The Korean Cinderella (Trophy Picture Books)

(folklore) In this Korean version of Cinderella, ( apparently in Korea there are at least a dozen versions) the heroine is usually a dutiful daughter that somehow escapes her wicked stepmother and stepsister by a variety of means. In this particular version, it is by the assistance of tokgabi, or

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spirit/goblin. In Korea, the tokgabi can either hurt or help and some believe it is the reincarnation of a person's departed loved one. In the Korean Cinderella, the tokgabi that appear could perhaps be the soul of Pear Blossom's departed mother. This particular version ends the traditional way with Pear Blossom meeting her knight (an Oriental magistrate) in shining armor, and being rescued through marraige from her wicked stepmother and stepsister. What makes this version so interesting to me is the influx of Korean myth and artwork. The author has included in the author's note in the back of the book a history on tokgabi, how it might be used in this story, as well as a brief description of the many versions of Cinderella in Korean culture. On the next page, it is explained how the different illustrations were used gathered from examples in Korea at museums, palaces, festivals and concerts. Each illustration described in this explanatory passage has a type of symbolism which is also defined to the reader. A fun interactive idea may be after reading the stories and the after notes, have the children locate the artwork in the book that the author talks about. You could also have them name the tokgabis and what they did for Pear Blossom. You could ask them to name similiarites and differences between the Korean Cinderella and our American one. This book would also be a good segueway into a unit on Korea or oriental tradition/culture.

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This book is an example of a fairytale because it is a different version of Cinderella. It is hard to follow and understand in parts, and is too long.

The story start with a perfect family; father, mother and a beautiful daughter plus a pear tree. Years has gone by the mother died, the father have to remarry to fill up the family again, but turn out the second wife and her own daughter hate the husband kid so much. They don't want to do anything

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except demand the main character to do all the house chores look like a servant in the family.

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I thought it was a nice twist to an american folktale. This is very close to the Cinderella that I have heard growing up. I think this is a good display of culture different from the English. I like the way that they use the animals that help her as her fairy god mother. Nice pictures that show

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Korean culture.

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This Cinderella follows the pattern with cultural differences.

Cinderella story where animals help her to complete her chores so she can go to the Festival added some interest to this story. I would share this story with a class during a Fairy tale unit and have them come up with thier own impossible chores and what animal could help them to complete them.

The mother of Pear Blossom passes away and the father remarries to a women who also has a daughter named Peony. The wife and Peony are cruel to Pear Blossom. One day there is a festival and Pear Blossom attends. She is noticed by the magistrate, who asks for Pear Blossom’s hand in marriage.

I love

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traditional stories with a twist. It gives the students a different perspective or view than the traditional American Cinderella.

I would use this book with a multicultural theme. I would ask the students to find and write down one thing that is different in Korean culture. I would then allow the students to share the information in class.

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Pearblosson's (Cinderella) father found his new wife at a match maker place. Instead of a fairy godmother, a magic ox helped her go to the festival. This version of Cinderella was different but she was still found by her missing shoe. This version was okay, but i still like the traditional one

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better.

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This is a fairy tale like story based on the typical Cinderella stories but with a Korean twist. It takes place long ago in Korea. It has vibrantly colored pictures that resemble the Korean culture. It tells about their belief of mystical animals. It also defines a few Korean words in the story.

I

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liked the bright, colorful pictures. They depicted the Korean culture. The story briefly describes how the culture was long ago;plants, food, festivals, clothing, and mythical animals. I do not believe that it does not describe the Korean way of life sufficiently enough to get a real feel for it. I think that it would be better to use this book with a fairy tale unit.

This would be a great book to read during a unit on Cinderella. The students could get an idea of the Korean culture by reading it. The students could also discuss how the Korean people, back then, dress. They could compare and contrast their dress compared to ours. I could explain how dress is a part of one's culture.

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4Q
3p
The basic plot points are familiar in the rendidtion of a Cinderella story. However, the difference might be too much for some readers. The unique illustration only add to the story.

4Q
4P

The colorful illustrations in this book, based on traditional Korean art, elevate the quality of the book and would appeal to a broad range of children. The familiar story would appeal to children while introducing elements of Korean mythology.

The Korean Cinderella by Shirley Climo takes reader to Korea telling the story of a girl named Pear Blossom. The premise is the same as the American Cinderella describing a young girl mistreated by her stepmother and sister. With the help of magical animals she gets her impossible task done. She

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looses a shoe and ends up with the prince/ magistrate. The vibrant illustrations were traditional and symbolic of Korean culture. I got a sense that her mother’s spirit was helping her along the way as well. This picture book could be used in high school when studying other countries and/or dealing with injustices. The moral of the story is a good one showing what goes around comes around. Grade 6 and up.

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Another version of Cinderella that varies somewhat drastically from the version I'm familiar with at times. In a classroom this could easily be used to teach a lesson on fairy tales and folklore while at the same time exposing students to multicultural aspects in literature. The illustrations are

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influenced by art from Asia, using movement and facial expression.

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Overall, I thought this book was a good spin on the traditional Cinderella story, particularly in the DC area where there is alot of diversity and many students from Korea and other Asian countries. The illustrations themselves are beautiful and it would capture many primary students' interests.

In

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addition, the setting takes place in traditional Korean countryside, which would be a good lesson on how folktales are typically set in the country. There is an element of oral storytelling as this is a story that is passed on from generation to generation. As a Korean myself, I found that many of the names (such as Omoni) are the names in Korean that they are typically called. In addition, the traditional goblin is typical in many Korean folktales. I think this is a good story to use as an introduction to elementary students of folktales.

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You can do a section of different cinderella stories from different countries. Showing that each country can have a common story with different details.

Great for cultural studies. Very colorful.

