Sun and Moon

More Than Just a Bedtime Story: The Hidden Thrills and Meanings of 'The Sun and the Moon'

Good afternoon! Do you remember the bedtime stories you used to listen to while hiding under the blankets as a child? If we were to pick the greatest thriller among Korean traditional folktales that kept us on the edge of our seats, it would undoubtedly be 'The Sun and the Moon' (Haenim Dalnim).

When we were young, it just felt like a story about a scary tiger and pitiful siblings. However, looking back at it through an adult's eyes, 'The Sun and the Moon' is a brilliant piece of literature filled with psychological warfare, suspense, and the worldview of the Korean people. Today, let's dive deeper into this fascinating tale.

1. The Terror of the Twelve Mountain Passes

The story begins in a deep mountain village as the sun is setting. A mother, who raised her son and daughter alone through sewing and odd jobs, was hurrying home with a basket of rice cakes on her head, which she had received as her wages.

To get home, she had to cross twelve rugged and dark mountain passes. At the first pass, a tiger as big as a house blocked her path. "Roar! Give me a rice cake, and I won't eat you!" Trembling, the mother threw a rice cake and narrowly escaped. But this cunning tiger appeared again at the next pass. Once the rice cakes were gone, the cruel tiger demanded her outer coat, then her skirt, and eventually her arms and legs. After swallowing the mother whole, the tiger put on her clothes and headed toward the cabin where the children were waiting. (This part symbolizes the unstoppable greed of the tiger and the harsh, exhausting lives of commoners in the past.)

2. The Breathtaking Psychological Warfare Behind the Door

In the cabin, the young siblings were hungry, waiting for their mother. As the night deepened, a voice came from outside. "Kids, Mommy is home. Open the door."

However, the smart children didn't open the door right away. The voice sounded bizarre and rough, unlike their mother's usual gentle tone.

"Our mother's voice is as sweet as a nightingale. Your voice sounds strange." "It's because I caught a cold from the chilly wind," the tiger lied smoothly.

The children's suspicion didn't end there. They asked to see her hands. The tiger pushed its furry paw through the door crack, but lied again, saying it had put white flour on its hands at the mill and that its hands were rough from hard work. Finally, spotting the tiger's tail through a gap, the quick-witted siblings made an excuse to use the outhouse, escaped through the back door, and climbed a large tree in the yard.

3. The Reflection in the Well, Sesame Oil, and the Axe

The siblings held their breath in the tree. While searching for the children, the tiger spotted their reflection in the well. The moment the tiger realized they were in the tree and locked eyes with them is the climax of the story.

"How did you get up so high?" the tiger asked. To trick the tiger, the older brother lied, "We rubbed plenty of sesame oil on our hands and climbed up!" The foolish tiger found sesame oil in the kitchen, rubbed it on its paws, and hilariously kept slipping down the trunk. But in this tense situation, the innocent younger sister accidentally blurted out the truth: "Silly, you just have to chop the tree with an axe to climb up!"

4. Judgment from the Sky: The Ropes and the Sorghum Field

Armed with an axe, the tiger began to climb at a terrifying speed. The siblings' only remaining hope was the sky. They clasped their hands and prayed desperately. "God of the Heavens, if you wish to save us, send down a strong new rope. If you wish us to die, send down a rotten rope!"

As soon as the prayer ended, a thick, sturdy rope descended from the sky, and the siblings safely climbed above the clouds. Seeing this, the tiger prayed exactly the same way. But for a beast that had committed evil deeds its whole life, the sky sent down a 'rotten rope.' As the tiger climbed, the rope snapped, and it plummeted into a field of sharp red sorghum, meeting its demise. (Our ancestors explained that the stalks of sorghum have red speckles because they were stained with the tiger's blood—a brilliant display of their imagination, attributing stories to natural phenomena.)

5. The Sun and the Moon: A Story of Sibling Love

What happened to the siblings in the sky? They became divine spirits: the Sun and the Moon. Originally, the brother was supposed to be the Sun, and the sister the Moon. However, the young sister was terrified of being alone in the pitch-black night sky. The kind-hearted brother willingly switched roles for her sake.

Thus, the sister who feared the dark became the Sun that brightens the day, and the brother became the Moon that guards the night. There is also a cute hidden detail: the reason people cannot look directly at the sun is that the shy sister emits an intense light because she is embarrassed when people stare at her.

'The Sun and the Moon' goes beyond a simple tale of good versus evil. The fragile siblings, who never gave up and used their wits even in the face of a terrifying tiger (symbolizing natural disasters, poverty, or sheer hardship), represent the resilient vitality of the Korean people trying to overcome a harsh life.

Tonight, looking at the gentle Moon guarding the dark sky, how about reminiscing about the older brother's warm heart—who willingly chose the night sky for his sister—and the nostalgia of the stories we heard as children? 

#Sun Moon   #Korean Children's fairy tales   #Tiger