Every country and cities have their own folktales or fairy tales that were narrated orally from our grandparents to our parents, and to us. All these folktales were acceptable in the past, but as time passes, there are some questionable and unacceptable parts of the story, or hidden meaning that we did not know in the past. "Folktale: Past to Modern" focuses on these questionable and hidden parts of the folktale, and they are visualized into a series of drawings – from how we accepted it in the past and how we accept it now.
Dangun Myth 단군신화
The king of heaven gave his son Hwanung the authority to rule the humanworld.
When Hwanung camedown, a bear and a tiger came up to him and prayed every day to becomehumans. Hwanung told them that they could become humanif they only ate garlic and mugwort for 100 days in a darkcave.
However, the tiger could not bear it anymore and ran out of the cave, while thebear did not give up and became a person. The bear, Woong-nyeo, andHwanung gotmarried and gave birth to a son, who is Dangun Wanggeom.
천상의 상제는 아들 환웅에게 지상을 다스릴 직권을 주어 인간세계로 내려보냈다.이때 곰과 호랑이가 나타나 인간이 되게 해달라고 빌었다. 환웅은 쑥 한 줌과 마늘 스무 개를 주면서 백날 동안 빛을 보지 않으면 사람이 될 수 있다고 했다.그러나 호랑이는 그 시간을 기다리지 못해 사람이 되지 못했고, 곰은 백일 동안 금기를 잘 지켜 사람이 되었다.그렇게 사람이 된 곰 웅녀와 환웅은 혼인하여 아들을 낳았다. 그때 낳은 아들이 단군왕검이다.
Tigers have been represented as guardiangods and mountain gods since the past. However, the role of the tiger in DangunMyth, which depicts the beginning of Korea, is not essential, and it brings upsome questions.
I have illustrated tigers from the way they were illustrated in the past andhow they are accepted now.
Snail Bride 우렁각시
A poor man was working in the field and found a snail. After he brought the snail back home, meals were cooked for him every day. He stayed home one day to find out the truth, and he realized a pretty lady came out of the snail shell, prepared rice, and went back in.
He fell in love with the snail lady and asked her to live together. The snail lady told him to wait a little longer, but the man forced her to live together with him.
One day, the Snail Bride was working in the field, and an official passing by was fell in love and kidnapped her. After the man found out about this, he died out of yearning and became a bluebird. Snail Bride also died and became a comb.
가난한 노총각이 밭에서 일하다가 우렁이 하나를 발견해 집에 가져와 물독 속에 넣어 두었다. 그 뒤부터는 매일 들에 갔다 오면 밥상이 차려져 있었다. 이상하게 생각한 총각이 하루는 숨어서 살펴보았더니, 우렁이 속에서 예쁜 처녀가 나와서 밥을 지어 놓고는 도로 들어갔다.총각은 처녀에게 반해 같이 살자고 하자, 처녀는 아직 같이 살 때가 안 되었으니 좀 더 기다리라고 하였다. 그러나 총각은 억지로 함께 살았다.하루는 우렁이각시가 들일을 나갔는데, 지나가던 관원이 보고는 자기 처로 삼으려고 붙잡아 갔다. 이를 안 총각은 애를 태우다가 마침내 죽어서 파랑새가 되고, 우렁이각시도 죽어 참빗이 되었다.
"The Snail Bride" is thought tobe a happy story, but it is a tragedy. The tragic parts were not seen due tothe norm of gender roles and gender inequality in the past. I have illustratedthe abnormal "norms" that were depicted in the story in various ways,from traditional to modern style.
Simcheong Jeon 심청전
Simcheong has lived with her blind father, Simbongsa, since childhood. Simbongsa struggled to raise Simcheong, and she grows up to be a filial daughter.
One day, a monk tells Simbongsa that if he pays for 300 bags of rice to the Buddha, his sight will be returned. However, Simbongsa got disappointed as he did not have any money to get 300 bags of rice. Simcheong found out about this, and she sold herself to the sailors as a sacrifice to the King of the Sea and was pushed into the ocean. However, Simcheong, who everyone thought was dead, was living comfortably with her mother who passed away with her birth. The King of the Sea heard Simcheong's story and decided to send her back home. He placed her inside a giant lotus blossom and sent her floating up towards the surface. Those who find the flower brought it to the king as a gift. The petals started to unfurl in front of the King and the King, who was entranced by the miraculous flower girl, asked her to marry him.
Simcheong, who became a queen, holds a feast for the blind because she misses her father. Simbongsa also leaves on a trip to participate in the feast, and he arrives on the last day of the feast.Finally, they met each other, and Simbongsa, who missed Shimcheong so much, opens his eyes to see her.
심청이는 어릴 때부터 맹인인 아버지 심봉사와 둘이 살았다. 아버지는 힘겹게 심청이를 키웠고, 심청이는 효녀로 자란다.그러던 어느 날, 심봉사는 부처에게 쌀 삼백 석을 바치고 기도하면 눈을 뜰 수 있다는 어느 중의 말을 들었으나 가난했던 심봉사에게 쌀 삼백 석은 구하기 너무 힘들었다. 그러다 심청이가 이를 알게 되었고, 심청이는 쌀 삼백 석을 구하기 위해 뱃사람들에게 본인을 인당수 제물로 팔아 인당수에 빠져 죽게 된다. 그러나, 모두가 죽은 줄 알았던 심청이는 사실 바닷속에서 돌아가셨던 어머니도 만나며 편히 지내고 있었다. 심청이의 사정이 딱한 용왕님은 결국 심청이를 연꽃 안에 둘러 쌓아 바다 위로 다시 보내준다. 이를 발견한 사람들은 꽃을 왕에게 가지고 가고, 왕은 연꽃 안에서 나온 심청이를 왕비로 맞이한다.왕비가 된 심청이는 아버지가 보고 싶어 맹인들을 위한 잔치를 연다. 심 봉사와 잔치에 참여하기 위해 길을 나서지만, 돈도 없고 앞도 안 보이는 그는 힘겹게 잔치 마지막 날에 도착한다.그렇게 심청이와 심봉사가 만나게 되고, 심청이가 너무 보고 싶었던 심봉사는 눈을 뜨게 된다.
“SimCheongJeon” emphasizes the sacrifisation ofthe daughter's life for her parents is the real filial piety throughout thestory. I have illustrated the depicted attitude of filial piety and the truepurpose of the folktale.