Hello, everyone. Welcome to “Korean Folktales.” In this weekly corner, we introduce you to interesting Korean folk stories. I’m Jinny Na. Today, I’ll tell you an amusing story about driving out a mischievous dokkaebi, or Korean goblin.

Once upon a time, there stood a small thatched-roof house, deep in the mountains. No one lived there, and it had been empty for a long time. Only dokkaebis would hang around the house from time to time. One day, a woodcutter happened to find the deserted house and soon moved there with his wife. As the house was now occupied by humans, the goblins left. But there was a baby dokkaebi who didn’t want to leave. He was curious about the strangers, as he had never seen humans before. He hid himself in the space above a ceiling of the house and watched the people.

While the couple was having a meal, the woodcutter said, “Honey, it’s getting colder outside.” Then, the baby goblin, up in the ceiling, imitated the woodcutter’s voice. “Honey, it’s getting colder outside.” The couple was startled to hear the strange voice. The wife shouted, “Who’s there?” Again, the goblin repeated what she said. “Who’s there?” Both the husband and the wife were frightened. They looked up at the ceiling, where the mysterious sound came from. Through the crack on the ceiling, they could see a young goblin chuckling. They were even more surprised. “Oh my, is a dokkaebi living in this house?” Then again, the goblin reiterated. “Oh my, is a dokkaebi living in this house?” From that day on, the playful creature mimicked everything the humans said.

The woodcutter and his wife were irritated at the naughty goblin, and they tried every possible means to stop him from imitating their voices. Sometimes, they blustered out a threat. And sometimes, they softly persuaded him to leave. But everything proved to be ineffective. The dokkaebi had no intention of ending his fun activity. On the contrary, he was even more delighted to see the couple annoyed.

Not knowing what to do, the woodcutter brought his friend home to discuss the problem. At first, the friend laughed at the incredible story. But he was stunned after hearing the goblin repeating everything he said. He thought for a while and hit upon an idea. The friend walked outside the room with the couple and advised the woodcutter not to say anything while in the room.

So the couple began to remain silent in the same room. When they had to say something, they went outside. Inside the room, they talked to each other through body language. Days passed, and the dokkaebi was bored. He wondered why the humans suddenly kept quiet. He got so tired of waiting that he asked bluntly, “Hey, you guys! Why aren’t you saying anything?” Still, the woodcutter made no answer. Rather, he quickly repeated exactly what the goblin said. “Hey, you guys! Why aren’t you saying anything?” Now, it was the goblin who was upset. “Hey! Don’t repeat after me.” Again, the woodcutter imitated the goblin. “Hey! Don’t repeat after me.” The dokkaebi then yelled at him. “Stop!” But the woodcutter only shouted at the goblin with the same words.

The goblin was bewildered. Now that the shoe was on the other foot, he lost his interest in pretending to be the couple. He came down from the ceiling and left, grumbling about something. After that, the dokkaebi never appeared again, and the couple lived a quiet and peaceful life.

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 Jinny Na. Goodbye, everyone.