Kim So-Un - Tigers of the Kumgang Mountains: A Korean Folktale

Many years ago in old Korea, there once lived a very famous marksman and hunter. He was such a fine marksman that he could shoot down a bird in flight, almost without taking aim. Deer and wild boar were no match for this hunter once they entered the sights of his gun. He never missed a shot.

In those days the Kumgang Mountains were full of tigers. The beasts would come down from the mountains and steal, eating whatever they could find, not just horses and cattle, but people too.

There was not a single man who could stop them.

Many hunters set out for the mountains, saying, "I'll get those tigers." But none returned. Instead, they became the prey of the tigers of the Kumgang Mountains.

One day the famous marksman said: "Now it's my turn. I will kill every tiger in the mountains."

The hunter refused to listen to anyone who tried to hold him back, and he set out to find the tigers.

At the foot of the mountains he came to a lonely inn.

The innkeeper saw the hunter and said: "Alas, are you too going to try to destroy the tigers, only to have them eat you up? Listen to what I say I'm telling you this for your own good. If you value your life, give up this foolish idea."

The hunter refused to listen. In his heart, he said proudly: "With my skill, there isn't a tiger anywhere that can beat me." Out loud, he said to the woman: "Old woman, just wait and see. I shall come back in a little while, carrying a tiger as big as a mountain on my back." And, laughing to himself, the hunter continued up into the mountains.

That was the last time he was ever seen. Five years passed. Ten years went by. But the hunter did not return.

When the hunter left home, he left behind his newborn son. Now a young man, he had become quite skilled with the gun. In fact, he was almost as good a marksman as his father. The young man knew well why he was fatherless. He had decided long ago that he would shoot and kill the tiger that had eaten his father.

When he reached his fifteenth birthday, the boy went to his mother and said: "I would like to set out for the Kumgang Mountains. Mother, please let me go."

But the mother did not want to lose her son. With tears in her eyes, she tried to stop him: "If even a famous marksman like your father was eaten by the tigers, how can you hope to avenge your father's death? If you go, you will never return. Quit thinking about such things and stay here by your mother's side."

"Don't worry, Mother. I will find the tiger who ate my father and avenge his death." And the son earnestly begged his mother to let him go.

Finally the mother said: "If you want to go so much, you can. But first let me ask you one thing. Your father used to have me stand with a water jug on my head. He would aim at the handle of the water jug from a distance of 1,000 feet, and shoot only the handle without spilling any water. Can you do the same thing?"

When he heard this, the young son immediately tried to match his father's feat. He had his mother stand 1,000 feet away, with a water jug on her head. He took careful aim, but he missed his mark entirely. So he gave up his idea of going to the mountains and practiced three more years with his gun.

After three years, he tried shooting the jug's handle again. This time he succeeded in knocking off the handle without spilling a drop of water.

Then the mother said: "Son, your father was able to shoot the eye out of a needle from 1,000 feet away. Can you do this?"

The son asked his mother to stand with a needle in her outstretched hand. Then he walked back 1,000 feet and, after aiming carefully, took a shot. But he failed to shoot the eye out of the needle. Once again, he gave up the idea of going to the Kumgang Mountains, and settled down to practice even harder.

After three years had passed, he tried the same test again. This time, with a crack of his gun, the eye of the needle fell to the ground.

Of course, his mother had told him a series of lieshoping that he would give up the idea of going to avenge his father. But now that he was even better than his father, she agreed to let him leave for the Kumgang Mountains. The son was overjoyed and left immediately.

At the foothills he came across the same small inn where his father had stopped years ago. The same old woman was still living there. She asked the young man what he intended to do. He told her how his father had been eaten by the tigers and how he had practiced for years to avenge his death.

The old woman then said: "Yes, I knew your father. He was the greatest marksman in all the land. Can you see that tall tree over in the distance? Wh y your father used to turn his back to that tree and then shoot down the highest leaf on the highest branch from over his shoulder. If you can't do the same thing, how can you expect to avenge his death?"

The hunter's son, when he heard this, said he would try. He placed his gun over his shoulder, took aim, and shot. But he missed. He knew that this wouldn't do, and he asked the old woman to let him stay with her for a while.

From that day on, he practiced shooting over his shoulder, aiming for the highest leaf for hours at a time. Finally, after three years had passed, he was able to shoot down the highest leaf on the highest branch.

The old woman told the hunter s son: "That doesn't mean you can outshoot your father. Wh y your father used to set an ant on the side of a cliff and then, from a distance of 1,000 feet, shoot it off without even scratching the surface of the cliff. No matter how fine a marksman you may be, you can't match that!"

Again, the young man then tried to do what the old woman said his father had done. Of course, he failed at first and had to practice three more years before he succeeded.

Like his mother, the old woman had made up stories about his father because she wanted to save the young man. But the hunter's son, without questioning her, had practiced until he could do whatever she said his father had done. The old woman was filled with amazement and admiration.

"You are safe now. With your skill, you will surely avenge your father's death."

The old woman made many balls of cooked rice for him to eat along the way. The hunter's son thanked her and started out along the path leading into the heart of the Kumgang Mountains.

The young man walked deeper and deeper into the mountains. For days and days he wandered through the wilderness. After all, the Kumgang Mountains have twelve thousand peaks and stretch over a vast area, and he had no means of knowing where the tiger lay hidden. In his heart he kept praying that he would be able to find the beast that had eaten his father, and he continued wandering, without any exact destination, through the vast mountain ranges.