
TITLE: Tales of Korea
AUTHOR: Im Bang / Yi Ryuk
PUBLISHER: Tuttle Publishing
ISBN: 9780804855495
PODCAST EPISODE: None
REVIEWER: Hilary Wilson
Tuttle Publishing is a leader in providing the world with English-language books on Asian cultures, and that prestigious title is only enhanced by their latest publication. Tales of Korea: 53 Enchanting Stories of Ghosts, Goblins, Princes, Fairies, and More! by Im Bang and Yi Ryuk, translated by James S. Gale, was one of the first English-language books chronicling Korean folktales. First published in 1913, this reprinting contains a lovely foreword by Heinz Insu Fenkl that further contextualizes the importance of the book and the lives of the writers who contributed to it.
While the English-language collection is titled Tales of Korea and characterizes the stories as folk-tales, the stories are not quite that. They’re classified in Korean as yadam, unofficial anecdotes of people or times in history that aren’t deemed suitable for publication elsewhere. The stories were collected and cataloged with care by the translator, Gale, whose fascinating life is sketched out in the foreword of this collection. Gale was a missionary to Korea in the early 1900s who became fascinated with the cultural attitude towards superstition. He translated and compiled local stories with a curiosity and lack of judgment unusual for the period.
As indicated by the title of this collection, the stories are all characterized by a hint of the paranormal. People are whisked away to the otherworld within these pages. There are enchanting creatures such as fox spirits and goblins, as well as historical figures familiar to anyone part of the culture. This is the nature of the yadam. Gale, in assembling together these stories, carefully checked sources. And, continuing in tradition, before each tale is a small biographical snippet taken from the Gukjo Inmulji (Kuk-cho In-mul-chi, “Korea’s Record of Famous Men”) to lend credence to the yadam.
The stories are fascinating, and at times funny. They provide an endearing look into a facet of Korean culture that is still relatively unknown to the West. These yadam are at times universally relatable. The love story Charan, for instance, is something that anyone could sympathize with regardless of culture. Other stories offer a glimpse into the cultural mores of Buddhism and Taoism that creates a more intimate understanding than any textbook would. It’s wonderful that this invaluable collection is getting a reprinting to bring it to a new audience.
AUTHOR: Im Bang / Yi Ryuk
PUBLISHER: Tuttle Publishing
ISBN: 9780804855495
PODCAST EPISODE: None
REVIEWER: Hilary Wilson
Tuttle Publishing is a leader in providing the world with English-language books on Asian cultures, and that prestigious title is only enhanced by their latest publication. Tales of Korea: 53 Enchanting Stories of Ghosts, Goblins, Princes, Fairies, and More! by Im Bang and Yi Ryuk, translated by James S. Gale, was one of the first English-language books chronicling Korean folktales. First published in 1913, this reprinting contains a lovely foreword by Heinz Insu Fenkl that further contextualizes the importance of the book and the lives of the writers who contributed to it.
While the English-language collection is titled Tales of Korea and characterizes the stories as folk-tales, the stories are not quite that. They’re classified in Korean as yadam, unofficial anecdotes of people or times in history that aren’t deemed suitable for publication elsewhere. The stories were collected and cataloged with care by the translator, Gale, whose fascinating life is sketched out in the foreword of this collection. Gale was a missionary to Korea in the early 1900s who became fascinated with the cultural attitude towards superstition. He translated and compiled local stories with a curiosity and lack of judgment unusual for the period.
As indicated by the title of this collection, the stories are all characterized by a hint of the paranormal. People are whisked away to the otherworld within these pages. There are enchanting creatures such as fox spirits and goblins, as well as historical figures familiar to anyone part of the culture. This is the nature of the yadam. Gale, in assembling together these stories, carefully checked sources. And, continuing in tradition, before each tale is a small biographical snippet taken from the Gukjo Inmulji (Kuk-cho In-mul-chi, “Korea’s Record of Famous Men”) to lend credence to the yadam.
The stories are fascinating, and at times funny. They provide an endearing look into a facet of Korean culture that is still relatively unknown to the West. These yadam are at times universally relatable. The love story Charan, for instance, is something that anyone could sympathize with regardless of culture. Other stories offer a glimpse into the cultural mores of Buddhism and Taoism that creates a more intimate understanding than any textbook would. It’s wonderful that this invaluable collection is getting a reprinting to bring it to a new audience.