Monthly Archives: April 2017

The Sun and the Moon

Nationality: American, Korean
Age: 22
Occupation: Account Executive
Residence: Seattle, WA
Performance Date: April 23, 2017
Primary Language: English
Language: Korean

The 22-year-old informant was born in South Korea and moved to the U.S. at a very young age. She chose to share this story because they are commonly told in Korean culture.

“There’s this tiger and he sees this brother and sister, and he’s like ‘Can I please have some food?’ and they give him rice cakes, and he tries them, but doesn’t like them, so he starts chasing the brother and sister to eat them, which is messed up! So the children climb up a tree and the tiger’s like, ‘How did you get up there?’ and the brother’s like, ‘We used oil to climb up the tree,’ so the tiger rubs oil on his paws and tries to climb up the tree, but then he slides down. And then the sister’s like “Ha ha!” so then the tiger takes an axe and chops the tree down, so they get chased again. So they’re running and they start to pray to God and they’re like ‘Hey God, please let us live and bring down a rope that we can climb up.’ So two ropes fall in front of them. Then the tiger comes and is like, ‘Can I also have a rope, God?’ So then God brings down a rope, except it’s a rotten rope, so he starts to climb it and he falls and dies. So the brother and sister keep climbing and going up the rope and they become the sun and the moon.”

 

This is an origin story of the sun and the moon, but the story also serves a moral, which is essentially that good things come to those who are good. Basically– you get what you deserve.

The Ungrateful Tiger

Nationality: American, Korean
Age: 22
Occupation: Account Executive
Residence: Seattle, WA
Performance Date: April 23, 2017
Primary Language: English
Language: Korean

The 22-year-old informant was born in South Korea and moved to the U.S. at a very young age. She chose to share this story because they are commonly told in Korean culture.

“So basically this tiger falls into this deep, deep pit. And he calls out for help and this rabbit comes, and the tiger’s like ‘Please help me! Please help me out of here!’ and the rabbit’s like, ‘No if I do, you’ll eat me.’ And the tiger’s like, ‘No no, I promise I won’t eat you!’ and the rabbit’s like ‘Are you sure? Do you promise?” and the tiger’s like, ‘Yes, I promise,’ so the rabbit agrees to help him. So he throws down this long vine and he the tiger uses it to climb back up. And when he gets back up, he’s like, ‘Ok now I’m going to eat you,’ and the rabbit’s like ‘Hey that’s not cool! You can’t do that. Let’s ask someone else their opinion,’ and the tiger’s like, ‘Fine, let’s ask someone else what they think.’ So this other animal–I forget what kind of animal it is–but some other animal comes along and is like, ‘Woah what’s going on here?’ and the rabbit’s like, ‘This tiger’s trying to eat me!’ and tries to explain what happened. And then, the rabbit’s like, ‘I know, I’ll just show you what happened. Tiger, can you show us what happened?’ And the tiger’s like ‘Yeah sure.’ and he jumps in the pit, and then they leave.”

I find this piece to be quite funny, but what I find interesting about it is the lesson to not be cruel or too foolish, as it will cause problems in one’s life, just like what happened to the tiger.

The Woodcutter and the Angel

Nationality: American, Korean
Age: 22
Occupation: Account Executive
Residence: Seattle, WA
Performance Date: April 23, 2017
Primary Language: English
Language: Korean

The 22-year-old informant was born in South Korea and moved to the U.S. at a very young age. She chose to share this story because it is commonly told in Korean culture.

“So there’s this woodcutter, and he’s in the woods and he walks to find some water and he comes down to this lake and sees all these angels bathing in the lake. So he keeps coming back day after day to watch these angels bath, and he notices that when they bath, they take off their wings and all their clothes and everything. So one day, he just picks one of the angels and grabs her wings so she can’t fly back up to the heavens when all the other angels go. So she’s lost there and crying and he comes up to her and is like, ‘Hey do you wanna come home with me and be my wife?’ and she says yes. Basically the woodcutter had found out to take the wings from this old fortune-teller, so after the angel takes the woodcutter home, he goes back to the fortune-teller and is like ‘Ok now what do I do?’ and the fortune-teller’s like, ‘Make sure to not give her back her wings until you have more than 2 children’ and the woodcutter’s like, ‘Ok sure.’ So basically they live together and they’re happy and they have 2 babies, and he remembers that the fortune-teller said to wait until after 3 children, but he’s like, ‘Eh whatever, I really love this person and she loves me,’ so he gives them back to her and she puts them on and takes one kid in each arm and flies back up to the heavens. So then the woodcutter is left alone without children.”

I found this story to be quite sad, despite the wrongdoing of the woodcutter in the first place. If there’s a lesson, I believe that it’s “What goes around, comes around,” for the most part. Sure, the woodcutter and the fallen angel were happy and had a family together, but that was all because he stole her wings so she couldn’t fly back up to the heavens. So, in the end, the woodcutter kind of got what he deserved.

The Goose and The Pearl

Nationality: American, Korean
Age: 22
Occupation: Account Executive
Residence: Seattle, WA
Performance Date: April 23, 2017
Primary Language: English
Language: Korean

The 22-year-old informant was born in South Korea and moved to the U.S. at a very young age. She chose to share this story because it is commonly told in Korean culture.

“So in this one folktale, there’s this traveler, who needs a place to stay so he asks this farmer if he can stay in his house, and the farmer’s like, ‘No, but you can stay in the barn.’ So he’s sleeping there and he sees this little girl running, and she drops a pearl and he sees a duck eat it. And then in the morning, he’s shaken awake by the farmer who’s like, ‘I’m gonna call the police! You stole my daughter’s pearl, it’s missing!’ and he’s like, ‘No I didn’t, just wait until your duck poops.’ So then the duck poops and they find it.”

The moral of the story is to be nice to people. According to the storyteller, this story is a common one amongst Korean people.

I find this piece interesting because it talks about such a simple concept that is a sign of human decency, however, it doesn’t always come naturally to everyone, which is why this story is more relevant and eye-opening that one would think at first. People are always quick to point fingers or let others take the blame for things and it’s important to remember not to assume anything.

For another version of this story, see Kim, Jinrak. The Generous Scholar. Seoul: Baramedia Publishing Inc., 2007. Print.

Russian Superstitions

Nationality: Russian, American
Age: 26
Occupation: Hedge Fund Analyst
Residence: New York, NY
Performance Date: April 8, 2017
Primary Language: English
Language: Russian

The 26-year-old informant was born in Russia, but moved to the U.S. at a young age. During his undergraduate studies at Dartmouth College, he was a teaching assistant for a Russian folklore class and found these pieces of folklore to be particularly interesting or representative of Russian culture.

On shaking hands:

“One superstition is you’re never supposed to shake hands with someone across a threshold or doorway. It’s said to lead to separation and falling out, because you’re like, wishing to never see that person again. So that’s pretty common. Pretty much all Russians follow this rule.”

On whistling:

“Another sort of weird superstition is that you shouldn’t whistle–especially indoors, like ever, because it’ll lead to you losing all your money and having bad luck. It used to be this belief that the wind is bad. Like a bad demon-type creature, and in ancient pagan belief. The wind whistles, so by whistling, you’re inviting the wind demon into your house.”

 

These superstitions are interesting because they involve things that are quite common in the U.S. In fact, most Americans wouldn’t think twice about where they shake hands with someone or if they’re whistling indoors. It definitely highlights the slightly irrational ideas behind superstitions when you hear superstitions from other cultures that aren’t your own. However, all superstitions play a part in culture and thus contribute infinitely to it.