearan ce he was w i th a great ,

s w ord at h is side an d he rode o n a red horse .

He asked the gen tleman to open h is han d w h ich ,

he did an d then the august stran ger dashed a pe n

,

mark o n i t as the S ign of th e G o d o f War Sai d .

he , When you cross the ri ver d o not g o direct

,

t o Se ou l b u t wai t at t he la n di n g
, S even horses
.

w i l l shortly appear loaded w i th n etwork hampers

, ,

al l proceedi n g o n thei r j ou rn ey to the cap ital Y o u .

are to cal l the horsemen open you r h and an d S how

, ,

them the S ign Whe n they se e i t they w i l l al l

.

comm i t su icide i n you r very p rese nce A fter that .

,

y ou are t o take the loads a n d pi le them u p b ut ,

1 88
 TH E M A G IC I NVA S IO N O F SEO UL 1 89

’
don t look i nto them T he n y o u are to g o at once
.

a nd report the matter to the Palace an d have t hem

al l bu rn ed The matter i s o f i m mense im portan ce
.
,

”
so do not fai l i n the sl i ghtest particu lar .

The ge n tleman gave a great start o f terror an d “

awoke H e looked at h i s ha n d a n d there i n deed

.
, ,

was the stran ge mark No t on ly so b ut the i n k .

,

had n ot yet d ried u pon i t H e was aston ished .

beyon d measu re b ut di d as the dream had i n di

,

c ate d an d wa ited o n the river s ba nk

’
, I n a l ittle .

there came as he was advised the seven loads o n

, ,

seven horses com i n g from the far distan t S outh

,
- .

There were atten dants i n charge a n d o n e ma n ,

we ari n g a n o ffi cial coat came alon g beh i n d When .

they had crossed the r iver the gen tleman cal led
“
them to h im an d said I have someth i n g to say
,

t o y ou ; come close to me These m en u n sus pect

.
,

i n g though w ith somew hat o f a fri ghten ed look

, ,

closed u p H e then showed them h is han d w ith

.

the mark a n d asked them i f they kn ew what i t was

, .

When they saw i t fi rst of al l the ma n i n the o ffi cial

, ,

coat tu rn ed an d w ith on e bou n d j u mped over the

cl iff i n to the r iver The ei ght o r n i n e w h o ae com
.

pan i e d the loads l i kewi se al l ru shed after h i m an d

d ashed i n to the water .

The scholar then cal led the boatmen an d ex ,

plai n ed to them that the th i n gs i n the ham pers

were dan gerous that h e wou ld have to make i t
,
1 90 KO RE AN I MPS G HOSTS AND FA I R IES
,

k now n to the Palace an d that i n the mean tim e they

,

were to keep close guard b u t that they were not to

,

touch them or look at them .

He h u rried as fast as possib le an d reported the ,

matter to the B oard of War The B oard sen t an .

O ffi cial an d had th e loads brought i n to S eou l an d

, ,

then as had been di rected they were p i led h igh

, ,

w i th wood a n d set on fi r e When the fi re deve .

l oped the baskets b roke open an d l ittle fi gures o f

, ,

me n an d horses each a n i nch o r so lon g i n cou n t

, ,

less n u mbers cam e tumb l i n g out

,
.

Whe n the O ffi cial s saw th is they were frozen w i th

fea r ; thei r he arts ce ased beati n g an d the i r tongues
lol led out I n a l i ttl e however the hampers were
.
, ,

al l b urn ed up .

These were the c r eation o f a magician an d were ,

i n ten ded fo r a m on ste r i n vas ion o f Seoul u n ti l ,

warn ed by Kwan .

F ro m that ti me o n the pe opl e o f Seou l began

faithfu l o ff eri n gs to the Go d o f War for had he ,

n ot saved the ci ty ?
I M B A NG .
1 92 KO R E AN I MPS G HOS T S AND FA IR IE S
,

he had come A ga i n they had the servan t make

.

i n qu i ry b ut sti l l there was n o reply T he women

,
.

then grew very a n gry an d ordered h i m to b e pu t

,

o ut . Se veral took h ol d o f h i m an d tried to p u l l

h i m b ut he was l i ke a fix ed rock fast i n the earth
, , ,

absol utel y i m m ovab l e I n help less rage they i n

.

formed the m en .

The me n heari n g th i s sen t several stron g

, ,

serva n ts who took hol d al l at o nce b u t he di d n o t

, ,

b u dge a hai r They asked . W h o are you a n y, ,

”
way ? b ut he gave n o reply The crowd then .
,

en raged se n t te n stron g me n w i th ropes t o b i n d

,

h i m b ut l i ke a gia n t mou ntai n he remai ned fast

, ,

so that they recogn i zed that he could n ot b e moved

by m an s powe r ’
.

O n e guest remarked B ut he t oo is hu man ;

, , ,

why can not he be moved ? They then sen t five or

S ix gian t fel lows with cl ubs t o smash h i m t o pieces ,

a n d they laid o n w i th al l thei r m i ght I t loo ked .

as though he wou l d b e crushed l i ke a n egg she l l -

,

w hi le t he sou n d o f thei r pou n d i n g was l i ke rever

be rati n g thu n der B ut j ust as be fore not a hai r
.
,

di d he t u rn n o t a w i n k did h e give
,
.

T hen the crowd began to fear sayi n g Th is , ,

”
i s not a man b u t a god so they entered the cou rt
, ,

yard one an d al l an d b ega n to b ow before h i m

, , ,

j oi n i n g thei r han ds an d suppl i cati n g earn estly .

They kept th i s u p for a lon g time .

 TH E A W FUL L I TTL E G O B L I N 193

A t last th e gave a sarcastic sm i le tu rned

b oy ,

ro un d wen t o u t o f th e gate an d d isappeared

,
.

The compan y fri ghten ed o u t o f thei r w i ts cal led

, ,

o ff the feast F rom that day o n the peop le of

.
,

that hou se were take n i l l i ncl udi n g host an d guests

,
.

