Journal · Korean Folktales for Little Readers · Book 3
Why Korean parents call a child a little “green frog”
The story of the green frog is one of the best-known folktales in Korea. Almost every Korean child has heard it from a parent or grandparent. It is a pourquoi tale, a story that tells why something in nature happens: here, why green frogs sing when it rains.
In Korea, a child who always does the opposite is sometimes called a cheonggaeguri, a “green frog.” Parents often say it with a smile when a little one says “no” to everything!
The green frog in the story is a real animal. Small tree frogs live near rice fields and streams all over Korea. They are bright green or yellow-green and about as big as your thumb. They really do sing more when rain is coming, so people say, “The green frogs are crying. It will rain soon.”
Jangma is Korea’s rainy season. It comes in early summer, usually from late June to late July, when it rains for many days.
And what do Korean frogs say? Gaegul, gaegul. In English, that is “ribbit, ribbit.”
