INTRODUCTION

“The Story of Jeon Unchi” is a classic of Korean fiction that incorporates the fantastic into the realistic. Unlike many of the moralistic works that came before it, “Jeon Unchi” is an adventure tale replete with action. Although no one knows who wrote the story, it has the characteristics of popular fiction written for commoners in the Korean vernacular script (hangul) that was produced in the late eighteenth and throughout the nineteenth centuries. Inspired by a historical figure with the slightly different name of Jeon Uchi (late fifteenth to early sixteenth century) who was reputed to be a master of the mystical arts, “The Story of Jeon Unchi” is the tale of a rebellious magician and has been adapted to the screen as both a Korean drama and a film. Originally published circa 1847, although even that fact isn’t certain, this is the first time this work has been translated into English.

—

At this time, a royal censor came to the king and spoke to him. “An informant told me that four or five people were planning a revolt in Hoseo province. So I have come to report that I have put the informant under custody.”

    The king replied, “It is due to my lack of virtue that there are such criminals in the kingdom. How sad this is.”

    He ordered the State Tribunal and the Police Bureau to arrest and bring the traitors. When they were arrayed before the king, he interrogated them personally.

    One of them spoke out. “We planned to make Jeon Unchi the king and so bring peace to the common people, but it has all come out. We deserve to be executed ten thousand times and more.”

    At this time, Unchi was working as the recorder of criminal investigations. He was standing at the king’s side, writing down the words of the interrogation when his name unexpectedly came up in the testimony of the criminal. The king became enraged.

    “I suspected that Jeon Unchi might plan treason one day, and now his name has appeared in this confession.”

    The king quickly ordered Unchi to be restrained and torture instruments to be brought.

    “I once pardoned you of your crimes and even granted you an official position. Yet, instead of serving me with loyalty, you committed an act that is deserving of the punishment of a traitor. I will hear no excuses but order you to die.”

    The king then commanded his servants, “Kill him with one blow.”

    One was about to hit him with all his strength, when his arm became beset with such pain that he could not proceed.

    Unchi spoke out, “I deserve to be executed ten thousand times over for my past crimes, but I am innocent of the charge of treason that is being laid upon me now.”

    He thought to himself, “This is surely the work of someone trying to frame me.”

    “Since I am about to die, it saddens me that I won’t be able to pass down a particular talent of mine. I beg Your Majesty to grant me the favor of displaying that talent.”

    The king thought to himself, “This wretch is quite skilled, so I should see this.”

    “What talent are you talking about?”

    Unchi replied, “I am so good at painting that when I depict a tree, it actually grows, when I depict an animal, it walks about, and when I depict a mountain, trees and other plants appear on it. They call such a thing a radiant picture. If I do not leave behind such a painting before I die, I fear that I will turn into a discontented ghost.”

    The king thought to himself, “If this wretch returns as a ghost, that might cause some problems.”

    So he ordered his restraints to be removed, and a brush, ink, and paper to be brought.

    Unchi drew mountains and rivers in layers upon layers of summits and valleys as well as a waterfall of ten thousand gil falling from a great height. Willow branches were arrayed on the bank of a stream where a donkey with a saddle was standing. Unchi threw away the brush and bowed four times to the king.

    “Why are you bowing to me when you’ve been condemned to death?”

    “I bid Your Majesty farewell as I mean to go into a mountain.”

    He then entered into the picture, got on the donkey, and headed for a mountain. He soon disappeared from sight.

    The king spoke out in anger, “I have been tricked by this wretch again! What must be done!”

    He ordered that the picture be burnt. He then interrogated the prisoners once more before they were beheaded.

    Unable to allay his anger over being tricked by Unchi again, he sent out notices to all eight provinces, announcing that whoever captures Unchi will be awarded a hundred gold pieces along with other prizes and an official position in the government.

—

After Unchi used his magic to escape execution, he returned home and told his mother everything that had happened. She was shocked by what she heard.

    “From now on, hide yourself and do not go to court ever again. Since you tricked the king, you won’t obtain a pardon. How could you face your ancestors in the afterlife?”

    She reprimanded him severely, so Unchi spent his days quietly in the mountain, concentrating on his studies.

    One day, he was riding on a donkey and enjoying the scenery when he saw a young monk who was taking a pretty girl into the mountain. Unchi went on to drink some liquor at a country tavern, but on his way back, he saw the girl climb a tree and try to commit suicide by hanging herself. He quickly untied the noose and massaged her hands and feet to bring her back to consciousness. When she woke up, Unchi asked if she tried to kill herself.

    “That monk you saw me with was a good friend of my husband when he was alive. Although I became a widow at a young age, I maintained my virtue. Today is the day of my husband’s passing, so the monk came and said that we should perform a memorial ritual at the temple. I agreed to go with him without suspecting anything. But that bastard brought me to this place and raped me, violating my chastity. I saw no use in living on, so I tried to kill myself.”

    Unchi consoled her and sent her to his house. He then went up the mountain until he came to a large temple, where he saw the wretched monk. Unchi cast a spell and let out a strong breath, which transformed the monk so that he looked like Unchi.