Those w h o scolded him those w h o tied h i m w i th,

ropes those w h o pou n ded h i m al l died i n a few

, ,

days Other members o f th e com pan y too c o n

.
, ,

tracted typ hus an d the l i ke an d died also ,

.

I t was com mon ly hel d that the boy was the

To o u k S p i rit
- b u t we can not de fi n itely say
,
.

Stran ge i n deed ! ,

N ata Whe n the ti m e comes for a clan to d is

-

appear fro m the ea r th cala m i ty b efal ls i t E ven

, .

thou gh a great S p i ri t shou l d come i n at the door

at such a feast time i f the guests had done as Co n
,
“ ”
fu c i u s su ggests B e reveren t an d distan t i nstead
, ,

of i nsu lti n g h i m an d m ak i n g h i m more mal i gnan t

tha n ever they wou l d have escaped Sti l l devi ls
, .
,

a n d me n were n ever i n ten ded to dwel l together .

IM B A NG .
 ’
G O D S WA Y
IN a certai n tow n there l i ved a man o f fi erce an d
u n governab l e dispositi on w h o i n mom en ts of an ger
,

used to be at h is mother O n e day th is paren t .

,

thus be ate n screamed out , O h God w hy do you

, , ,

n o t str i ke dead th is w icked m a n w h o beats h is

”
m other ?
Th e beati n g over the so n th rust h is S ick le
,

th rou gh h is b elt an d wen t slow ly O ff t o the fi elds

w here he w as e n gaged b y a n ei ghbou r i n reap i n g
b uckwheat The day was fi n e an d the sk y b eauti
.
,

fu l ly cl ear . S u dden ly a dark fleck of clou d

appeared i n m i d heaven an d a l ittle later al l the
-
,

s k y be came b lack F u riou s thu n der fol lowed an d

.
,

rai n c ame o n The vi l lage peop le looked ou t

.

toward the fi eld w here th e flashes of l ightn i n g

,

were S peci al ly noticeab le They seemed t o see

.

there a man w ith l i fted sickl e try i n g to ward them

o ff
. W hen the storm had cleared away they ,

wen t to see a n d 10 they fou nd the man who

, ,

1 94
 T H E OL D M AN I N TH E DREA M
KW O N J AI was a ma n high i n ran k an d wel l
advanced i n years H e was however m uc h g ive n
.
, ,

t o S port an d various ki n ds o f pleasu re O n e n i ght.

he had a dream w hen a n o l d ma n ca m e to h im

, ,
“
w h o bowed l ow an d i n tears said S i r M i n ister
, , ,

Hon g w i shes to ki l l O ff m e a n d al l my posterity .

’
P lease save me wo n t y o u ?
,
“
Kwon asked H ow can I save you
,
The old
man rep l ied Hon g w i l l assu redly ask You r E xcel
,

l e n cy to help h i m D esist from i t please for i f you

.
, ,
‘

d o H on g w i l l gi ve i t up an d I shal l l ive an d al l
,
”
m i ne .

A l i ttl e l ater there came a rap at the door whe n ,

Kwon awakened an d asked W h o i s there ?

,

I t was Hon g w h o that day had plan n ed a n excu r

,

sio n to L otus L ake to fi sh for tu rtles a n d now ,

had come S pecial ly to i nvi te Kwo n to go w i th

him .
 TH E OLD MAN I N TH E D R E AM 197

T he n Kwon k new that the turtle had appeared

t o h i m i n a dream i n the form O f a n ol d man , so
h e decl i n ed sayi n g h e was i l l I learn ed later that
, .

Hon g also di d not g o .

Y I R Y UK .
 XLI I

T H E P E R FE C T P R I E S T

T H ERE was once a p ri est ca l led Nam mu w h o had

per f ected h is ways i n the B uddh istic doctri n e .

When ever he had cloth i n g of h is own h e wou ld

w i l l i n gly u n dress a n d give i t to those w ho were
cold . H i s spi ri t was gen tle w ith n o creases o r
corn e r s i n i t E ve rybody h igh a n d low rich a nd
.
, ,

poor ca l led h i m by the n ick n ame o f Softy When

,
.

ever he S aw a ny o n e sentenced to a floggi n g i n the

temple or o ffi cial y am en Nam n u i n va riab ly begged
,
’
that he m i ght take the culpri t s p lace O nce w hen .
,

there w as a great fu nction i n progress at Pagoda

T emp l e a n d many h igh o ffi cials were assemb led ,

S ofty too w as seen k neel i n g at the side an d tak i n g

, ,

p art H e sudden ly remarked to P ri nce Hon g of

.

“ ”
Y o n sa n
-
, Yo u are i n deed a very great ma n .

“ ‘
Hon g rep l ied What do you m ean by great
,

m an
’
, you i mpuden t b r at ? Take that a n d he ,

gave h i m a box w ith h i s fi st o n the ea r Softy .

“ ’
l aughed an d said P lease Hon g don t d o that i t
, , , , ,

h u rts ! i t h u rts !
L ater I was i n the trai n of P ri nce Y i o f Y u n
1 98
 XLI I I

THE PR O PITIO US M A G P IE
P E O P LE say that w hen the magp i e b u i lds i ts n est
di rectly south of a home that the master of the
’
house w i l l b e p romoted i n o ffi ce K i n g T ai j on g
.
-

had a frien d o nce w h o was very poor an d had fai led

i n al l h i s proj ects A fter vari ous fru i tless attem pts
.

h e decided to wai t ti l l the K i n g wen t o u t o n p ro

cessio n an d then to sen d a ser v an t to b u i ld a n i m ita
tio n magpie s n est i n so m e p rop itiou s place before
’

h i m The K i n g saw i t an d asked the m a n what he

.

was doi n g H e sai d i n repl y that w hen a magpi e

.

b u i lds its n est strai ght south of a ho m e the master

o f the house i n stantly gets promotion H i s m aster
.
,

he said had wai ted so lon g a n d n oth i n g had come

, ,

that he was b u i ldi n g a n i m itatio n n est to b ri n g i t

ab ou t The K i n g took p i ty o n h im an d ordered
.

h is appoi n tmen t at once .

