Korean Folk Tales: Imps, Ghosts and Fairies

What It's About

This collection gathers 53 traditional Korean folk tales filled with fairies, goblins, ghosts, enchanted animals, witches, and magical encounters. Collected from earlier Korean sources dating back to the 15th and 17th centuries, the stories explore love, fate, trickery, courage, revenge, and the supernatural. Tales such as The Home of the Fairies, Charan, and Ten Thousand Devils combine wonder and mystery with moral lessons and glimpses into traditional Korean beliefs and storytelling.

Key Concepts

Korean folklore, supernatural beings, spirits and ghosts, morality, fate, magic, traditional storytelling, myth and legend.

About the Author

Im Bang and Yi Yook were Korean scholars and writers associated with the preservation of traditional Korean stories and literary culture. Their collected tales helped preserve many well-known legends and folk traditions from Korea’s past.

About This Edition

This is a 1913 translation by James Scarth Gale.