Gods and Ghosts: Extraordinary Tales From Old Korea

This book is a collection of 28 stories from ‘Chun Yae Rok’ in which author Lim Bang recorded 62 mysterious folk tales that were popular in Korea during the Joseon Dynasty. New cartoons and pictures have been included in this new collection of these simple and fascinating stories. ‘Chun Yae’ means the edge of the sky where mysterious things happen on the border between the fairy world and the human world. These stories are valuable as a literary historical record of the lifestyles and ideas of the Koreans of that era. Even in history, the relationships between ghosts or fairies and people are inseparable from reality as impossible as this may seem at first glance. This book of tales about ghosts, fairies, goblins, wizards and other magical beings, and their mysterious relationships, shares the thoughts and lives of the people of the Joseon Dynasty.

The original author, Lim Bang (1640-1724), was a civil servant and author who favored the faction of Song Si-yeol. In the course of the factional intrigue in the Joseon Dynasty during the late 17th century, he was relieved of his position and deported several times. He ultimately died in exile. He wrote several books and his special interest in the poetry of the Tang dynasty is revealed in his extensive poetry.

The modern Korean language translator, Jung Hwan-kuk, was born in Jeolla Province in 1968 and majored in Chinese language and literature at Sungkyunkwan University. He is currently a professor in the Korean language and literature department of Dongkuk University. He is interested in translating classics and studying epics written in Sino-Korean characters during the late Joseon Dynasty.

© 2021 Sungkyunkwan University Press (Audiobook): 9791155505083

Translators: Kim Jung-eun, John Holstein

Release date

Audiobook: 3 December 2021