When I was you n g mysel f a m agpie b u i lt its n est

before ou r hom e b ut I alon g w i th other boys cu t
, , ,

o ff the b ran ch so that the w hole n est fel l to the

grou n d a n d there were the you n g w ith thei r pi tif u l

,

yel low mouths I fel t so rry an d afraid that they

.
 T H E PR O P I T IO U S M A G P IE

would d i e so o n a prop itious site to the south I had

,

the n est hu n g up o n a n e u ti e tree where the you n g

,

a l l l i v ed a nd flourished a nd flew away I n that .

very w i n ter my father was promoted th ree degrees

i n ran k and was attached to the o ffi ce o f the P ri me
M i n ister .

A fterwards I b u i lt a sum mer ho use at Chon g—

-
p a ,

a n d before the house di rectly faci n g south magp ies

, ,

b u i l t a nest i n a date tree I had a wo m a n slave

.
,

a nd she pu l led i t dow n a nd used the n est fo r fuel ,

b u t they came agai n the next year an d b u i l t on ce

m ore . T he year fol low i n g was 1 4 6 9 w hen Y e j on g -

ca me to the th ron e That year agai n I was p r o

.

moted I n the spri n g o f 1 4 7 1 magp ies cam e an d

.

b u i lt thei r n est i n a tree j ust south of my o ffi ce .

I laughed an d sa id Th ere i s a sp i ri tual power i n

,

the magpie su rely as men have said from olden

,
”
ti mes an d as I m ysel f have proven .

Y 1 R Y UK .
 XLIV

THE OLD BUDDHA

P R I M E M I N I S TE R C H O I Y UN TO K was i n mou rn
-

i n g o nce fo r h i s mother Wi th a s i n gle horse a n d

.

o n e servan t he made a jou rney to the south where

the road l ed th rough the cou nty of Ka i ryon g A t - .

that very ti me tw o o r three o f the district magis

trates had p itched a ten t o n the ban k of the ri ver
a n d were ha v i n g refreshmen ts They sai d to o n e
.

an othe r W h o i s that mou rn er that goes ridi n g by

,
“

w i thou t dismou nti n g ? I t mu st b e some cou ntry

farmer w h o has n ever l earn ed p roper man n ers We .

”
S hal l certa i n ly have to teach h i m a lesson .

They sen t a n atten dan t to arrest a n d b ri n g h is

ser v an t w hom they asked Who i s you r master
, ,
“ ”
He rep l ied Choi the O ld B u ddha
, , .

“ ’
B u t w hat s h i s real n am e ? they deman ded .

”
Th e o l d B uddha was the reply
, .

T hen they grew very an gry at this a n d said , ,

You r master has o ffen ded i n n o t d ismou n ti n g ,

an d y ou o ffen d i n conceal i n g h i s n ame B oth slave

.

”
a n d master are equal ly i l l man n ered
- A n d so they
.

beat h i m over the head .

 X LV

A W O N DE R FU L M E D I C I N E
P R I N C E C H E U NG had b een F i rst M i n i ste r of the
l an d for th i rty years . H e w as a m an j ust an d
u p ri ght now n early n i n ety years o f age H i s so n
,
.

was cal led Whal a n d was secon d i n i n fl uence on ly

,

to h i s fathe r B oth were gr eatly ren ow n ed i n th e

.

age i n w h i ch they l ived a n d H is M aj esty treated

,
’
them with special regard P ri nce C heu n g s hom e
.

was sudden ly attacked by gob l i n s a n d devi ls an d ,

when a you n g O ffi cial ca me t o cal l o n h i m these ,

mysterious b ei n gs i n b road dayl ight sn atched the

hat from h i s head a n d crum pled i t u p They threw .

ston es too a n d kept o n throw i n g them so that al l

, ,

the court was reduced to con fusion P ri nce Cheu n g .

made h i s escape a nd wen t to l i ve i n a nother house ,

where he p repared a special m edici ne cal led sal

k w i—w h an ( ki l l devi l pi l ls) w h ich he O ffered i n
- -
,

prayer F rom that ti me the gob l i n s departed an d

.
,

n o w after fi v e o r S i x years n o si gn of them has

reappeared P ri nce C heu n g too is wel l an d stron g

.
, ,

a n d free f rom S ick n ess .

Y I R Y UK .
 X LV I

F A I T H FU L M O
P R I N C E H A had a S la v e w h o was a landed p ro
p r i e t e r a nd l ived i n Yan g j u cou nty H-e had a .

dau ghter fa i rest of the fai r w hom he cal led M o

, ,

( Nobody ) beauti
,
fu l beyon d expression A n Y u n .

w as a noted scholar a m an o f di sti nction i n letters

,
.

H e saw Mo fel l i n love w ith her an d took her fo r

,

h i s w i fe P ri nce H a heard o f th is an d was fu riously

.

an gry Said he H o w i s i t that you a slave dare

.
, , ,
”
t o marry w i th a ma n o f the aristocracy ? H e had
her arrested a n d b rou ght ho m e i nten di n g to marry ,

her to o n e o f hi s b on dsmen Mo learn ed of this .

w ith tears an d sorrow b ut kn e w n o t what to d o

,
.

A t last sh e made her escape over the wal l a n d wen t

back to A n A n was del ighted beyon d expression
.

t o se e her ; b ut i n view of the O ld pri nce he k new

, ,

not w hat to d o Together they too k a n oath to d ie

.

rather tha n to be parted .

L ater P ri nce Ha o n learn i n g of th is sen t h i s

, ,

u nderl i n gs to arrest her aga i n a n d carry her o ff .

A fter th is al l trace of her was lost ti l l MO was di s

2 05
206 KO R E AN I M PS , G HOS TS AN D FA I R I E S

covered o n e day i n a room han gi n g by the n eck

dead .

