Message from spavelkagregg

[Anonymous]

As we launch into the final sweep of days this school year, mythology is where the class is dwelling. Completely out of sequence, we finished Shakespeare's well loved and over trodden love story, Romeo and Juliet, just in time to tuck in the background to the various allusions and other literary devices on the bard's figurative landscape. Along that road, due to the heritage projects at the beginning of the year, many students have been bringing up correlations to other folk tales within their own cultural bloodlines. The Toad Bridegroom, a Korean Folk Tale, is one such tale. Like the Greeks, the good mortals were protected by the gods and the ones who disobeyed the gods were punished etc. The inspirational impetus is truly uncertain at times; however, the connections are clear, valid, and validating. Good resources for those teaching English to the younger set - high school freshman.

The Toad Bridegroom (A Korean Folk Tale)

The earliest form of religion practiced by Korea’s ancient peoples was based on old folk traditions rooted in the occult-like worship of shamans. The earliest identifiable inhabitants of the Korean peninsula were the Altaic-speaking Tungus people, who migrated to Korea in about 3000 B.C. and solidified the mythological worship of the three sam sin gods. These gods included the most popular and almighty god of heaven and two others-the god of Earth and the god of ancestors.

According to Tungus beliefs, in 2333 B.C., the shaman-king Tagun, a direct descendant of the god of heaven, founded Korea. Tangun went on to encourage the widespread worship of the god of heaven from the great altar he established near what is today the city of Seoul.

The Tungus worshiped these three important mythical gods and countless lesser gods. On Earth and in the natural world, the Tungus found new and interesting gods or godly creations in the forms of animals, plants, and landscapes. Shamanic teachings and values were directed against the spread of evil spirits. The gods guided and protected those who were gracious and good. Many of the Tungus people’s fundamental beliefs are still honored and followed by the Koreans today.

This selection is a retelling of the ancient Korean tale of the big toad that wants to be loved and accepted for who he is-not for what he looks like. This theme goes along with the theme of love based on looks in Romeo and Juliet. Another folk tale from Korea even hits closer to the Shakespearean tragic tale.

Image:barrysclipart.com
She was buried near the place where the flower was found. After a while, another flower appeared in the same place as the first one.

Endless Love

A Traditional Korean Folktale

An original tale written by
Ji-Young Lee from Korea

This is a tale of undying love between a young couple who won the struggle to be together.

Long ago, there was a village named 'Sa-rang' in Korea. The village had two flowers that cried when a couple passed nearby. These flowers never died.

A long time ago there was a couple, Soo-il and Soon-ae, living in Sa-rang. They loved each other so much that they wanted to get married, but Soon-ae's father, who was very rich, never allowed her to marry Soo-il, who was very poor.

A few days later, her father lied to her. He told her that Soo-il got married to another girl and pushed her to marry a rich guy named Jung-bae. She was very sad because she believed her father and agreed to marry Jung-bae.

But, Soon-ae' and Jung-bae were not happy because they did not love each other. He hung out with friends, met other girls, and seldom came back home. They would not stay together long.

One day, Soon-ae heard a strange, continuous sound from outside the window, so she slowly went to the window and opened it up. When she looked down, there was Soo-il. Her heart started beating faster, and she made up her mind to go to him. She jumped down from her room, which was on the second floor, and then she felt a big pain and fainted.

When Soon-ae was able to open her eyes, she saw the people she loved. There were members of her family and Soo-il. They all looked at her with concern, but at that moment she discovered that she could not move at all. She knew her father had lied to her, and she cried every day. Soo-il came to see her every day, but her father would not let him see her.

Soo-il decided to secretly take her to a small town in the country where nobody could find them. In that town. he cut trees and sold them to make a living, while Sa-rang slowly recovered and was able to move again.

One day when Soo-il was coming back home after cutting trees, he saw a rose on the edge of a cliff. Because Soon-ae liked roses, he tried to pick the rose. Unfortunately, he slid and fell over the cliff.

While she was waiting for him as usual, some people living in the town came to her with his possessions. Immediately, she went to the place where his possessions were found even though she could not walk well.

However, when she got there, she could not find his body, only a strange flower. After that, she never ate or drank and never talked to anybody. She only thought about Soo-il, who could never return to her.

A couple of days later, she closed her eyes for ever and ever. She was buried near the place where the flower was found. After a while, her grave disappeared, and another flower appeared in the same place as the first one.

and yet one more...

While Kongi was doing the house chores, a frog appeared in front of her. It did all the house chores for her.

Kongi and Potgi,

A Korean Cinderella Story

Retold by Youngil-Seo from Korea

This is a Korean "Cinderella-type" story. A beautiful young girl is mistreated by her ugly step-mother and her ugly step-sister.

A long, long time ago, there were two sisters. The older sister's name was Kongi and the younger sister's name was Potgi. Kongi had a stepmother. The stepmother and Potgi disliked Kongi because she was so beautiful and kind; she was a lovely person.

Potgi was very ugly; she was also a greedy and selfish person. The stepmother and Potgi always made Kongi do house chores, but she never complained about that.

One day, a rich, young man held a party to look for a girl to be his bride. All of the young girls were invited to the party, but Kongi couldn't go because the stepmother ordered her to stay home and do house chores and told her not to go there.

While Kongi was doing the house chores, a frog appeared in front of her. The frog did all the house chores for her, so despite the stepmother's orders, she attended the party.

As soon as the young man saw her, he fell in love with her. He wanted to know more about her, but she left the party because she had to get back home before her stepmother came back home.

Leaving the party hurriedly, she lost her rubber shoe. When it came off and she lost it, they young man picked it up. He was able to find the beautiful Kongi because of her rubber shoe. They got married and lived happily ever after.

Explanation of this story
Beauty can be very important in life. 😛