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

Folklore, April, 2002 by James Huntley Grayson

   Long ago, there were three brothers. On the day when their sick father
   died, he left a will in which he told them to hold fast to their honour, to
   be of good cheer to each other, and to divide the estate equally amongst
   themselves. However, the two older brothers joined together, and drove the
   youngest brother from the house saying, "You are still young, unmarried,
   and can work hard to make a good fortune." They gave him a small amount of
   money to cover his travelling expenses and told him to be gone.

      After a few days, the youngest brother had spent all his money and
   became very hungry. Even so, he continued to wander around looking for
   work. Soon, he came to a river and saw that a monk, who looked very unsure
   on his feet, was trying to cross the river. He saw that if he did not do
   something quickly, the monk would fall in and be swept away by the current.
   He ran forward, firmly grasped the monk and led him to safety on the other
   side of the river. The youngest brother said, "Do you know where you are
   going? Would you like me to accompany you on your journey?" The monk,
   delighted by the offer, replied, "Yes, that would please me. I am going to
   a temple." He went on to explain that this temple was very small and was
   located in a very isolated place, deep in the mountains. Also, it had not
   been used for a very long time and was in a quite bad state of repair.
   However, the youngest brother said that the temple could be thoroughly
   cleaned, and put back into good order. The monk noticed that the youngest
   brother seemed to have nowhere to go, and asked if he would like to
   accompany him. The brother answered that he would like to very much and
   that he had decided that he would like to live with the monk.

      Several years passed and one day, the youngest brother announced that he
   would like to return to his home village and see how his older brothers
   were getting on. The monk wished him well, and said that he regretted that
   he had given him nothing in return for the long time that the youngest
   brother had spent there, or given him anything for his hard work. The monk
   asked him to accept three gifts to remember his stay. The monk gave the
   youngest brother a woven straw mat, a drinking gourd, and a pair of
   chopsticks. With these three presents from the monk, the youngest brother
   started out for home.

      On the way, there were times when there were no houses in which he could
   stay when night fell. He would sleep in the fields on the straw mat which
   the monk had given him. However, when the sun rose, the youngest brother
   was amazed to find that the place where he had slept was not a field but a
   room inside a palace. When he looked at the drinking gourd, he saw that it
   was filled with the most succulent foods. This was all due to the monk's
   grace he thought. When he picked up the food with the chopsticks, from out
   of nowhere beautiful maidens appeared and said, "You have suffered long and
   hard, so we shall dance for you and soothe you." However, the youngest
   brother thought that this was not the time to watch dances, as he had to
   hurry home. Suddenly, a palanquin and many manservants appeared and his
   journey continued on in a splendid procession. Not wanting to give his
   brothers a bad impression, when the youngest brother arrived near his
   hometown, he made the servants go home.

      He entered his home village on foot in tattered clothes. He greeted his
   brothers warmly. However, when they saw his old clothes and that he was
   almost starving, they once again sent him out of the house. He was once
   again in unpleasant circumstances. However, he bore it stoically. After
   crossing a small stream, he realised that it was becoming dark. As it was
   dangerous to travel at night, and having no other alternative, the youngest
   brother rolled out the straw mat and lay down. The next morning when the
   older brothers opened their gate and went outside, on the other side of the
   stream there was a large tile-roofed mansion. Unable to believe their eyes,
   they thought that it was the work of goblins. They crossed the stream and
   approached the mansion to have a look. They asked a manservant outside who
   the owner was. They were exceedingly surprised when they were told that it
   belonged to their youngest brother. On entering, they met their youngest
   brother who greeted them affectionately and entertained them with fine
   food, wine and dances. The eldest brother asked, "What extraordinary gift
   do you have by which you can build such a fine house overnight?" The
   youngest brother explained in detail everything which had befallen him.

      On leaving the house, the older brothers decided that they too must give
   their wealth to the poor and pay a visit on the monk. So, with no feelings
   of mercy or of the joy of giving in their hearts, they gave their wealth to
   the poor and went to visit the monk. The monk, however, had gone away, and
   the temple was again in a state of disrepair. Starving, the two older
   brothers arrived back in their village and were greeted by their youngest
   brother and their families. The older brothers lived happily ever after
   (Choi 1974, 190-3). [4]