M onths of sorrow passed over A n t i l l once u n der ,

cover of the n i ght he was retu rn i n g from the Co n

,

fu c i an Temp le to h i s house O ver the ridge of Camel

M ou n tai n I t was early autum n and the wooded
.

tops were sh i mmeri n g i n th e moo n l i ght A l l the -

.

worl d had su n k softly to rest a n d n o passers were

o n the way A n was j ust then m usi n g lon gi n gly
.

of Mo a n d i n heartb roken accents repeati n g love

,

verses to her m emory when sudde n ly a soft footfal l,

was heard as thou gh com i n g from amon g the p i n es .

H e took carefu l n otice an d there was M o A n k new .

t hat sh e was lon g dead a n d so m ust have kn ow n ,

that i t was her sp i ri t b u t b ecause he was SO b u ried

,

i n thought o f he r doubti n g noth i n g he ran to her

, ,

an d cau gh t her by the hand sayi n g H ow di d you , ,

”
come here ? b u t sh e disappeared A n gave a .

great cry an d b roke i nto tears O n accou n t o f th i s .

h e fel l i l l H e ate b u t h i s grief was so great h e

.
,

cou ld n o t swal low an d a l ittle later h e died of a

,

b roken heart .

K i m Champan w h o w a s of the sam e age as I

, ,

a n d m y special fri en d was a lso a cousi n of A n an d, ,

he frequen tly spoke of th is Y u H y o— jan g also .

, ,
’
A n s n ep hew by marriage told the story ma ny ,
“
tim es S ai d he
.
F aith fu l u n to death was sh e
, .

F o r even a woma n o f the li te ra ti w h o has b e en born ,

 X LV I I

THE R EN O W NE D M A IN G
M I N I S TE R of State M ai n g S a so n g once u pon a
-

t im e dressed i n pla i n c lothes started south o n a

, ,

lon g jou rn ey O n the way he was overtaken by

.

rai n an d tu rn ed i n to a side pav i l ion fo r rest a n d

,

shel ter There was a y o u n g scholar already i n the

.

pav i l io n by the n ame of Whan g E u i h o n w h o w ith -

,

h i s two han ds b eh i nd h i s b ack was readi n g the

pavi l io n i nscriptio n board o n w hi ch verses were
,

w ri tten L on g h e read a n d lon g he looked about

.

as though n o o n e else were there A t last he tu rn ed .

“
t o the o l d man an d sai d
, Wel l gran d dad do you
, ,
-
,

”
k n ow the fl avou r o f verses l i ke these ? The
famous M i n i ster preten di n g i gnorance arose a n d
, ,
“
sa id A n old cou n trym an l i ke mysel f cou l d you
, ,

expect h i m to k now ? P lease tel l m e the

”
m ean i n g .

Whan g said These verses were w ri tten by the

,

great men of the past What they saw a n d e x p e r i

.

e n ce d they w rote dow n to i n sp i re the sou ls o f those

w h o were to come after them They are l i ke pic

.

208
 TH E R E N O WNE D M A I N G

tu res of sea an d l and fo r there are l i vi n g p ictu res

,
”
i n poetry y o u k now
, .

The Mi n ister said I n deed that s won derfu l ;

, ,
’

bu t i f i t were not fo r m e n l i ke you rsel f h ow S hou l d

”
I ever com e to know these thi n gs ?
A l i ttle later came pack horses loaded w i th al l
-

sorts o f th i n gs ; servan ts and retai n ers t oo a great , ,

compan y o f them ten t poles ca nvas packs an d

, ,

other equ i pmen t a lon g procession

, .

Whan g s urp rised by th is made i n qu i ry w hen

, , , ,

to h is amazement he learn ed that the ol d m an was

,

none other tha n M ai n g S a son g U ncon sciously - .

he dropped o n to h is k nees i n a deep a n d lon g

obei san ce The M i n ister laughed a n d said That
.
,

w i l l d o ; there i s n o di ff erence i n the val ue o f m ere

men they are h i gh o r low accordi n g to the thou ghts
,

that p rom pt them b u t u n fortu nately al l are born

,

w ith a p rou d heart Yo u are n o t a commo n scholar

.
,

why therefore shou l d you b e so prou d to b egi n

, ,

w i th a n d so h u m bl e now ?
. The M i n ister too k
h i m by the b an d led h im to h i s mat made h i m sit
, ,

dow n com forted h i m an d sen t h i m away

,
.

V I R Y UK .
 X LV I I I

TH E SEN SE S

TH E eyes a re rou nd l i ke gems so that they ca n

,

rol l abou t a n d se e th i n gs ; the ears have holes i n

them so that they ca n hea r ; the nose has open i n gs
by w h ich i t can perceive sm el l ; a n d the mouth i s
hori z on tal an d sl i t so that i t can i n hal e an d exhale
the b reath ; the ton gue is l i ke an organ reed so that
i t can make sou n ds an d tal k Three of the fou r have
.

each thei r particu lar o ffice to fu l fi l w h i le the m ou th

,

has tw o o ffi ces B u t the memb er t hat disti n gu ishes

.

the good from the bad i s the heart so that w ithout

,

the heart even though y o u have eyes y ou can n ot

,

see thou gh you have ears you ca n not h ear though

, ,

yo u have a nose you ca n not smel l a n d though you

,

have a mouth y o u ca n not b reathe so they say that

,

“
withou t the heart seei n g you ca n not se e a n d ,
”
heari n g you can not hear .

Y I R Y UK.
21 2 KO R E AN IMP S , GHOS TS AND F A IR IE S

was p laced before the K i n g he read h ow B had

,

been adva nced b ut n ot o n e word was there abou t A

, .

Ki n g Tai j on g made i n qu i ry a n d w he n he kn ew
-
,

the c i rcumstan ces h e gave a su dden start of wonder

an d remai n ed lon g i n deep thou ght .

Y 1 R YU K
.
 T H R EE T HI N G S M A S TE R E D
T H ERE was a relative of the k i n g named I m ,

S u n g jon g w h o was a gi fted m an i n thought an d

-
,

p u rpose He w as the fi rst performer of h i s ti me

.

