The Tiger and the Persimmon
Unmasking Our 'Unknown Fears'
Among the old tales we heard resting on our grandmothers' laps, one remains deeply etched in our minds: 'The Tiger and the Dried Persimmon (Gotgam)'. While it may be remembered simply as a delightful fable used to soothe crying children, looking at it through the lens of adulthood reveals profound philosophy and humor that pierces the essence of our lives. We invite you to a bitter-cold winter night, into an astonishing night of misunderstanding that took place in a small thatched cottage.
1. A Pitch-Black Winter Night, A Child Who Knows No Fear
In a deep mountain village swallowed entirely by a white blizzard, it was New Year's Eve. The cold was so severe that even wild animals were starving. A massive Bengal tiger, the absolute lord of the mountain and a symbol of terror, descended into the village in search of prey.
The tiger prowled toward an isolated cottage where a faint oil lamp flickered. Crouched outside the door, holding its breath, the tiger heard the continuous crying of a child. The mother, trying to comfort the child, whispered toward the outside:
"If you keep crying, the wolf outside will take you away!"
But the crying did not subside. Frustrated, the mother summoned the most terrifying entity she knew.
"Shush! A scary tiger is right outside! It's growling, ready to eat you!"
Listening from outside, the tiger felt a surge of pride. 'As expected, my name is the absolute terror to humans.' However, bizarrely, the child ignored the warning and cried even louder. A tiny creature unafraid of the great mountain lord! For the first time in its life, a sense of bewilderment toward an unfamiliar existence began to bloom in the tiger's mind.
Just then, the mother's urgent voice was heard again.
"Look, here is a Gotgam (dried persimmon)! Gotgam!"
At that moment, a miracle occurred. The incessant crying that had lasted all night stopped like magic. In the chilling night air filled only with silence, the tiger's pupils shook violently.
'A child who didn't even stop crying at the name of a tiger, silenced instantly... Just how cruel and terrifying is this monster called Gotgam?'
Falling into the illusion that a beast far stronger and more horrific than itself was inside the house, the tiger felt a bone-chilling terror for the first time. What silenced the child was merely the warmth and sweetness of a piece of dried fruit, but to the shivering tiger outside, it morphed into an 'unknown colossal terror.'
3. Collision in the Dark, Chased by Self-Made Fear
Just then, a cow thief, who had sneaked into the house's barn, spotted a massive silhouette in the dark. Mistaking it for a plump ox, the thief leaped onto the tiger's back, tightly grabbing its scruff as if holding reins.
Instantly, the tiger's mind went blank. 'It has finally come! This must be the dreadful Gotgam!'
Desperate to shake off this horrific 'Gotgam,' the tiger sprinted through the mountain paths with all its might. The thief on its back, realizing he was riding a massive man-eating tiger instead of an ox, clung on for dear life, paralyzed with fear.
A tiger chased by an illusion of its own making, and a thief clinging to the disaster brought on by his own greed. The two raced through the pitch-black darkness until dawn. Only when daylight broke did the thief manage to jump off into a hollow tree trunk, while the tiger fled madly, both barely escaping with their lives.
What is the 'Gotgam' living in our own lives?
The reason this story leaves a profound impact beyond a simple, humorous folktale is that we can see our own reflections in the tiger.
We often lose sleep over intangible fears. Anxiety about an unwritten future, the judgment of others, the fear of failure. Sometimes, these become our own 'Gotgams'—monsters so large in our minds that they bind us, just as they terrified the great tiger. Yet, when dawn breaks and we face the truth, the essence of our greatest fears is often just a sweet piece of fruit, or something as fragile as ourselves.
Today, if there is a blind fear or anxiety weighing heavily on your back, ask yourself: "Is this thing I fear merely a 'Gotgam' of my own creation?"
Sometimes, the best way to overcome fear is to realize that its true form is far more trivial, and perhaps even sweeter, than we ever imagined.
