Tales of a Korean Grandmother: 32 Traditional Tales from Korea

by Frances Carpenter

The Korean people possess a folklore tradition as colorful and captivating as any in the world, but the stories themselves still are not as well-known to Western readers as those from The Brothers Grimm, Mother Goose, or Hans Christian Andersen. In her best-selling book for young readers, Frances Carpenter collects thirty-two classic stories from the land of the woodcutter and the old men of the mountain; the puppy who saved his village from a tiger; the singing girl who danced the Japanese General into the deep river; Why the Dog and Cat are Not friends; and even a more familiar tale of the clever rabbit who outsmarted the tortoise.The children of the Kim family sit at their beloved Grandmother's knee to listen to these and other traditional folk tales which are rooted in thousands of years of Korean culture.

Genres: Fiction, Short Stories, Asia, Historical Fiction, Fantasy, Childrens, Family

318 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1947

About the author

Frances Aretta Carpenter was born in 1890, in Washington, D.C., the daughter of Frank G. Carpenter, a journalist and travel book author. She was educated at Smith College, receiving her BA in 1912. In 1920, she married W. Chapin Huntington, with whom she had two children. Carpenter was well traveled, accompanying her father on his investigate tours as a girl, and her husband on his stints with the United States Foreign Service. Those experiences are reflected in her many children's books, which feature folklore from many parts of the world.

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.

Reviews

[Amy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I thought this was a Sonlight book but now I'm less sure. All I know is that it has been on my to-read list for quite a while. And...welllll, I've read it now. So there is that.
I did not particularly enjoy Tales of a Korean Grandmother, much as I hoped to. The Western tone and 1947 publishing date were very apparent.
I think I would have appreciated it more if I had read it when I was younger. Good idea in theory.

[Stacey D. · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a so-so book for a genre I don't really like at all. These 32 Korean fairytales are told mainly by Halmoni, a kindly old grandma from the rich Kim family of Seoul to her grandson Yong Tu and her grandaughter (possessing one of the best names ever), Ok Cha.

Most of these outdated, sexist and racist tales, with a sprinkling of appalling animal cruelty and murder tossed in, are related by Halmoni to the grandkids around the turn of the 20th century. A couple were sort of amusing, like "Why The Dog And The Cat Are Not Friends", "Rice from a Cat's Fur" and "The Tiger Hunter And The Mirror", but most were bogged down with uninteresting detail-after-detail that were simply boring.

Curiously enough, the Epilogue "--Many, Many Years Later..." handed down by Ok Cha to her grandkids in the late 1940's is one of the most interesting stories, but it's no fairytale. It's essentially a brief account -- and not a nice one -- of Korea under Japanese rule from 1910-1945. It ended when the Americans (and Soviets) liberated Korea and, of course, westernized the country following WWII. Of this period, Grandma Halmoni notes, Open the door to one stranger, and a hundred rush in. I wonder why the author chose to add in this kind of angry, xenophobic recount at the end of a book filled with fairytales?

While I like to think many inventions of yesteryear had their merits, I don't think we'd be too bereft if these fairytales went the way of the dinosaur. All in all, I kept asking myself when reading this folklore, In this day and age, just how relevant are these tales? What morals or messages are we teaching our children? While Halmoni comes off as a kindly old lady, in the Epilogue we learn from Ok Cha that, They set up schools for our girls as well as for our boys. I went to one such 'wake-up' school for a whole year. I stopped because my old-fashioned grandmother did not approve. She quickly arranged with the go-between for my marriage to your grandfather. '

Outdated indeed.

[laurenpie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Traditional folk-tales wrapped in cultural family-tales

The book's promotional blurb is actually spot-on. These traditional Korean tales can be favorably compared to European folk tales. The stories are comparable in content, length, detail and quality.

The stories in this collection add the welcome component of a family setting--a beloved, familiar and respected grandmother to put these stories in perspective. This "wrapping" of each folk tale within a family tale is successful and effective, and was my favorite aspect of the collection. The black and white drawings were nice as well; these included not only formal, titled illustrations, but also small decorative drawings introductory to each chapter.

Culturally, I found the prologue (disguised as Chapter One, wherein we meet grandma Halmoni, granddaughter Ok Cha, and the rest of the family) and the epilogue (catching up to Ok Cha now that she's a grandmother herself) very interesting, but hard to relate to. The complacency of the girls in their lower station in life may have been realistic (possibly), but was hard for me to swallow. This, along with a vague tendency toward upper-class haughtiness, really date the writing. But, perhaps these elements can be expected and forgiven, as our author is female and the original publication date is 1947. Sometimes, I think, female authors of prior generations had to kowtow to some extent in order to be deemed acceptable for publication.

I can't help but wonder how the last few pages would have sounded, had the author not been American. The closing sentiments seemed to border obsequiousness.

This is the type of book best read at a leisurely pace, no more than one story per day. Appropriate and enjoyable for read-aloud bed-time stories.

Note: This digital library book was auto-returned before I could finish it, but what I did read was inwardly-consistent, so that I feel confident I've got a good feel for the balance. When I saw I only had one day remaining, I skipped ahead and read the ending.

