Folk tales from Around the World Folk tales from many countries grouped by the themes of beauty, brotherly love, cleverness, disobedience, greed, happiness, love, lying, patience, and helping people. LOVE Malaysia – Young Man Shows True Love – Retold by K. Y. Chin BROTHERLY LOVE Korea – Real Brotherly Love – Retold by Yun Seok Kim CLEVERNESS Malaysia – Outwitting a Crocodile – Retold by … Read more
This folktale shows that the value of love and happiness can conquer evil. A long time ago, there was a prince who was very brave and a great knight. There was a princess too who was very beautiful and kind. They lived happily in a big castle. One day, a witch went to the castle … Read more
This is the story of a beautiful moon princess, but it is also a story about bamboo, a plant which was once believed to be sacred. Once upon a time, there was a young man called Ma Liang. He was poor and kind and helped a rich man to tend cattle. He liked drawing and … Read more
In this folktale, a good person receives a reward for his kindness, but then decides he wants more and has to face the consequences. Long, long ago, some children were playing at a seaside when they found a turtle. They began to bully the turtle. After a while, a young man came and said to … Read more
This is the story of a kind who was saved when a loyal staff officer sent a beautiful woman to the palace. Thousands of years ago, there was a country that was ruled by another country. The king was a slave who worked for the foreign ruler of this country. His staff officer was trying … Read more
This is a Korean “Cinderella-type” story. A beautiful young girl is mistreated by her ugly step-mother and her ugly step-sister. A long, long time ago, there were two sisters. The older sister’s name was Kongi and the younger sister’s name was Potgi. Kongi had a stepmother. The stepmother and Potgi disliked Kongi because she was … Read more
This is a traditional folk tale Korea. It includes the idea that beautiful girls are nice and ugly people are bad. Generally speaking, most Korean stories include that idea. I think it’s extremely natural. Once upon a time, there were two girls—Jang Hwa and Hong Ryeon. They were sisters. They were very beautiful and nice. … Read more
In this heartwarming story, two brothers in a village show their love. A long, long time ago, there lived two brothers in a village. They were both very poor. The older brother had a little more than the other one: however, he had a larger family to support than the younger brother. One autumn, they … Read more
This is the story of a young man’s true love for his girlfriend, who he loved so much that he was brave enough to risk his life, fighting a dragon. Two hundred years ago, there was a princess named May Yee. She was born in Malaysia. She wanted to get married to a young man, … Read more
An original tale written by Ji-Young Lee from Korea There was a village named ‘Sa-rang’ in Korea. The village had two flowers that cried when a couple passed nearby. These flowers never died. Once upon a time, there was a couple, Soo-il and Soon-ae, living in Sa-rang. They loved each other so much that they … Read more