Korean Tales | by H. N. Allen
Being a collection of stories translated from the Korean folk lore together with introductory chapters descriptive of Korea
| Title | Korean Tales |
| Author | H. N. Allen |
| Publisher | G. P. Putnam's Sons |
| Year | 1889 |
| Copyright | 1889, G. P. Putnam's Sons |
| Amazon | Korean Tales |
By H. N. Allen, M.D., Foreign Secretary Of Legation For Korea
Note
The national emblem of Korea, pictured on the cover, represents the male and female elements of nature; the dark blue representing Heaven (the male), the yellow representing Earth (the female). As seen across the Eastern Sea, the heavens seem to lap over and embrace the earth, while the earth, to landwards, rises in the lofty mountains and folds the heavens in its embrace, making a harmonious whole.
The characters represent the four points of the compass, and belong to the original eight characters given by the first King, and from which "all language" sprung. The whole set is as follows:
Preface- Repeatedly, since returning to the United States, people have asked me, Why don't you write a book on Korea? I have invariably replied that it was not necessary, and referred the inquirers to the la...
- Korea, Corea, or Chosen. Introductory
- Korea, Corea, or Chosen (morning calm) occupies the peninsula hanging down from Man-ebooria and Russian Siberia between China and Japan, and extending from the 33d to the 43d parallels of north latitu...
- Korea, Corea, or Chosen. Introductory. Continued
- The people dress in imported cotton sheetings mostly, padding them well with cottonwool for winter use, and using the plain bleached white, or dying the cloth a light shade of blue or green. Rice is t...
- Descriptive. Seoul - The Capital
- As Paris is France, so Seoul may be said to be Korea, for it is the centre from which nearly every thing for the country either originates or is disseminated. Officers ruling over country districts ...
- Descriptive. Seoul - The Capital. Continued
- The nobility and wealthy persons who can afford it, dress in rich gayly colored silks, and even the common people add alittle blue or green to their outside robes, so that when they wander about over ...
- The Rabbit, And Other Legends. Stories Of Birds And Animals
- THE Koreans are great students of Nature. Nothing seems to escape their attention as they plod through the fields or saunter for pleasure over the green hills. A naturally picturesque landscape is pre...
- The Rabbit, And Other Legends. Stories Of Birds And Animals. Continued
- The white heron seems to be the especial friend of man. Many are the tales told of the assistance it has rendered individuals. In one case the generous-hearted creature is said to have pecked off its ...
- The Enchanted Wine-Jug; Or, Why The Cat And Dog Are Enemies
- In ancient times there lived an old gray. haired man by the river's bank where the ferryboats land. He was poor but honest, and being childless, and compelled to earn his own food, he kept a little wi...
- The Enchanted Wine-Jug; Or, Why The Cat And Dog Are Enemies. Part 2
- One day the news flashed around the neighborhood that the old man's supply of wine was exhausted; not a drop remained in his jug, and he had no more with which to refill it. Each man on hearing the ne...
- The Enchanted Wine-Jug; Or, Why The Cat And Dog Are Enemies. Part 3
- The cat had found the rat, who, upon being assured of safety, came to the mouth of his hole, and listened attentively to the proposition. It is needless to say he accepted it, and a contract was made ...
- Ching Yuh And Kyain Oo. The Trials Of Two Heavenly Lovers. Prelude
- CHING Yuh and Kyain Oo were stare attendant upon the Sun. They fell madly in love with each other, and, obtaining the royal permission, they were married. It was to them a most happy union, and having...
- Ching Yuh And Kyain Oo. The Trials Of Two Heavenly Lovers. Prelude. Part 2
- II Strange as it may seem, events very similar in nature to those just narrated were taking place in a neighboring district, where lived another exemplary man named Cho Sung Noo. He was a man of grea...
- Ching Yuh And Kyain Oo. The Trials Of Two Heavenly Lovers. Prelude. Part 3
- III Pang Noo went to school and worked steadily for three years. He learned amazingly fast, and did far more in three years than the brightest pupils usually do in ten. His noted teacher soon found t...
- Ching Yuh And Kyain Oo. The Trials Of Two Heavenly Lovers. Prelude. Part 4
- V Poor Pang Noo did bis inspection work with a heavy heart as time wore on, and the personal object of his search was not attained. In the course of his travels be finally came to bis uncle, the magi...
- Ching Yuh And Kyain Oo. The Trials Of Two Heavenly Lovers. Prelude. Part 5
- VII Meanwhile Pang Noo had reached home, and was weary both in body and mind. The King offered him service at court, but he asked to be excused, and seemed to wish to hide himself and avoid meeting p...
- Ching Yuh And Kyain Oo. The Trials Of Two Heavenly Lovers. Prelude. Part 6
- VIII Again fate had interfered to further separate the lovers, for, instead of continuing her journey, Uhn Hah had received news that induced her to start for Seoul. While resting, on one occasion, t...
