Wisdom & Cleverness
Resourceful escapes, sharp observations, advice and ingenious tricks shape these tales. Look beyond who wins: what information did a character use, whose help mattered and who was harmed? Comparing an effective trick with a well-judged decision makes room for different readings of cleverness and wisdom.
Korean Folk Tales
Ages 9-12
The Man on the Road
Trapped by an invading army in 1636, a crowd of refugees sits down beside a calm stranger and a strip of cotton cloth as the horsemen thunder past them.
Korean Folk Tales
Ages 9-12
The Magic Peach
At a feast on the Island of Gems, a young prince eats a peach of long life, and the palace maid kneeling beside him seems to grow lovelier every moment.
Korean Folk Tales
Ages 9-12
The Magic Invasion of Seoul
Dozing on a ferry across the Han River, a gentleman dreams that the God of War marks his palm and orders him to stop seven loaded horses bound for Seoul.
Korean Folk Tales
Ages 9-12
The King of Yom-na (Hell)
Spirit soldiers carry off a sick scholar to the judgment hall of the underworld, only for the King there to find that they have arrested the wrong man.
Korean Folk Tales
Ages 9-12
The King of the Sparrows
A kind man mends the broken leg of a young sparrow, and the grateful bird flies off to tell the Sparrow King, who sends back a seed packed with treasure.
Korean Folk Tales
Ages 9-12
The King of the Flowers
To warn a pleasure-loving king, the great scholar Sul Chong tells of a royal peony who forgets his garden kingdom for the charms of a spicy cinnamon rose.
Korean Folk Tales
Ages 9-12
The Ill-Fated Priest
A giant priest beats a scholar and all his servants by a river, until a thin archer on a bony pony rides up and decides it is time someone stopped him.
Korean Folk Tales
Ages 9-12
The Awful Little Goblin
An uninvited, silent boy appears at a Seoul nobleman's feast. When the guests try to force him out, even ten strong men cannot move him.
Korean Folk Tales
Ages 9-12
Ten Thousand Devils
Kept for New Year by Prince Han, a poor and awkward relative reveals that he must call the roll of every evil spirit in Korea, and holds it in the guest hall.
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
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
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.