“
o n the harp K i n g Se j on g sai d of h im Im s
’
.
-
,

harp knows b u t on e master a n d f ol lows n o other

,

ma n .

H is home w as outside the S outh Gate and eve r y ,

morn i n g he was see n k n eel i n g o n the si l l of h is

fron t door b eati n g h is hands upwards an d dow n
wards o n h i s kn ees an d th is p ractice he carried o n
,

for three years People cou l d not i magi n e wha t

.

he mean t by i t b ut thou ght h i m mad T hu s he

,
.

learned the motions requ i red for the harp .

A lso he b lew w ith h is mouth an d p ractised w ith

h i s fi ngers day an d n ight w ithout stopp i n g so that ,

when peop le cal led o n h i m he wou ld S ee them b u t

wou ld not perce i ve them H e kept th is up for th ree
.

years a nd so lear n ed the motion s fo r the fl ute .

H e was a l i ghtly b u i l t man i n b ody a n d poo r ,

at ri di n g an d at archery H e often si ghed over

.

“
th is defect an d said
,
Thou gh I am wea k and
,

213
21 4 KO R E AN I MPS , G H OS TS AND F A I R IE S

stup id a n d n o t ab le to shoot a lon g d istance I shal l

,
’
yet k now h ow to h it the target an d make the b u l l s
”
eye Th is also m ust b e acqu i red by p ractice
. .

S o every morn i n g he took h i s b o w an d arrows an d

wen t o ff i nto the h i l ls There he S hot al l day lon g
.
,

keepi n g i t up fo r three years ti l l he b ecam e a

,

renow n ed archer T hus yo u may percei ve the k i n d

.

o f man he was .

Y I R YU K.
21 6 KO R E AN IMP S , G HOS TS AN D F A IR IE S

When m or n i n g came the frien d wen t to Gen eral

’
K i m s forme r home to make i n qu i ry H e learn ed
.

that that very n ight K i m s you n g w idow had

’

deci ded t o remarry b ut as soo n as t he chose n

,

awcé had entered her home a terrib le pai n shot

fi ,

h im th rough an d before morn i n g cam e he died i n

,

great agon y .

Y T R Y UK .
 T H E M YS TE R I O U S H O I T R EE

P R I N C E P A S O NG S house was si tuated j ust i n si de

-
’

of the great E ast Gate an d before i t was a large

,

H o i tree O n a certai n n i ght the P ri nce s so n i n ’

.
-

law was passi n g b y the roadway that led i n fron t

of the archers pavi l ion T here h e saw a great
’
.

company o f bowmen more tha n he cou ld n u mber

, ,

al l sh ooti n g together at the target A momen t .

l ater he saw them p ractisi n g ridi n g som e throw i n g ,

spears some hu rl i n g b o w ls some shooti n g from

, ,

horseback so that the road i n fron t of the pavi l ion

,

w as b locked agai n st al l comers Some shou ted as .

“
he came by L ook at that i mpu de n t rascal ! H e
,
”
attempts to ri de b y w itho ut dismou n ti n g They .

caught h im and b eat h i m payi n g n o attention to ,

h is cries fo r mercy an d havi n g n o pi ty for the

,

pai n he su ffe red ti l l o n e tal l fel low came ou t o f

,

thei r serried ran ks a n d sai d i n a n an gry voice to

the crowd , H e i s m y master ; why d o y o u treat
h i m so ? H e u n did h i s bon ds took hi m b y t h e ,

a r m a n d led h i m home W hen the son i n l aw

.
- -

reached the gate he looked back an d saw th e man

2 17
21 8 KO RE AN I MP S , GHOS TS AND F A IR IE S

wal k u n der the H o i tree a n d di sappear H e then

.

learn ed too that al l the crowd o f archers w ere

, ,

sp i ri ts a n d n ot m en an d that the tal l on e w h o had

,

befrie n ded h i m was a spi ri t too a n d that he had

,

com e forth from thei r particu lar H o i tree .

Y I R Y UK
.
2 20 KO R E AN I MP S , GH OS T S A ND F A IR IE S

b ecame ch ief of the li ter ati an d S pecial A dv ise r .

A fterwards he became M i n ister of the R ight then ,

of the L eft at w h ich ti me he wrote o u t ten su gge s

,

tion s fo r H i s M aj e sty to foll ow H e saw the .

w ron gs don e arou n d the K i n g an d resi gn ed o ffi ce ,

agai n an d agai n b ut was con stan tly reca l led

, .

I n 1 608 I m S u k yon g a you n g can didate writi n g

-
,

for h i s m atricu l ation wrote an essay exposi n g the

,

w ron gs o f the Cou rt S i m heard of th is an d took

.
,

the you n g ma n u n der h is protection The Ki n g .

,

rea di n g the essay w as fu riousl y an gry a n d orde red

, ,
“
the degradation o f I m b u t S i m said H e i s w ith
, ,

m e ; I a m b eh i n d w hat he w rote a n d approve ;

degrade m e a n d not h i m an d so the K i n g w i th
,

drew hi s displeasu re H e was fai thfu l of the

.

faith fu l
.

When he was ol d he we n t an d l ived i n T u n san -

i n a l ittle tumb le dow n h ut l ike the poo rest of

-
,

the li ter ati H e cal led h i msel f Water thu n der -

M uddy m an a n ame deri ved from the B ook of

-
,

Chan ges .

H e died i n 1 6 2 2 at the age o f seven ty fou r a n d -

,
’
is recorded as o n e of Korea s great patriot s ]

Th e S tory
M i n ister S i m H eu i su was w hen yo u n g han d
-
, ,

some as pol ished m arb le an d w h ite as the snow

, ,

rare ly an d beautifu l ly formed When ei ght years .

 T A -H O N G

of age he was al ready a n adept at the characte r ,

an d a won der i n the eyes o f h is people The boy s .

