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To Be A Human Being: Korean Folktales Tell of Animals' Magical Character
| Article
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10202 |
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Section : |
CULTURE
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| Issue
Date : |
8 / 1993 |
1,286 Words |
| Author
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Jong Yil Ra
Jong Yil Ra is dean of the Graduate School of Kyung Hee
University in Seoul, Korea. |
According to legend, all animals in Korea seem to have wanted, as their ultimate wish, to become human beings. Even the story of Tangun, the mythological founder of the Korean nation, is based on this theme. As it is told, a bear and a tiger aspired to become human beings. Moved by their zeal and devotion, God finally told them how they might become human. They had to avoid sunshine completely and live on a diet of garlic and mugwort leaves for one hundred days--an instruction that sounds all but impossible for human beings to follow, let alone animals.
The tiger was not patient enough to keep to the regimen. He bolted from the cave one day in frustration, muttering angrily, I imagine, that this whole matter was madness. But the persevering bear finally succeeded in its superhuman, or superanimal, effort and turned into a beautiful young lady. She then married the son of God, who came down to earth to live as a man in preference to celestial existence. Their offspring was Tangun, who founded Korea with the idea of benefiting all mankind.
Numerous other Korean stories tell of animals that tried to copy the bear's example and become human. Seemingly, it was an aspiration common to all animals. Some creatures were particularly gifted, however as tales of these species appear frequently in Korean folklore. Animals probably play similar roles in the legends of other countries.
Certain animals are believed to have supernatural powers ranging from transmogrification to the ability to cause temporary illusions. In Korea the fox used to be regarded as particularly magical, although most animals, including domestic ones, were believed to command some of these powers if they outlived their normal life span. I wonder if the raccoon dog in Japan and the wolf in the West are not the fox's counterparts. One striking thing about these stories is that the animals almost invariably fail in their attempt to become human beings. The story of Tangun is an exception.
The vixen who tried to become a woman
There once lived a vixen whose sole and ultimate wish was to be a human being. The fox was unusually firm in its resolve. For this purpose alone, it survived for one hundred years, the magic period required to command metamorphic power. The day it became one hundred, it succeeded in turning into a human, at least as far as its external appearance was concerned. Outwardly, it was a perfect human being, an attractive young girl. But she (or rather it)
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