PATRONAGE OF MARY DEVELOPMENT SCHOOL

S. Medida (Extension) Street, Poblacion, Boljoon, Cebu

Tel. No.: (032) 482 – 9302 | (032) 482 – 9400
Website: www.pmds.ph | Email Add.: pmdsmamamary@gmail.com

INSTRUCTIONAL PACKET IN ENGLISH 8

Lesson 11
Accepting Circumstances
(Distinguishing Features of Korean Folktale)

I. Objectives:
At the end of the lesson, you will be able to:
1. distinguish the features of Korean folktale;
2. identify meaning of the vocabularies found in the folktale;
3. determine the purpose of the story;
4. explain the lesson gleaned from the story;
5. write a gratitude message addressing to his /her grandparents; and
6. appraise the value of concepts learned about the features of Korean folktale.

II. Preliminaries.
Read the fable first before you proceed to the lesson.

The Crow & the Pitcher

(Aesop’s Fable)

In a spell of dry weather, when the Birds could find very

little to drink, a thirsty Crow found a pitcher with a little
water in it. But the pitcher was high and had a narrow
neck, and no matter how he tried, the Crow could not reach
the water. The poor thing felt as if he must die of thirst.

Then an idea came to him. Picking up some small

pebbles, he dropped them into the pitcher one by one. With
each pebble the water rose a little higher until at last it was
near enough so he could drink.

Moral: In a pinch a good use of our wits may help us

out.

1. Have you tried going to some places where there is scarcity of water and you feel thirsty?
What did you do?
2. What do you remember about this fable?
3. How can you describe the wit of the crow? How often do you use your wit in times of
need?
4. Why do you think is the purpose of this fable?

Are you familiar with

these two biggest Korean
fantasy dramas?

Well, these fantasy

dramas have something
related to our topic today.

1
 III. Content

The “Goblin” and “The Legend of the Blue Sea” are Korean fantasy dramas which are
based on Korean folktale and culture.
 What is a folktale?
 What are the distinguishing features of Korean folktales?
A folktale is a traditional story that is passed down from one generation to the next
by oral tradition. Said story becomes part of a community’s tradition, and is thus
embraced by members of the community across ages and gender.
There are several types of folktales in the culture of Koreans. Some feature
supernatural beings that possess powers. The tales of the supernatural beings in Korea
show us the relationships that humans have with them. An example of which is the
imuldam or supernatural beings such as ghosts, monsters, and goblins.
The culture of Korea is a mixture of several beliefs systems. The folk culture shows
the connection of human and spirits, their world, and our world. The stories also contain
realizations about hardships and pleasures in life.

The Origin of the Sun and the Moon

(A Korean Folktale)

In a hilly country, there once lived an old woman with two grandchildren, a boy
and a girl. One day, she went to a rich neighbor to lend a hand, in return for which she
got a few millet pancakes. Thinking of her hungry grandchildren waiting for her, she
hurried home, carrying the cakes on her head. Now there were series of small hills
between the rich man’s house and hers. When she got over the first hill, she found a
large tiger squatting in her way, who challenged her, saying, “Granny, what are you
carrying on your head?’
“A few pancakes for my grandchildren.”
“If you give me one of them, I won’t harm you.”
Thereupon the old woman gave a pancake away.
When she hurried over the second hill, she was
challenged by the same tiger who had cunningly come
before her by another route, but whom the dim-eyed
old woman took for another.
“What is that you carry on your head?”
“A few pancakes for my grandchildren.”
“If you give me one of them, I won’t eat you.”
So, the second cake was gone. The same thing
repeated itself till there was no cake left. Still another
hill surmounted, the old woman again came upon the
pitiless animal.
“Granny, what are those things that are dangling
at your sides?”
“What have I got but my poor arms?”
“If you give me one of them, I won’t eat you.”
The poor old woman had to let the tiger have her right arm and soon her left one,
too. At the foot of still another hill, the tiger asked, “Granny, what are those things that
are moving alternately under you?”
“They are my poor legs. Your friends have taken everything else from me.”
“Give me one of them, and I will spare your life.”
2
 “How can I go home with only one leg, O tiger?”
“You could by hopping.”
The old woman allowed the beast to take her right leg. Over one more hill, the
waiting beast again challenged her, “What is it that you are hopping with?”
“My poor left leg,” answered the woman. “Give it to me,” growled he, “or I will
devour you.”
“O merciless tiger!” said the woman rather angrily this time, “how could you ask
for the only leg left of me? I would never reach home and see my dear grandchildren.”
“Why, of course, you could do so by rolling.” So saying, the tiger ate up her
remaining leg. When she rolled over the last hill, the insatiable beast was already
there. “Granny,” he challenged, “what have you got to me in return for sparing your
life?”
“Nothing whatever!” screeched the dying woman. Whereupon the tiger devoured
what was left of her.
Now the tiger was too rapacious an animal to let the two children alone, who, he
understood, were awaiting the return of the old woman. He disguised himself in his
victim’s clothes, and came to the cottage to ask for admittance. Remembering the
words, however, their grandmother had said before her going about the dangers of
tigers, the children prevented the door from opening by hanging on to the handle-string.
“Are you really our grandma? There’s something strange about your voice.”
“I have been drying barley all day and shouting birds away all the time has made
me hoarse.”
“Then, Grandma, put in your hand that we may make sure. Why is it not so
smooth as it used to be? And all covered with hair, too!”
“I felt cold and put on a pair of fur gloves.”
The elder of the two children peeped out of a hole in the door, and saw who it
really was that wanted to be let in. the frightened brother and sister slipped through the
back door and climbed a tree that stood by a well. The tiger suspected their escape by
reason of the silence, and broke through the door.
Finding the room empty, he threw away his mask,
and, howling his anger out, rummaged for the
missing children. At length, he came to the well and
noticed the reflection of the children in the water.
“what shall I use to draw you up, children, a
bucket or a basket?” the tiger half asked himself
bewildered. At this time, the children up in the
tree could not help going into peals of laughter. The
tiger looked up and gave a triumphant howl.
“Children, how did you get up there so high?
asked he.
“We did so,” replied they, “after smearing
the trunk of the tree with sesame oil we borrowed
from our front neighbor.” The tiger tried sesame oil,
but it made it all the more slippery. He made up his
mind to try and see what guile could do.
“You are really wonderful children,” said the tiger
flatteringly, “to have climbed the tree unaided. Tell me, sweet children, how you perform such
feat?” This praise diverted the minds of the innocent children from their imminent peril,
causing them to be thoughtless enough to make a fatal slip.
“We borrowed an ax from our back neighbor,” said they, “and chopped into the trunk so
as to afford easy footholds.” The tiger, getting an ax, began to make notches on the trunk. The