’

n ick name was S oo n d on g ( th e godl i ke o n e ) F ro m .

the passi n g o f h is fi rst exam i n ation step b y step ,

he advan ced t i l l at last he beca m e F i rst M i n ister

,

o f the la nd . Whe n ol d he w as honou red as the

most renown ed of al l m i n isters A t seven ty he .

st i l l he l d o ffi ce an d on e day w hen occup ied w ith

, ,

the a ff ai rs o f S tate he sudde n ly sa i d to those

,
“
abou t h i m To day i s my last o n earth an d m y
,
-
,

farewel l w ishes to yo u al l are that you m ay p rosper

a n d d o b ravel y an d wel l .

H is associates rep l ied i n wo nder You r Excel ,

l e n cy is sti l l stron g an d hearty an d ab l e fo r man y,

years of work ; why d o yo u spe ak so ?

S i m laugh i n gl y made an swer Ou r spa n o f l i fe ,

i s fi xed Why shou l d I not k now ? We can n ot

.

pass the predesti ned l im it P lease feel n o regret

. .

Use al l you r e fforts to serve H i s M aj esty the Ki n g ,

a n d make gratefu l ackn ow ledg m e n t of h i s m an y

”
favou rs .

T h u s he exhorted the m a n d took h is departu re

,
.

E very o n e wondered over th i s stran ge an nou nce

men t F rom that day o n he returned n o more i t
. ,

be i n g sa id that he was ai l i n g .

There was at that ti m e attached to the W ar O ffi ce

a you n g secretary di rectly u n der S i m Heari n g .

that h is master was i l l the you n g man wen t to pay

,
2 22 KO R E AN I MP S GHOSTS AN D F A I R IE S
,

h is respects an d t o make i n qu i ry S i m cal led h i m .

i n to h i s pri vate room w here al l was qu iet Sai d

,
.

he I am about to die an d th is i s a lon g farewel l

, , ,

so take good care of you rse lf an d d o you r part

,
”
ho nou rab ly .

’
The you n g m an looked a n d i n S i m s eyes were
,
“
te ars H e sa id You r E xcel len cy is sti l l vi gorous
.
, ,

an d eve n though you are sl ightly ai l i n g ther e i s ,

surely n o cause for anxiety I am at a loss to .

u n derstan d you r tears an d w hat yo u m ean by

,

sayi n g that you are abou t to die I wou ld l i ke to .

”
ask the rea son .

S i m sm i led an d said I have n ever tol d any

,

person b u t si nce y o u ask an d there i s n o lon ge r

,

cause for conceal men t I shal l tel l you the whole

,

story Whe n I was you n g certai n th i n gs hap

.

pen e d i n m y l i fe that may make yo u sm i le .

“
A t abou t sixt ee n yea rs o f age I was sai d to be a
han dsome boy a n d fai r to see O nce i n Seou l .
,

w hen a ban quet was i n p rogress an d man y dan c

i n g gi rls an d other rep re se ntati ves o f goo d ch e er
-

were cal led I wen t too w i th a hal f dozen com rades

, ,
-
,

to se e There w as amon g t h e danci n g gi rls a

.
-

you n g wo m an whose face was very b eau ti fu l S he .

was not l i ke a n earthl y person b ut l i ke some ,

an gel i c bei n g I n qu i ri n g as t o her n ame some

.
,

of those seated n ear said i t was Ta—hon g ( F lo w er

b ud !
224 KO RE AN I MPS , GHOSTS AND FA I R IE S

character an d gi fts were ve ry super ior F rom that .

day o n I lo n ged to meet you b u t as there was ,

n o possib i l ity of th is I c o u l d on ly th i n k o f o u
y .

’ ’
O u r m eeti ng thus is su rely of God s appoi n tme n t .

“ ‘
I repl ied lau gh i n gl y I too fel t j ust the sam e , , ,

towards y o u .
’

“
T hen Ta hon g said - We can not meet here ;,
’
let s g o to my a u n t s hom e i n the next ward w here
’
,
’ ’ ’
i t s qu iet a n d tal k there , We wen t to the au n t s .

home I t was n eat an d clean a n d somewhat

.

i solated an d apparen tl y the au n t loved F lower

,

b u d w i th al l th e devotion o f a mother F rom that .

day forth we pl i ghted o u r troth together F lower .

b u d had n ever had a lover ; I was he r fi rst a n d on ly

‘
choice S he said however
. Th is p lan of ours
, ,

ca n n ot b e con sum m ated to day ; let u s separate for -

the p resen t a n d m ake plan s fo r ou r u n i on i n the

future I asked her h ow we cou ld d o so an d she
.
’
,

‘
repl ied I have sworn m y sou l to you an d i t i s
, ,

deci ded fo r ever b u t y ou have yo u r paren ts to

,

th i n k of a nd y o u have n o t yet had a w i fe chosen

, ,

s o there w i l l be n o C hance of the i r advi si n g y o u to

have a secon d w i fe as my soc ia l stan di n g wou l d

requ i re fo r m e A s I reflect u po n you r ab i l ity
.

an d chan ces for pro m otion I se e yo u al ready a ,

M i n ister of S tate L et us separate j ust n ow an d

.
,

I l l keep m yse l f fo r y o u t i l l the ti me w hen y ou w i n

’

th e fi rst place at the E xam i n atio n an d have you r

 T A H O NG
-

’
t hree days of p ub l ic rejoici n g T he n we l l meet .

once more L et us mak e a com pact n ever to be

.

b roke n . S o the n u n ti l you have w o n you r

,

honou rs d o n ot th i n k o f m e please D o n ot be
, , .

a n xiou s e ither lest I shou ld b e taken from y o u

, , ,

for I have a plan b y w hich to h ide mysel f away

i n sa fety K n o w that o n the day w hen yo u w i n
.

’
you r ho nou rs we shal l meet agai n .

“
On th i s we clasped han ds a n d spoke ou r fare
wel ls as th o ugh we parted easi l y Where she was .

go i n g I di d n ot ask b ut si mply came home w i th a

,

d istressed a n d b u rdened heart feel i n g that I had ,

lost everyth i n g O n m y retu rn I fou n d that my

.

p aren ts w h o had m issed me were i n a terrib le

, ,

state o f con sternation , b u t SO del i ghted were they

at m y safe retu rn that they scarcely asked where I
had been I d id n o t tel l them e ither b ut gave
.
,

another excuse .

