Hello everyone. Welcome to “Korean Folktales.” In this Monday corner, we introduce you to interesting Korean folk stories. I’m Eunji Kim.

A long time ago, there lived a government minister known by his last name Yun. After many years of government service, Minister Yun retired from office. He wanted to spend the rest of his days in his hometown in a local province and so he left the capital with his young son.

On his way, Yun bumped into an old man who had a donkey. The old man asked Yun to buy his donkey. He wanted to get a thousand nyang for the animal. Nyang was a unit of the traditional coinage system. The former minister rejected the offer, as he thought it was an exorbitant price for the feeble donkey with only one eye. The old man, with tears in his eyes, desperately said, “Sir, I know it is an unreasonable price to ask. But my son is about to get killed because he stole money in order to cure my disease. I need one thousand nyang to save him, and this donkey is all I have. Please show mercy on us.” Upon hearing the miserable story, Yun felt pity for the old man who looked very sick. He gave all the money he had to the poor man and got the one-eyed donkey in return. He thought it was the most expensive donkey in the world but he reassured himself that he would be able to save two lives. He set his son on the back of the donkey and continued his journey to his hometown. There, Yun and his son resettled and lived peacefully.

Many years passed by and Yun’s son was now old enough to take the state exam to become a government official. He left for the capital to take the exam, riding the one-eyed donkey. As the old donkey could not run fast, it would take a considerable time to reach the capital. As night fell the son was passing by a large house. He asked the owner of the house if you could stay the night. The rich, generous owner was willing to accept the guest. As he stared at the one-eyed donkey, the son answered that it was the most expensive donkey in the world and told him about the story. The next morning, the master of the house politely said to the guest, “I’m terribly sorry but your donkey ran away last night. Take my horse instead. I’ll look for your donkey, so please drop by my house again when you return home.” Thanks to the fine horse that ran fast, the son arrived in the capital earlier than expected to sit for the test. While on his way back home, he recalled what the rich man had told him and visited the house again.

To his delight, he found his lost donkey there. But he was even more surprised to see his father, Mr. Yun, in the house. The owner of the house explained to the son. “Sir, I lied to you. I told you that your donkey ran away because I wanted to help you get to the capital faster. While you were in town, I looked for your father as the donkey led the way to your house. You said your father had bought the one-eyed donkey for a thousand nyang, right? I am the one who was rescued thanks to the money. I am the son of the old man who sold the donkey. After you saved my life, I worked hard and accumulated wealth. My father is gone now but he always told me that I should never forget your kindness.”

The rich man gave a huge amount of money to Mr. Yun as a token of gratitude, and he lived in comfort for the rest of his life.

That’s it for today’s “Korean Folktales.” Thank you for listening. I’m Eunji Kim. Goodbye, everyone.