The Old Man Who Became a Fish

Korean Folk Tales

by Im BANG (1640 - ca. 1722)

"To any one who would like to look somewhat into the inner soul of the Oriental, and see the peculiar spiritual existences among which he lives, the following stories will serve as true interpreters, born as they are of the three great religions of the Far East, Taoism, Buddhism and Confucianism." Manuscripts by two of Korea's (possibly) most famous authors, dating from the seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries were uncovered in the early years of the twentieth century. Translation revealed stories that are not for the faint-hearted: gruesome, harsh, unlovely, depicting scenes of the day, as well as the hope for better things. - Summary by Lynne Thompson

Listen next episodes of Korean Folk Tales:
A Visit from the Shades , A Wonderful Medicine , An Encounter with a Hobgoblin , Faithful Mo , God's Way , Haunted Houses , Hong's Experiences in Hades , Im, the Hunter , Strangely Stricken Dead , Ta-Hong , Ten Thousand Devils , The Awful Little Goblin , The Boxed-Up Governor , The Brave Magistrate , The Fearless Captain , The Fortunes of Yoo , The Geomancer , The Grateful Ghost , The Home of the Fairies , The Honest Witch , The King of Yom-Na (Hell) , The Magic Invasion of Seoul , The Man Who Became a Pig , The Man Who Lost his Legs , The Mysterious Hoi Tree , The 'Old Buddha' , The Old Man in the Dream , The Old Woman Who Became a Goblin , The Perfect Priest , The Plucky Maiden , The Propitious Magpie , The Renowned Maing , The Resourceful Wife , The Senses , The Snake's Revenge , The Temple to the God of War , Three Things Mastered , Who Decides, God or King? , Whom the King Honors