The Hungbu and Nolbu tale type: a Korean double contrastive narrative structure

Folklore, April, 2002 by James Huntley Grayson

Abstract

There is a large class of Korean folk tales composed of parallel sets of contrasting narratives showing how good actions are rewarded and evil actions punished. This type of narrative structure, which I have termed double contrastive narrative structure, can be found throughout East Asia and the world. "The Story of Hungbu and Nolbu," the best-known Korean example of this tale about a good younger brother and evil elder brother, is distinguished from similar tales in China and Japan by the Confucian "subtext" of its narrative which emphasises the moral power of the younger brother to influence his elder brother to reform his behaviour. The Korean tale is thus an illustration of the Confucian concept of moral suasion and not simply about rewards and punishments.

Introduction

The story of the two brothers Hungbu and Nolbu is one of the most typical and popular of all Korean folk tales. The earliest known recorded versions of the tale occur in several traditional novella or kodae sosol and as the performance text for a Korean sung tale form called p'ansori. In handwritten and printed forms, the story of the two brothers is known by several different but similarly phrased titles, including Hungbo-jon ("The Story of Hungbo") and Pak Hungbo-jon ("The Story of Mr Pak Hungbo"). Although we do not know the author or the recorder of these texts or the date for their composition or recording, it is thought that they are between two and three hundred years old (Han'guk minjok munhwa taebaekkwa sajon 1991, vol. 25, 755). At the end of the nineteenth century, the story had become such a widely known tale that Horace N. Allen (1858-1932), who compiled and translated the first Western-language collection of Korean folk tales, Korean Tales (1889), selected "The Story of Hungbu and Nolbu" as one of six typically Korean folk tales. In the period since the end of the Korean War in the 1950s, this tale has become one of the most popular Korean stories, forming the basis of many stage and television dramas. Recognition of the tale's "typicality" is further indicated by its selection as an example of folk culture on a set of stamps published by North Korea in 1963 and as one of four representative Korean folktales in the series of folktale postage stamps printed by the Republic of Korea in 1969/1970.

What is most striking about this story is the structure of its narrative. It is composed of two equal narrative sections or acts, each consisting of two scenes which balance each other with parallel narrative content but come to a different conclusion, or denouement. The first act makes a didactic moral point by emphasising the blessings which are the result of good motives, whilst the second act contrasts the narrative content of the previous act with an emphasis on the punishment which arises from bad motives. In the following section, I provide a translation into English of a recent recording of this story. The story will then be analysed and compared with similar tales from Korea as well as from China and Japan. All East Asian names given in the text of the stories or in the body of the article are given in East Asian order; that is, the surname precedes the personal name. The McCune-Reischauer system has been used to Romanise Korean terms, the Wade-Giles system for Chinese terms, and the modified Hepburn system for Japanese terms.

The Story of Hungbu and Nolbu

   Long, long ago, there were two brothers. The older brother was called
   Nolbu, and the younger brother was called Hungbu. The older brother,
   despite being very rich, was an extremely greedy and vindictive man who
   constantly caused trouble for his neighbours. On the other hand, his
   brother was poor, but very kind-hearted. Hungbu was a very hard worker, but
   for some reason he didn't have much luck. His wife and children knew no
   days but hungry ones. They led a very pitiable life.

      One day, just after Hungbu had returned from work, a snake appeared and
   began to attack a swallow's nest. The swallow and almost all her young
   were eaten alive. Only one young swallow escaped death. Even still, the
   young swallow had been injured. When it was fleeing, its leg had got caught
   in a bamboo blind and it had fallen to the ground. Seeing this, Hungbu
   quickly brought some ointment and rubbed it on the swallow's wounded leg.
   Then, he carefully wrapped some string around it to give it some support.
   Next, he carefully placed the young swallow back in the nest. In due
   course, the day came for the swallows to fly south. The swallow at Hungbu's
   house, now fully recovered, flew off in fine spirits. In due course, winter
   passed, spring came, and it was the third day of the third lunar month. The
   swallow which Hungbu had helped also flew back chirping cheerfully. Hungbu
   was delighted. Then the swallow dropped a gourd seed on the ground.
   Thinking that this was strange, Hungbu picked up the seed and planted it in
   the garden.

      After a few days, the seed began to sprout. The plant began to grow at a
   great rate. It pushed forth leaves and flowers, and eventually it bore five
   large gourds. Realising that they were indeed wondrous gourds, Hungbu
   consulted with his wife about what they should do. "Those gourds are many
   times larger than normal ones. Maybe we should cut one open to see if there
   might be something inside." No sooner had they cut open the gourd when rice
   began to flow out of the gourd. They filled five huge containers, but there
   was still lots remaining. They then took another gourd and cut it open.
   This time, it was gold which flowed out in large quantities. Hungbu and his
   wife danced with glee. Taking a third gourd, they cut it open. This time a
   beautiful nymph appeared. Looking at the two remaining gourds, she said,
   "Come out! Come out red and blue bottles! Come out!" With that, one of the
   gourds rolled over by itself and split in two. A red bottle appeared from
   the centre of the gourd and announced, "Here I am!" Then in the same
   fashion, the other gourd opened and a blue bottle appeared. Then the nymph
   said, "Now you must build a large mansion here." No sooner had she said
   this, when out of the blue bottle came a number of carpenters. Then from
   out of the red bottle came a large quantity of timber. In no time, the
   carpenters had built a splendid house. Then everyone returned to their
   places. The nymph disappeared in a puff of white smoke into the blue
   bottle.

      After that, Hungbu became a man of wealth. He and his family lived
   happily and wanted for nothing. However, when his elder brother Nolbu
   heard the news, he came immediately to Hungbu's house. He demanded to be
   told how his younger brother had managed to become so rich in such a short
   span of time. "Hey, you! How on earth did you do it? It's a miracle. Tell
   me now how you did it." Hungbu told him all about the injured swallow and
   what had happened afterwards.

      Hearing that story, Nolbu went home and decided that he too would gain
   great wealth. So, he immediately built a swallow's nest and waited for a
   swallow to come and make its home there. Then it happened that one
   unfortunate swallow did come and hatched some baby swallows there. In due
   course, Nolbu threw one of the swallows out of the nest and broke its leg.
   Then he rubbed some ointment on the injured leg, wrapped it up with string,
   and placed the bird back in its nest. Winter passed and Nolbu's swallow
   returned in the spring. The bird dropped a gourd seed in front of the
   waiting Nolbu. Nolbu immediately planted the seed. Things continued to
   happen just as Hungbu had described. Then, when the gourds appeared, Nolbu
   immediately split open one gourd to see what was inside. However, out of
   the gourd came many little imps wielding sticks. "We must punish you for
   your greed," they said and beat him mercilessly. Then the imps disappeared.
   Convinced that the other gourds contained gold, Nolbu struggled and managed
   to open another gourd. This time a number of debt collectors appeared.
   "Give us money. Repay your loans or else we will take everything from you."
   Eventually, they took everything and left. Nolbu, thinking that everything
   would be all right if he could just open up the other gourds, split open
   the third gourd. This time a flood of dirty, smelly water poured from the
   gourd and deluged the house.

      Nolbu couldn't take it any more and ran to Hungbu's house for help. His
   compassionate brother took pity on him and welcomed him warmly. The greedy
   brother reflected on his deeds and was very sorry for everything that he
   had done that was wrong. From then on, he became a very humble person.
   Hungbu divided his fortune equally with his brother and both of them lived
   happily ever after (Choi 1974, 193-7). [1]