Journal · Korean Folktales for Little Readers · Book 4
The rabbit, the turtle, and a 1,300-year-old tale
“The Rabbit and the Turtle” is one of the oldest stories in Korea, and it is not the race story you may know! People were already telling it more than 1,300 years ago.
Later, it became a long sung story called Sugungga, “The Song of the Underwater Palace.” Singers still perform it today in pansori, a kind of Korean storytelling through song.
The turtle in the story is a jara, a real Korean turtle with a soft, flat shell and a long, pointy nose. It really lives in rivers and ponds, not in the sea. But in the old story, the jara is the Dragon King’s loyal helper, and nobody minds.
In our book, the Dragon King’s palace is drawn like a real Korean palace from long ago. Behind his throne is a screen painting of the sun, the moon, and five mountain peaks. Kings of Korea sat in front of this painting. You can see it at Gyeongbokgung Palace in Seoul, and even on Korea’s 10,000-won bill.
And the Dragon King’s tummy ache? It came from eating too much at his feast. So maybe the best medicine was not a rabbit’s liver at all, but a smaller dinner!