- Hyung Bo And Nahl Bo; Or, The Swallow-King's Rewards
- I In the province of Chullado, in Southern Korea, lived two brothers. One was very rich, the other very poor. For in dividing the inheritance, the elder brother, instead of taking the father's place,...
- Hyung Bo And Nahl Bo; Or, The Swallow-King's Rewards. Part 2
- Returning from this profitable errand, he heard of a very rich man, who had been seized by the corrupt local magistrate, on a false accusation, and was to be beaten publicly, unless he consented to pa...
- Hyung Bo And Nahl Bo; Or, The Swallow-King's Rewards. Part 3
- Having made these announcements, the pair disappeared, leaving Hyung and his wife almost dumb with amazement. They looked at the gourd, then at the little table and its contents, and each looked at th...
- Hyung Bo And Nahl Bo; Or, The Swallow-King's Rewards. Part 4
- Springtime came, and one day, as Nabl Bo was sitting cross-legged in the little room opening on the veranda off his court, he heard a familiar bird-song. Dropping his long pipe, he threw open the pape...
- Hyung Bo And Nahl Bo; Or, The Swallow-King's Rewards. Part 5
- The wife now tried to persuade Nahl Bo to stop and not open more, but the hare-lip man offered to open the next for 500 cash, as he was secretly enjoying the sport. So the fifth was opened a little, w...
- Chun Yang, The Faithful Dancing-Girl Wife
- In the city of Nam Won, in Chull Lah Do (the southern province of Korea), lived the Prefect Ye Tung Uhi. He was the happy father of a son of some sixteen years of age. Being an only child the boy was ...
- Chun Yang, The Faithful Dancing-Girl Wife. Part 2
- Regretting in her proud spirit that fates had placed her in a profession where she was expected to entertain the nobility whether it suited her or not, the girl combed and arranged her hair, tightened...
- Chun Yang, The Faithful Dancing-Girl Wife. Part 3
- At last the servant brought his dinner, for which he had no appetite. He could ill abide the long delay between the dinner hour and the regular time for his father's retiring. The time did come, howev...
- Chun Yang, The Faithful Dancing-Girl Wife. Part 4
- He took her, and laying her head on his breast, tried to soothe her. Don't cry so bitterly, he begged; my heart is almost broken now. I cannot bear it. I wish it could always be spring-time; but th...
- Chun Yang, The Faithful Dancing-Girl Wife. Part 5
- She passed the night in bowing before Heaven and calling on the gods and her husband to release her, and in the morning when her mother came, she answered the latter's inquiries as to whether she was ...
- Chun Yang, The Faithful Dancing-Girl Wife. Part 6
- His Sovereign was pleased, and told the young man to strive to imitate the example of his honest father. He then asked him what position he wished. Ye Toh Ryung answered that he wished no other positi...
- Chun Yang, The Faithful Dancing-Girl Wife. Part 7
- The Ussa called to her, and she recognized the voice. I surely must be dreaming again, she said, as she tried to arise; but she had the huge neck-encircling board upon her shoulders that marked the ...
- Sim Chung, The Dutiful Daughter
- Sim Hyun, or Mr. Sim, was highly esteemed in the Korean village in which he resided. He belonged to the Yang Ban, or gentleman class, and when he walked forth it was with the stately swinging stride o...
- Sim Chung, The Dutiful Daughter. Part 2
- He obtained, finally, a little wort in pounding rice in the stone mortars. It was hard labor for one who had lived as he had done; but it kept them from starving, and his daughter prepared his food fo...
- Sim Chung, The Dutiful Daughter. Part 3
- When Sim Chung regained her consciousness she was seated in a little boat drawn by fishes, and pretty maidens were giving her to drink from a carved jade bottle. She asked them who they were, and wher...
- Hong Kil Tong; Or, The Adventures Of An Abused Boy
- During the reign of the third king in Korea there lived a noble of high rank and noted family, by name Hong. His title was Ye Cho Pansa. He had two sons by his wife and one by one of his concubines. T...
- Hong Kil Tong; Or, The Adventures Of An Abused Boy. Part 2
- While thus musing in the darkness of the night, he heard a crow caw three times and fly away. This means something ill to me, thought he; and Just then his window was thrown open, and in stepped the...
- Hong Kil Tong; Or, The Adventures Of An Abused Boy. Part 3
- The priests were filled with mortification and dismay, and bowed their shaven heads to the floor in humiliation. When at a sign from Kil Tong, a portion of the robbers, who had entered the court as gr...
- Hong Kil Tong; Or, The Adventures Of An Abused Boy. Part 4
- Official orders were issued to each of the eight governors to catch and bring to the city, at once, the robber Kil Tong. These orders were so well obeyed that upon a certain day soon after, a guard ca...
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