[Vaishali · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked up this book only because my life is ruled by K-dramas, especially sageuk in recent times.

The book seems promising, and has 32 lovely tales. Because every chapter also starts with present day Halmeoni and grandchildren, there is decent setting of the tone and understanding of culture. There are a lot of cultural habits we've noted from K drama, but some of these folk tales really add a nice layer of understanding to it.eg- the story of the pottery hats or why they wore replaceable collars, etc.

I also absolutely loved how it ended- the last chapter. It made the whole book and Korea a lot more relatable.

However, I feel the stories could have been written in a much more gripping way and time could have been spent on building narrative. The tone also feels regressive at times.
A decent 3.5 star book to pick up if you are a Kdrama/ K-pop fan too :)

[Kat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Es un buen libro para aprender sobre la cultura coreana y cómo ha cambiado con el paso del tiempo.
4.5/5 ⭐

[Jay · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good collection of easily digestible folk tales. I really enjoyed how it showed women and men in more traditional times, despite the desparity of their expected roles. It made no apology for the difference, but also kept women visible, which must have taken some effort. It used very few Korean words, so Westerners will have no problem picking up the few it did use. Like most folk tales, these tended to have morals. Most were about kindness and taking care of family responsibilities. A couple showed the dangers of greed. There are also illustrations throughout, maybe one every other tale or so. Overall I feel like this book contained useful background knowledge for any Westerner who is interested in Korea.

[chaotic reader · Rating 2 out of 5]

In general it was ok, a few stories were quite interesting but I would liked a "more fantastic" storytelling way. 🤔

Love, right behavior, good form, wisdom, and faith. These were the five virtues which every Korean child was taught to remember. [The Bird of the Five Virtues]

[Elena · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is like Aesop's Fables but with a Korean twist. The morals of the stories are the usual - avoid greed, be kind, respect your elders, but I learned more about Korean culture & history.

* No wells could be dug in Pyonyang because the city shape resembled a 'boat' and they didn't want it to sink.
* Strong origin ties to China with historical bad-will with "dwarf men" of Japan.
* Love the romantic titles characters were given like "Great Spirit of Smallpox," "Lord of the Winds," "Ruler of the Rain," "Driver of Clouds"
* Brides had their eyes sealed w/wax to avoid seeing the bridegroom
* Many Asian countries consider white to be the color of sadness & funerals
* Stones & sticks were used to iron clothes back then
* Korean has a 25-letter alphabet (Unmun) like Japanese alongside the Chinese characters
* Women & girls lived in the Inner Courtyard and couldn't leave without being completely hidden. Many references to the idea that girls didn't need the same education as boys

[Namratha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thanks to K-Dramas taking over my life, I have become very intrigued by Korean culture and mythology. This seemed to be a promising book with interesting tales about the mystical origin of Korea, the reason why cats and dogs are mortal enemies, how a singing girl danced a Japanese General into a river, the wise homilies that stress on familial respect and kindness being conveyed through traditional folktales and the peeks into the spiritual forces that guide and protect Korean homes.

It does tend to take a sometimes antiquated and regressive note as the tales are told by a Korean grandmother at the turn of the 20th century to her two adored grandchildren Ok Cha and Yong Tu. It also delves into the forceful occupation of Japan and the many years of strife and angst that the Korean people underwent till World War II.

In conclusion, a great way to know more about Korean fairytales and fables but I wish it were told with more progressive flair.

[Izzati · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

This was my first time reading Korean folktales. The format was interesting in that it wasn't simply a retelling of folktales like in most books, but the folktales were told by fictional Korean grandmothers in the Kim household.

Some familiar stories across folktales from different cultures:
1. Dragon King under the sea needing an organ of a land animal to cure his beloved
2. Cinderella story
3. Animals finding the greatest son-in-law for their most beautiful daughter

Recurring themes in this book:
1. Rewards for being kind especially to animals
2. Monetary punishments for being cruel
3. Limitations on what women and girls could/should do back in the day
4. The cruelty of Japan

I find it interesting that a lot of the folktales are similar to the Japanese. I'd love to read other Asian folktales, especially from China just to compare if there are more of similar ones.

[Maria · Rating 4 out of 5]

While most western fairy tales and folk stories have a tendency to inspire fear into kids (fear for wolves, mothers or stepmothers, the dark and what not), I very much appreciate Korean fairy tales! Korean fairy tales give not necessarily caution to kids, but the endow them with courage and motivation to be honest, just and hardworking. And besides that they are entertaining and inspire warm emotion :)

Francis Carpenter did a great job in compiling and linking the individual tales into one greater story. Personally it also helps me to better understand the cultural background of Koreans around the beginning of the 1900's.

[Sohini Roy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Delightful little book, pretty much exactly what I expected. The stories are charming and they’re fun to read whether you’re a child or an adult. Halfway through I was kind of over the concept so I wouldn’t recommend trying to read this all in one go, it’s more of a 1-2 stories per day thing, but still fun!