“
A t fi rst I cou ld n o t desist from thoughts of
Ta hon g A fter a lon g ti me on ly w as I ab le to
- .

regai n m y composure F rom that time forth w ith .

al l my m ight I wen t at my lesson s Day an d n i ght .

I pegged away not fo r the sake o f the E xam i n ation

, ,

b ut for the sake o f o nce more meeti n g her .

“
I n two years or so my paren ts appoi n ted my
marri age I d i d n o t dare to refu se had to accept
.
, ,

b ut had n o heart i n i t a n d n o j oy i n thei r cho ice

, .

M y gift fo r study was very marked a nd b y ,

!
2 26 K ORE AN I MPS , GH OST S AND F A I R IE S

di l igence I grew to b e s uperi or t o al l my com

p e t i to r s I t was fi v e years after m y farewel l to
.

Ta hon g that I w o n my honou rs I w as sti l l b u t

-
.

a you n gste r an d al l the worl d rej oiced i n my

,

success B u t m y j oy w as i n the secret u n der

.

stan di n g that the tim e h ad come for me to meet

Ta hon g
- O n the fi rst day of m y gradu ati on
.

hon ou rs I expected to meet her b u t di d n ot The , .

se con d day p assed b u t I saw n oth i n g o f her an d

, ,

th e th i rd day was passi n g a n d n o word had reached

me M y heart w as so d istu rbed that I fou n d n ot

.

the sl i ghtest j o y i n the honou rs of the occasion .

E ve n i n g w as fal l i n g w hen m y father said to m e

, ,
‘
I have a fri en d of m y you n ger days w h o n ow ,

l i ves i n C han g e u i ward an d y o u m ust g o an d ca l l

-
,
’
o n h i m th is even i n g be fore the th ree days are over ,

an d so there bei n g n o hel p for it I we n t to pay my

, ,

cal l A s I was ret u rn i n g the su n had gon e dow n

.

an d i t w as dark an d j ust as I was passi n g a h igh

,

gateway I hear d the S i llai cal l

,
1
It was the hom e .

of an old M i n ister a ma n whom I did n o t k n ow

, ,

b u t he bei n g a h i gh nob le there was n oth i n g for

m e to do b u t to dism ou n t an d en ter H ere I fo u n d .

the m aster h i m sel f a n O l d gen tleman who pu t m e

, ,

th rou gh my hu mble exerci ses an d then ordered m e ,

gen tly to com e u p an d S it besi de h i m H e tal ked .

1
A h i ll w h i stl e b y w h i ch gr ad u at e s c om man d th e
s r pr e se n c e
o f a n e w gr ad u at e to h aze or h on ou r as t h e y pl ease
,
.
2 28 KO R E A N I MP S , G H OS TS AND F A I R I E S

a nd watched her be haviou r S he became a s lave .

of her o w n accord a n d simp ly l ived to ple ase u s

, ,

prepa ri n g ou r m eals du ri n g the day an d cari n g ,

for o ur rooms for the n ight ; respon di n g to cal ls ;

o v e r ready t o d o ou r b iddi n g ; faithful beyon d
com pare We feeb le O l d fol ks O ften i l l fou n d her
.
, ,

a sou r ce of c om fort an d chee r u n hea rd of maki n g ,

l i fe perfect peace an d j oy He r n eedle too was

.
, ,

e x cee d i n g ly sk i l fu l an d accordi n g to the seaso n s

,

sh e prepared al l that we n eeded Natu ral ly we .

loved a n d p itied her more tha n I can say M y .

wi fe thought more o f her than ever mother did O f

a dau ghter D u r i n g the day sh e was always at
.

han d a n d at n i ght sh e slept b y her side A t on e

, .

ti me I asked her qu ietly conce rn i n g h e r past

h istory S he sai d S he was ori gi n al ly the ch ild of
.

a free-man b ut that her paren ts had d ied when

,

sh e was very you n g an d havi n g n o place to g o to

, , ,

a n ol d woman of the vi l lage had taken her i n an d

“ ” “
b rought her up B ei n g so you n g sa i d she I
.
, ,

w as safe from harm A t last I met a you n g m aster

.

w i th w hom I pl ighted a h u n d red years of troth a ,

beauti fu l b oy none was ever l i ke h i m I deter

,
.

m i n ed to meet h i m agai n b u t on ly after he had

.
,

won h i s honou rs i n the aren a I f I had rema i ned .

at th e hom e o f the old mothe r I cou l d n ot have

kept mysel f safe an d preserved my hon ou r ; I
,

woul d have b ee n helpl ess ; so I came here for safety

 T A -HO N G

an d to serve you I t i s a plan by w h ich to h ide

.

myse l f for a year o r so an d then when he w i n s ,

I shal l ask you r leave to go .

“ ‘
I then asked w ho the person was w ith w hom
sh e had made thi s con tract a n d S he told m e you r ,

n ame I am SO ol d that I n o lon ger thi n k of taki n g

.

w i ves an d con cub i nes b u t she cal led hersel f m y

,

concub i n e so as to be safe an d thus the years have ,

passe d We watched the E xam i n atio n r epo rts b u t

.
,

ti l l th i s t ime you r n ame was ab sen t Through i t .

al l sh e expressed not a s i n gle word of an xiety b u t ,

kept u p heart say i n g that before lon g you r n ame

w ou ld appear S o co n fi den t w as S he that n o t a
.

shado w of d isappoi n tmen t was i n her face Th is .

ti me o n look i n g over the l ist I fou n d you r n ame ,

a n d told her S he heard i t w i tho ut a n y specia l

.

man i f estati on of j oy sayi n g S he k ne w i t wou ld

,

come S he also sai d W he n we pa r ted I p r om ised

.
,

to m e et h i m before th e three days of p ub l ic celeb r a

tion were ove r an d n ow I m ust make good my

,
”
prom ise S O sh e cl i mbed to th e u ppe r pavi l ion
.

to watch the p ub l i c way B u t th i s ward bei n g

.

somew hat remote sh e di d n ot se e you goi n g by on

the first day n or o n the secon d T his morn i n g
, .

