Hello, everyone. Welcome to “Korean Folktales.” This Monday corner takes you into the world of interesting Korean folk stories. I’m Emilee Jennings and today, I’ll tell you the story of how a schoolmaster became the leader of goblins.

Once upon a time, a man taught in a private school in Jeju Island. The schoolmaster, known by his family name, Bu, was well versed in Chinese classics. Also, he was very good at Taoist magic so he could float on the clouds in the sky and even transform himself into other creatures.

One day, Mr. Bu was on his way home when it started to rain suddenly. He took cover under a tree, where he bumped into a little goblin. The goblin pretended not to notice the man. As the teacher always valued good manners, he thought it was extremely rude of the baby goblin to behave like that. He hit the goblin on the head with his smoking pipe and gave him a good scolding. The goblin ran away, crying.

When the young goblin told his father about the school teacher, the father goblin was upset. He wanted to take revenge on the man who had scolded his precious little boy. He went to Mr. Bu and suggested that they bet on who was better at Taoist magic. The goblin also proposed that the loser acknowledge the winner as his superior, obey the winner all the time and follow instructions unconditionally. Mr. Bu was willing to accept the proposal, as he was confident in his magic skills.

So, Mr. Bu and the goblin began to perform their own magic. In one game, the man prevailed. But in another game, the goblin won. After several bouts of competition, Mr. Bu successfully turned the goblin’s magic club into a rooster to eventually win the bet.

The goblin, as the loser, humbly accepted the result. From then on, whenever Mr. Bu walked at night alone, a group of goblins led by the father goblin would illuminate the road brightly and served as the man’s bodyguard. When Mr. Bu felt tired, the goblins would carry him. Every time they met him, they would sing a song called “The schoolmaster is the leader of the goblins.” Also, when a problem arose in the village, the goblins were eager to help resolve it for the school teacher.

Mr. Bu was courageous enough to confront a goblin, while the goblin also deserves praise as he tried to be a good loser.

That’s it for today’s “Korean Folktales.” Tune in again next time for another interesting Korean folk story. Thank you for listening. I’m Emilee Jennings. Goodbye, everyone.