[Eleanor · Rating 3 out of 5]

Frances Carpenter explores Korean culture and a small bit of history in an interesting way. It takes tales and makes character to "ask" about what the tales mean while Halmoni (Korean Grandmother, another character) tells them. She "explains" why there traditions are they way they are, though not in a direct way. It is a nice way to take a peek into Korean culture.

[Vitalia Strait · Rating 4 out of 5]

These felt akin to Aesop's fables rather than more modern European fairytales. Some of them were great, while others felt like they needed something more to them. I really appreciated the overarching narrative of the grandmother telling her grandchildren this story, which was touching when it was tied up in the last chapter.

[Madi Harenza · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading Tales of a Korean Grandmother because I learned a lot about the Korean culture. It is also interesting because they have similar tall tales that I learned about in the United States. The book would be fun to read to students as a relaxing read aloud time.

[Terry Polston · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting complication of Korean folk tales told to teach children the goodness of being honorable, honest, and kind. Very uplifting stories told often in the guide of talking animals, from, of course, the children's beloved grandmother.

I would recommend this book.

[Aisyah Samuin · Rating 5 out of 5]

There is nothing to not like in folk tales and children's stories and I immensely enjoyed this little window into Korean culture.

[Deevena Jemima · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cool stories!!

[Cathy Sheetz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Traditional stories told by a Korean grandmother to the Kim family.

Classroom library for 4th through 6th grade. Mentor text for retelling fairytales or folktales.

[Thea · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 1/2 stars

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Krishna Priya · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stories that you have heard in your childhood with a Korean background.
Fun small stories. Delivers what it claims

[Diane · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I was a little girl living in Fort Worth, TX, I was delighted to get my first library card. I saw it as a sign of maturity. I loved the Fort Worth Public Library. It was two stories and I got to ride in an elevator, which was a big thing for me at the time. There was a HUGE children's section that you could literally get lost in. It was there that I found this book, "Tales of a Korean Grandmother." I was totally unfamiliar with Korea and had never heard of Frances Carpenter. However, I fell in love with the book. It was totally unlike any other stories I had read up until that time. I had read almost nothing about Asia, so the setting in "Tales" was very exotic.

The frame of the story is about a Korean family and tells of their daily lives. The stories are told by the grandmother, called Halmoni, to her grandchildren, Ok Cha and Yong Tu. The one story that I had always remembered, even after so many years, was about the courageous and self-less gesang, Nonga, who defeated a Japanese general ("The Rock of the Falling Flower"). When I came across this book again finally, that was the first story that I read, even though it is next to the last in the book.

This book is written for children, but is not written down to them. It can be appreciated by all ages and I highly recommend it.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've been learning the Korean language, and though I know about some of traditions and a few of the idioms, I didn't know much about these sorts of tales.

I liked the way they set up the storytelling, with a Grandmother telling stories, while they gave the background of what the children were playing and wearing, what the meals were like, how the homes were constructed, so I also got a bit of a history lesson, within the history lesson.

The tales are more like Aesop's Tales then anything as bloody and terrifying as Hans Christian Anderson or Grimm's fairy tales. Though they lack maybe the sarcastic edge that Aesop's Tales have, these are more gentle and more about being a good person, and perhaps appeasing ill intended spirits, most are about food and survival.

I found it educational, and interesting. I don't know how it would compete with Disney or cartoons for today's modern child, but for this adult, I liked it : )

[Jo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tales of a Korean Grandmother caught my eye as I was shelving because one of my best friends is from South Korea, and I thought I might gain some insight into her thinking if I gave this one a read. While it's shelved in the kids' department at my library, and is written on a level that they can understand, neither is it such a low level that adults will weep upon reading it, so it's a good choice for families to read together. I especially liked how Carpenter tied all the myths and fairy tales together by having Halmoni tell them to her grandkids. This provided transitions between tales without requiring the author to get all academic and boring. Overall, probably not a great choice for someone just looking to kill time, but someone trying to kill time and who has a connection to the country should (okay, might) find in Tales of a Korean Grandmother a light read good for filling in an evening or four.

[Rubi · Rating 5 out of 5]

This old book was a lot more interesting than I thought it would be.
The folktales were entertaining, but I actually like more about the culture and history spread out throughout the book. And the feelings Koreans may have felt at the time.
Like when the Japanese took over and the changes they saw. How styles changes and how hair, clothes and customs were followed in the "old" times. I loved all those small details we got to see as the grandmother told her grandchildren story after story.
I would recommend it for anyone interested in Korean culture or for anyone up to new fairy tales ouside of Cinderella and Beauty and the Beast ;)
Open your kids minds to new cultures :)

[angrykitty · Rating 4 out of 5]

i'm adoptive korean, so this is a book i got at some korean get together thing. i really enjoyed it though as it gave insight into korean mythology. it's basically just a bunch of korean fairy tales, so it's pretty cool. some do get repetative though.

[Leichty Library]

Copies: 1 (different cover)

[Tammy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Made me miss my Grandma's and their stories. Good book!

[Kyrie · Rating 5 out of 5]

My kids and I loved these stories, even if the family was often snarky. It was a look into a world that fascinates all of us, and we had a great time reading it.