The Korean Cinderella

by Shirley Climo

illustrated by Ruth Heller

Summary

An old man and his wife longed for a child, and they were finally blessed with a daughter. In celebration they planted a pear tree and named their daughter Pear Blossom. The tree and the child both grew while their mother took care of them, but then the mother died. The old man went to the village matchmaker, who matched him with a widow who had a daughter Peony, the same age as Pear Blossom. The widow was very mean to Pear Blossom, as was Peony, and they called her Pigling. Pear Blossom “cooked and cleaned until midnight, with only the crickets for company.” Because of Pear Blossom’s wish for help, animals began to help her with her tasks, impossible as they seemed. On the day of the festival, Omoni, the stepmother, told Pear Blossom she could attend after she weeded the fields of rice paddies. This would have been impossible, but a great ox came and weeded all of the fields. She hurried to the festival, but when she got there her shoes were filled with stones; “she had just slipped off one straw sandal to shake out a stone when she heard a shout.” A young nobleman was coming, so she hobbled out of the way, but her sandal splashed into the water and out of her reach. She ran, and upon seeing her leave, the magistrate took her sandal and ordered he return to the village. At the festival the magistrate demanded the girl with one shoe, and said that she must be his bride. Their wedding was arranged for the spring while the pear trees blossomed.

Discussion

This version of Cinderella is a combination of three versions of the story commonly told in Korea. The illustrations in this version are very bright and colorful, with solid colors and beautiful Korean designs throughout the book. The book has Korean words, such as Hai and Omoni, throughout the book, helping Korean children connect even further to the story in a way that other children cannot. Since this book was written and illustrated by the same people as the Egyptian Cinderella, the stories flow similarly. The Korean Cinderella, however, deviates even more from the traditional story than the Egyptian Cinderella story did, which surprised me. I believe, however, that it was more true to the cultural and historical basis in Korea than the European fables that I have seen as “the norm” for my entire life.