3
children saw at once what they had done to their own undoing. Stretching out their tiny hands
toward Heaven, they began praying, “O Heavenly Lord, send help and save us two souls! Let
down a strong chain, if you are pleased to save us, and send us a rotten straw rope, if you mean
to forsake us.” Presently a chain came down, to their joy, and took them up.
The cunning beast thought that he was sure to be forsaken by God, and likewise prayed.
“Heavenly Lord, if you mean to help me, send me a rotten straw rope; if you want to forsake
me, send me a chain.” His prayer was also answered by the all-helpful Lord, and accordingly a
straw rope appeared, which snapped half way up. The tiger fell lifeless upon a millet field. Millet
stalks pierced through his body and were stained by his blood, which accounts, it is held by
some even to this day, for the scarlet spots on them.
When the children were taken to Heaven, they were summoned before the Heavenly
Lord, whose solemn voice was heard to say “No one in Heaven eats without working. You too
shall also, therefore, be employed in honest labor. You brother shall shine by day, and you sister
shall shine by night.” The sister, however, pleaded for being made the sun herself, as she was
sorely afraid of the night. So she was allowed to take her brother’s place, but, as she hated
being gazed at by idle people, while moving about in the daytime, she contrived to pour out such
strong light as to dazzle their eyes.

Let’s talk about it…

1. How would you feel about the story? What would happen if the grandmother did not sacrifice
herself?
2. Do you think the grandmother in the story plays a great role?
3. If you were one of the characters in the story, who would you be and why?
4. If you are the grandmother, what actions would you take to stop the tiger?
5. Why do you think is the purpose of this story?

IV. Review
 The “Goblin” and “The Legend of the Blue Sea” are Korean fantasy dramas which
are based on Korean folktale and culture.
 A folktale is a traditional story that is passed down from one generation to the
next by oral tradition.
 The tales of the supernatural beings in Korea show us the relationships that
humans have with them.
V. Learning Tasks
A. The Origin of the Sun and the Moon. Fill in the boxes with the appropriate
letters to form a word that corresponds to the given meaning.
B. Let’s talk about it. Answer the following questions sincerely.

VI. Performance Task

Gratitude Message. Reflect the relationship you have with your grandmother/
grandfather or to the person who had done sacrifices for you. Write a letter/ message
showing your sincerest gratitude.

Note: See the attached learning tasks.

VII. References

Gabriel, J. P. (2013). Asian & African literature and communication arts. St. Bernadette Publishing House
Corporation

Retrieved from Library of Congress http://www.read.gov/aesop/009.html Retrieved: September 16, 2021

Retrieved from 2021 SlideShare from Scribd https://www.slideshare.net/josephestroga/chinese-literature-

final Retrieved: September 16, 2021

Retrieved from https://youtu.be/qT4uy4zJ0to Retrieved: September 16, 2021

Tagay, L. V., Brutas, M. L., & Basa, M. M.(2019). Journeying through literature and language with Afro-
Asian literary texts. SalesianaBooks by Don Bosco Press, Inc.

Prepared by: Checked by:

RUTH U. MALLORCA EDGARDO M. CABASE, JR.
Subject Teacher Subject Coordinator

4
 ROUEL A. LONGINOS

School Director/ Principal