Title: Korean Tales
Author: Horace Newton Allen
Release date: September 13, 2017 [eBook #55539]
Most recently updated: October 23, 2024
Language: English
Credits: Produced by Jeroen Hellingman and the Online Distributed
Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net/ for Project
Gutenberg (This file was produced from images generously
made available by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.)
COPYRIGHT BY
G. P. PUTNAM’S SONS
1889
The Knickerbocker Press
Electrotyped and Printed by
G. P. Putnam’s Sons
| PAGE | ||||||||
| I.— | Introductory The Country, People, and Government. |
5 | ||||||
| II.— | Descriptive Sights in and about the Capital. |
15 | ||||||
| III.— | The Rabbit and other Legends Stories of Birds and Animals. |
28 | ||||||
| IV.— | The Enchanted Wine Jug Or, Why the Cat and Dog are Enemies. |
40 | ||||||
| V.— | Ching Yuh and Kyain Oo The Trials of Two Heavenly Lovers. |
56 | ||||||
| VI.— | Hyung Bo and Nahl Bo Or, The Swallow-King’s Rewards. |
89 | ||||||
| VII.— | Chun Yang The Faithful Dancing-Girl Wife. |
116 | ||||||
| VIII.— | Sim Chung The Dutiful Daughter. |
152 | ||||||
| IX.— | Hong Kil Tong Or, The Adventures of an Abused Boy. |
170 | ||||||
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:
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 large work of Dr. Griffis, entitled “Corea, the Hermit Kingdom,” which covers the subject in a charming manner.
My object in writing this book was to correct the erroneous impressions I have found somewhat prevalent—that the Koreans were a semi-savage people. And believing that the object could be accomplished best in displaying the thought, life, and habits of the people as portrayed in their native lore, I have made these translations, which, while they are so chosen as to cover various phases of life, are not to be considered as especially selected.
I also wished to have some means of answering the constant inquiries from all parts of the country concerning Korean life and characteristics.
People in Washington have asked me if Korea was an island in the Mediterranean; others have asked if Korea could be reached by rail from Europe; others have supposed that Korea was somewhere in the South Seas, with a climate that enabled the natives to dispense with clothing. I have therefore included two chapters, introductory and descriptive in character, concerning the subjects of the majority of such questions.
“Globe trotters,” in passing from Japan to North China, usually go by way of the Korean ports, now that a line of excellent Japanese steamships covers that route. These travellers see the somewhat barren coasts of Korea—left so, that outsiders might not be tempted to come to the then hermit country; perhaps they land at Chemulpoo (the port of the capital, thirty miles distant), and stroll through the rows of miserable, temporary huts, occupied by the stevedores, the pack-coolies, chair-bearers, and other transient scum, and then write a long article descriptive of Korea. As well might they describe America as seen among the slab shanties of one of the newest western railroad towns, for when the treaties were formed in 1882 not a house stood where Chemulpoo now stands, with its several thousand regular inhabitants and as many more transients.
H. N. Allen.