Hello, everyone. Welcome to “Korean Folktales.” In this Monday corner, I talk about interesting Korean folk stories. I’m Jinny Na.

There is an intriguing tale about the family alliance between two men from the ancient Korean kingdom of Silla in the seventh century. One was great general Kim Yu-shin and the other was Kim Chun-chu, who later became king.

General Kim Yu-shin had two younger sisters, Bohee and Munhee. One night, Bohee, the older one, had a strange dream. In the dream, she urinated on the mountaintop until the urine flooded the entire capital city. When she woke up, she blushed with shame. Upon hearing the odd dream, her younger sister Munhee instinctively knew that it was an auspicious dream. She suggested that she buy the dream in exchange for a silk skirt. Bohee was embarrassed about the unpleasant dream and so was willing to exchange it for the beautiful silk dress.

Shortly afterwards, Kim Chun-hu, a member of the royal family, came to Yu-shin’s house to play soccer. During the game, Yu-shin accidently tore Chun-chu’s clothes. Yun-shin asked his sister Bohee to mend the robe, but she was too shy to meet an unfamiliar man. Her younger sister Munhee came out to fix the garment instead. Munhee and Chun-chu fell in love with each other at first sight.

Yu-shin sensed their relationship and hoped that the two would marry. But Chun-chu was reluctant to propose to Munhee because he already had one wife. Before long, Munhee became pregnant with Chun-chu’s child. Yu-shin was disappointed and angry with his sister, so he decided to punish her by burning her alive. He made a pile of wood in the yard and set the wood alight.

At the moment, Queen Seondeok was on top of the mountain with her officials, including her nephew, Chun-chu. She saw the black clouds of smoke down and asked the officials what was going on. The queen was shocked to hear that Yu-shin was about to burn his sister. So she went to the house to find out more.

After the queen learned about the relationship between her nephew and the girl, she ordered him to save her life and allowed him to accept her as his second wife. When his first wife died, Munhee became his lawful spouse. Later, Chun-chu ascended the throne to become King Muyeol, the 29th monarch of the Silla Kingdom, and Munhee became his queen. Rumor has it that Yu-shin tore Chun-chu’s clothes on purpose and pretended to kill his sister, with this result in mind. Their child grew up to become King Munmu, who achieved the unification of three kingdoms on the Korean Peninsula in the seventh century.

Legend has it that Munhee was able to become queen thanks to the mysterious dream she purchased from her sister.

That’s it for today’s “Korean Folktales.” Thank you for listening. Please tune in again next time. I’m Jinny Na. Goodbye, everyone~