Korea
Explore Korean stories of animals, spirits, families, lovers and public officials. The versions here include historical English retellings whose language and judgments need context; consult the source note and the audience guidance on the individual page.
72 stories are in this region right now.
Korean Folk Tales
All Ages
Sir One Long Body and Madam Thousand Feet
A millipede and an earthworm are matched by a go-between, but village gossip about shoes for a thousand feet and one-legged trousers sets both of them worrying.
Korean Folk Tales
Sim Chung
To pay the temple three hundred bags of rice for her blind father’s sight, a devoted daughter offers herself to merchants whose ships must cross a spirit’s sea.
Korean Folk Tales
Ages 9-12
Pigling and Her Proud Sister
Bullied by her stepmother and called Pigling, a magistrate’s daughter gets help from pigeons, a sooty imp and a kindly black cow when given impossible tasks.
Korean Folk Tales
All Ages
Prince Sandalwood, the Father of Korea
A bear and a tiger try to become human by living on garlic in a dark cave, and the patient one’s new life leads to the birth of Korea’s first king.
Korean Folk Tales
Ages 9-12
Old White Whiskers and Mr. Bunny
Caught on the frozen river by the proudest tiger in Korea, a hungry rabbit promises him a royal dinner if he will just lie still with his eyes shut.
Korean Folk Tales
Longka, the Dancing Girl
Taken captive by invaders, a Korean dancing girl performs at the enemy general’s banquet in the Cliff House, then leads him to the edge of a cliff.
Korean Folk Tales
Ages 9-12
Old Timber Top
A stingy lumber dealer who wasted his fortune flattering a rich relative in Seoul is turned into a bull at a country inn by four sticks the fairies left there.
Korean Folk Tales
Im, the Hunter
Lost in the mountains, a young hunter who will one day be a famous general watches a mysterious woodcutter fight a duel in midair at midnight.
Korean Folk Tales
Hyung-bo and Nahl-bo
A poor, kind brother mends a swallow’s broken legs and is rewarded with magic gourds, so his greedy elder brother breaks a bird’s legs on purpose.
Korean Folk Tales
Hong Kil-tong
Born to a nobleman’s concubine and denied a true son’s rights, Kil Tong escapes assassins, leads outlaws against corrupt officials and outwits the King.
Korean Folk Tales
Hong’s Experiences in Hades
Taken to the underworld by mistake, a Korean officer is shown the hells of liars and deceivers before a golden-faced Buddha sends him back to life.
Korean Folk Tales
Ages 9-12
Haunted Houses
A poor man in old Seoul tests two haunted houses with his brothers and meets ghostly harp music, a glowing blue blade and red-eyed dogs leading demons.