“
sh e wen t a gai n sayi n g ,
He w i l l su rely pass to
,
” “
day ; a n d so i t came about S he said He is .
,

”
com i n g ; cal l h im i n .

I am an o l d man an d have read m uch h i story ,

23 0 KO R E AN I MPS GH OS TS AND F A I R IE S
,

an d have heard of many famous women T he r e .

are man y exam ples of devotio n that m ove the he art ,

b u t I never saw so fa ithfu l a l i fe nor o n e so devo ted

t o a nother God tak i n g n ote of th is h as b rou ght
.

al l her pu rposes to pass A n d n ow not to let th is

.
,

m omen t of j oy g o by you m ust stay w i th me to

,

n ight .
’

When I met Ta hon g I was m ost happy-

,

especial ly as I heard o f her years o f faithfu l ness .

A s to t he i n v i tatio n I decl i n ed i t sayi n g! co u ld n ot

,

th i n k even though we had so agreed of taki n g away

, ,

on e w h o waited i n atten dan ce u pon H is E xcel len cy .

‘
B u t the O l d m a n lau ghed sayi n g S h e i s n ot
, ,

m i n e I si mply let her be cal led my con cub i ne i n

.

name lest my n ephews or some you n ger membe r s

of the clan shou l d steal her away S he i s fi rst of .

al l a faithfu l woman : I have n ot k n ow n her l i ke

be fore .
’

“
The o ld man then had the horse se n t back an d
the servan ts al so a lette r to my pare n ts say in g that
,

I wou l d stay the n i ght He ordered the servan ts

.

to prepare a room to pu t i n beau tifu l screen s an d

,

emb roi dered m atti n g to hang u p l i ghts an d to

,

decorate as for a b r idegroo m Thus he celeb r ated .

ou r meeti n g .

“
Next morn i n g I bade good bye an d wen t an d -
,

told m y pare nts al l abou t m y m eeti n g w ith Ta hon g -

an d what had happen ed They gave con sen t that .

232 KO RE AN IMP S , G HOS T S A ND F A I R IE S

a n d you most k i n dly respon ded i n retu rn I have .

n o regrets A s I die I ask o n l y that m y body b e

.

b u ri ed where i t may res t b y the S i de of m y master

when h e passes away so that w hen we meet i n the
,
’
regio n s be yo n d I shal l b e w i th yo u o nce agai n .

When sh e had so sa i d sh e died .

“
H er face was beau ti fu l n ot l i ke the fa ce of the
,

dead b u t l i ke th e face of the l ivi n g I was pl u n ged

, .

i n to deepest grie f p repared her body w i th my ow n

,

han ds for b u rial O u r custom i s that w hen a

.

se con d w i fe dies sh e i s n ot b u ried w i th the fam i ly ,

b u t I made som e excuse a n d had her i n terred i n o ur

fam i ly site i n the cou n ty of Ko-yan g I did so .

to carry o u t her w ishes W he n I came as far as

.

Keu m chan g on m y sad jou rn ey I w rote a verse;

-
,

0 b e au t i fu l B u d , b e au t i fu l F l ow e r,
‘
of th e

We b e ar t hy fo rm on th e w i ll ow b i e r ;
W h i th e r h as g on e th y sw e e t pe r fu med sou l ?
Th e rai n s fall o n u s
To t e ll u s of t hy t ears an d o f t h y fai thful w ay
’
.

I w rote th i s as a love tr i b ute to m y faith fu l

Ta hon g
- Af te r he r death when ever anyth i n g
.
,

seri ous was to happe n i n my home sh e a lways ,

came to te l l me be forehan d an d never w as there ,

a m is take i n her an nou ncemen ts F o r several .

years i t has con ti n ued th us ti l l a few days ago sh e ,

appeared i n a dream sayi n g M aster the time of , ,

you r departure has come a n d we are to meet agai n,

.
 T A -H O N G

I am now maki n g ready for you r g lad re cep

’
tion.

“
F or this reason I have b i dden al l my associates
farewel l L ast n i ght S he came o nce more and sa id
.

to me To morrow i s you r day

,
- We wept to
gether i n the dream as we m et a n d tal ked I n the .

morn i n g w hen I awoke marks of tears were sti l l

, ,

upon my cheeks Th is i s not because I fear to die

.
,

b ut becau se I have see n my Ta ho n g Now that - .

you have asked me I have tol d you al l Tel l i t to .

”
n o o ne S o S i m d ied as was foretold o n the
.
, ,

day fol low i n g Stran ge i ndeed !

.
,

I M B A NG .
 R I CH A R D C L A V S o n s LI M IT E
,
D ,

B R UN S W IC K S T R E E T S TA M F O R D S T R E E T
, . 9 . 1L ,
 J OL L Y C ALLE
A N D O TH E R S WE D I S H
F A I RY TA L E S
H E LE N A N Y B L OM

Wi th Il l ustr a ti on s i n Colou r
by CH AR LE S F OL KA RD

Sq
u ar e C r o w n 8v o .

Outlook . Th is l
v o ume o f S w edi sh
fai r y tal es i s
mar k e d w i t h a gre at s i mpl i c i t y an d a v e r y re al
l i te r ar y ski ll Al l l ove rs of Fai r y l or e w i ll w e l com e
.
-

t h e pre tt y st or i es an d w i ll r e a l i se t hat in i n t rod u c

,

i n g us t o J ol ly C a ll e Ro l f of Or k an as an d t h e
’

B u bb ly boy th e y h ave i n tr od uce d u s t o n ear

’
-
,

fr i e n ds S om e of th e m ar e gl ad some v e r y sad
.
, ,

bu t all ch armi n g Th e ill u st r at i ons are e x ce ll e n t ”

. .

M D E NT
J . S O N S Ltd
. , .

A ld i n e H ou se Be d fo r d S t r e e t W C
, , . .