Tales of Korea

Im Bang, born in 1640, was a disciple of Song Si-yol, one of Korea's foremost writers. In 1719, at the remarkable age of seventy-nine, he became governor of Seoul and simultaneously held office as secretary of the cabinet. His writings have long been revered in Korea, and his reputation as a great scholar has endured for centuries.Yi Ryuk, who lived during the reign of King Sejo in the mid-15th century, was no less a scholar than Im Bang. The Kuk-cho Inmul-chi (Korea's Record of Famous Men) speaks of him as "a man of many offices and many distinctions in the way of literary excellence."James S. Gale (1863-1937) was a Presbyterian minister who arrived in Korea in 1888 to teach English and help translate the Bible into Korean. He founded two middle schools in Seoul, and was a professor at Pyongyang Theological Seminary. His books include History of the Korean People and a translation of The Cloud Dream of the Nine, the first work of Korean literature to be translated into English. Heinz Insu Fenkl is an author, translator, educator, and folklorist. He also translated Korea's most prized literary masterpiece, The Nine Cloud Dream named one of the year's most anticipated books by The New York Times. He is Professor of English at SUNY New Paltz and sits on the editorial board for the journal. Azalea: Journal of Korean Literature and Culture. He wrote the novel Memories of My Ghost Brother and Korean Folktales and edited Kori: The Beacon Anthology of Korean American Literature.

"The stories are fascinating, and at times funny. They provide an endearing look into a facet of Korean culture that is still relatively unknown to the West.…It's wonderful that this invaluable collection is getting a reprinting to bring it to a new audience." --Hilary Wilson, The Folklore Podcast