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Old Tales From Korea
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12939 |
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Section : |
Culture
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| Issue
Date : |
5 / 1987 |
6,735 Words |
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Edited with an introduction by Kim Yol-Gyu
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After supper on summer evenings, my family gathered around on a mat in our front yard, near a smoky fire to discourage mosquitoes. After lighting her long pipe, Grandmother began telling her old tales. Tales of ghosts, of tigers, of the disguised fox, and of fools comprised her repertoire; tales of sons and daughters-in-law of great filial piety were also popular, and of course everyone enjoyed the stories of brave ancestors. The clear night sky poured a starry galaxy into the childrens' dark and limpid eyes. Children pillowed their heads on adult knees and dropped off to sleep. Until recently, the childhood memories of most Koreans were filled with such romantic scenes.
The Korean word most akin to folk tale is yennal yaegi--an old tale. Korean children frequently badger their grandparents: "Tell us an old tale!" Often they drop the word old and request just a tale: yaegi, the second part of the phrase yennal yaegi. The word yaegi is itself a contraction of the more standard word iyagi. In some dialects the word used is ibagoo. Iyagi signifies far more than merely the best-loved nursery tales. It also includes fables with animal heroes, myths, and what we call folk history or unofficial history. It even includes ancient anecdotes. Thus in different contexts, iyagi might be translated variously as narrative, story, or tale.
Storytelling was a living folk tradition until the early part of this century. Though in contemporary Korean society children still have many opportunities to hear iyagi from their grandparents, the phenomenon has generally decreased since the turn of the century. Until recent times, each home where grandparents or aged people lived was a recitation site, and the aged people were the
... (1971 of 36930 Characters)
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