This is a different spin on the classic Cinderella. Pear Blossom loses her mother, and her father remarries a woman who has a daughter around Pear Blossom’s age. The stepmother and sister make Pear Blossom work hard, and as she ages, a magical toad appears (the fairy godmother) along with other

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animals, and helps her out with her tasks. One day, while out in the rice beds, a stranger comes and scares Pear Blossom away, and she loses her shoe. The stranger turns out to be a prince and finds her at the town festival. Eventually they get married and live happily ever after.

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The Korean Cinderella is a typical Cinderella story with an ugly stepmother and snotty stepsister. The harsh stepmother gives Pear Blossom impossible tasks to complete, but through the help of magical creatures she is able to complete each task with ease. The stepmother grants her permission to

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attend a village festival once the assigned chores are complete. While making her way to the village, she encounters the prince who is enamored by her beauty. In true Cinderella fashion, Pear Blossom loses her shoe, and the prince searches the village to find the girl with one shoe. He finds Pear Blossom and pledges his intentions for marriage. The following spring, the couple are married.

Personal Reflection: I love how this story incorporates Korean words and traditions. It is fairly predictable as it follows the traditional Cinderella story line, but it is still enjoyable. This story is a great introduction to teach children about other cultures.

Extension Ideas:
1. Have children form groups and look through the book to pick out Korean words and their meanings. Discuss in group setting.
2. Watch the movie Cinderella (or read the book if time is an issue) and have children write a paper describing similarities and differences in the two stories
3. Discuss Korea and some of its customs and traditions. Show children where Korea is on a map in relation to Oklahoma

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This was a really nice spin on the tale of Cinderella which did not include a fairy godmother but magical creatures who helped Pear Blossom. Sharing this with children would be a great way to begin a conversation about multiculturalism.

I enjoyed, “The Korean Cinderella” for one main reason. I loved how I read a different culture’s perspective on the classic story of Cinderella. I’ve always thought that Disney’s portrayal of Cinderella was the only adaptation of the story. However, this is not true at all. “The Korean

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Cinderella” while similar to Disney’s version in some ways, was very much its own story full of rich Korean storytelling. Basically, the story is about a beautiful and kind girl named Pear Blossom, whose mother dies and then her father remarries a wicked woman with an equally wicked daughter. Pear Blossom’s father becomes ill shortly after he remarries, leaving her under the control of her evil stepmother who makes Pear Blossom a servant to her and her daughter. The tasks Pear Blossom’s step mother gives her are impossible, until a different mystical creature conveniently comes every time and helps her complete them. Every time Pear Blossom tells her stepmother what has happened during her chores, she accuses her of lying and punishes her severely. One day, the village Pear Blossom lived in was having a festival and she desperately wanted to go. Her stepmother said she could go, but she had to weed rice paddies in a huge field first. Just as Pear Blossom was about to give up a huge black ox appeared in a cloud of dust and ate the weeds “faster than the wind.” This allowed Pear Blossom to go to the festival, where she got a stone stuck in her sandal and had to take it off. As she was removing her shoe she saw a young, handsome noblemen approach her on a palanquin. She became nervous and ran away, forgetting to take her shoe with her. The nobleman called after her to stop running because he was taken with her beauty and ordered his servants to take him to the village. When Pear Blossom got back to the festival she ran into her stepmother who scolded her for being there. At this point, the nobleman came back with Pear Blossom’s shoe and asked her to marry him. From this summary you can see how different and incredibly rich in culture, “The Korean Cinderella” was. I absolutely loved getting to see a Korean perspective on what I (ignorantly) viewed as an “American” classic. The main idea in, “The Korean Cinderella” is to always remain kind and true to yourself, even in the face of cruelty and adversity. The story teaches that it is not always actions that make a person kind but, their reactions. Pear Blossom stayed upbeat and positive even when her stepmother and stepsister berated her, and never lowered herself to match their cruel antics. This enabled Pear Blossom to have her “happy ending” and also pays off in real life too.

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I think this is a good children's book. I really like the illustrations. The illustrations follow with the Korean culture with bright colors and intricate details. I think this makes the story more interesting and captures the reader's attention. I also like the plot of the story. I really like how

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the main character's life follows the growth of the pear tree. I think this shows a parallel between nature and life, which brings up an interesting topic. Overall, I think that it gives good insight into the Korean culture, which I enjoyed. The main message of the story is that good things happen to good people.

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This version of the Cinderella story is 3 stories combined. It illustrates the many facets of what we all know to be the Cinderella story.

I had mixed feelings about this book after reading it. I liked that it is a Korean spin on a familiar story. The elements of the story stayed true to the Korean culture. The characters all wore traditional Korean clothing and activities such as traditional dancing were depicted. I especially liked

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the language of the book. The book used Korean words such as “Omani,” which means mother. The author also created a mystical tone to the traditional fantasy by using descriptive and beautiful poetry. “In spring white flowers frosted the tree, and PearBlossom wore a white ribbon on her long, black braid.” Another example is, “In the autumn, when leaves from the tree blew about the courtyard like scraps of sunshine, her mother dressed Pear Blossom in a yellow gown.” However, I became wary of sharing this book with children because of certain parts. Those parts would be when Pear Blossom's mother mistreated her. Sentences such as, “She made Pear Blossom crawl through the puddles, licking up the water” and “She did not give anything to eat, not that day or the next, not so much as a kernel of rice.” These sentences are normal in Korean culture, but for American students it may be problematic to share intense and harsh punishments as these with children. The main idea of “The Korean Cinderella” is that those who are good will prevail in the end.

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This book is a Korean version of the original fairy tales Cinderella. I love the fairy tales stories and I think most girls can relate to this story. Most girls want that fairy tale story when they get a prince at the end. The kids will enjoy it also because they can understand different types of

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Cinderella's stories.

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