    An investigator from the Police Bureau, who happened to be staying at the temple to scout the area, saw the monk and thought he was Unchi and reported the sighting to the local magistrate. The magistrate was pleased to hear this and sent soldiers to the temple, where they arrested the monk and transported him to Gyeongseong.

    The king was preparing to interrogate him personally when officials of the Royal Secretariat reported to him, “Jeon Unchi has been arrested in every province and many towns, so there are three hundred sixty of them. This is surely the work of his magic.”

    The king became enraged but did not know how to handle the matter until Chief Royal Secretary Wang Yeonhui spoke. “It’s hard to fathom Jeon Unchi’s magic. Since this is liable to create much chaos, I think it would be best to behead them all rather than try to figure out which one is the real Jeon Unchi.”

    The king agreed and proceeded to a watchtower from where he ordered the beheading of all the Jeon Unchis. But then one of them spoke out. “I am not Jeon Unchi but the Chief Royal Secretary Wang Yeonhui.”

    The king looked at him closely and saw that it was indeed Wang.

When he asked his officials what was going on, they answered, “But he is Jeon Unchi.”

    The king lamented at that. “The fortunes of this country have fallen so low that it is rife with such demonic tricks. How am I to preserve this country? I can’t allow so many innocent officials and commoners to die just so I can have one criminal executed.”

    And so he ended the interrogation.

    At this time, Unchi changed his appearance to that of Wang Yeonhui inside a cloud, and then walked out of the palace gates. Servants hurried over with horses and escorted him to Wang’s house. As Unchi went into the main chamber and conversed with Wang’s wife, none in the household suspected anything.

    The real Wang Yeonhui came out of the palace but could not find any of his servants. He thought it strange and borrowed a horse from a colleague and rode to his house. There he became very angry at his servants at the front door and demanded to know why they were home.

They answered him, “But we escorted Your Lordship here a while ago. How come Your Lordship is here again?”

    And they looked at him strangely. As he proceeded to the main chamber, servant girls clapped their hands in astonishment.

    “What is going on? How is His Lordship outside now? How is this happening?”

    And so they talked in confusion.

    Wang Yeonhui, unaware of anything, went into his sleeping chamber and found another Wang Yeonhui speaking with his wife.

    He yelled in rage, “What kind of a wretch are you that you dare come into the house of a noble official and converse with his wife?”

    He then commanded his servants, “Get that bastard now!”

    Unchi spoke, “What kind of a wretch are you that you dare to wear my face, come into my chamber, and try to violate my wife? What calamity is this!”

    He commanded the servants, “Get that bastard now!”

    The servants looked back and forth but could not fathom the trick that was being performed before them.

    As they did not know what to do, Unchi spoke out, “I’ve heard that demons cannot hold the appearance of a human for long.”

    Unchi threw water and red paint at Wang Yeonhui, which turned into a nine-tailed fox.

    The servants came with swords and clubs to kill the animal, but Unchi stopped them. “This is such a strange event that it should be reported to the government and be handled officially. Until then, bind that creature tightly, put it in a chamber, and guard the place well.”

    The servants obeyed and restrained Wang Yeonhui before shutting him in.

    When Wang Yeonhui tried to speak, fox noises came out of his mouth. He could only weep at the condition of having his human mind trapped inside an animal’s body.

    Unchi thought to himself, “He won’t be able to live many days in such a state.”

    That night, at the fourth watch, he went to Wang Yeonhui.

    “We had no cause to be enemies, but when I saw that you tried to earn merit by having me killed, I had no choice but to kill you first. But I would like to go through my life without taking any life, so I’m going to forgive you. So don’t you dare try anything like that ever again.”

    Unchi then cast a spell that returned Wang Yeonhui to his true form.

    When Wang realized only then that everything was the work of Unchi’s magic, he spoke out in fear, “I did not know the extent of Master Jeon’s power, so I committed a great wrong.”

    Wang Yeonhui then expressed his gratitude many times over, after which Unchi spoke to him again. “After I release you and leave this place, your household is going to fall into chaos, so do what you need to do.”

    He then left for the southwest.

    Wang Yeonhui called out to his servants, “Come and look at the demon again.”

    The servants went into the room and found the creature gone.

    When they exclaimed in astonishment, Wang Yeonhui spoke out in anger, “All this happened because you failed to guard the house properly.”

    He reprimanded them for a long time before dismissing them.

    When Unchi went back to the mountain temple, he found that the monk had returned as well, but still with Unchi’s appearance. He threw water on the monk and cast a spell that returned him to his true form.

    Unchi reprimanded him severely, “As a monk, you should have abided by the ways of Buddhism. Instead, you lured away a virtuous woman and violated her. You deserve to be killed ten thousand times over, so I planned on having you executed as Jeon Unchi, but I just couldn’t bring myself to take a life, so I saved you and turned you back into your true form. From now on, do not act like that again.”

—

Unchi was returning home when he came across a group of young men who were fighting over a scroll and marveling at it. “The picture in this scroll is the greatest masterpiece.”

    Unchi looked at it and saw that it depicted a beautiful woman. It showed her holding a child while teasing it, her mouth and eyes drawn so well that she seemed to be alive and moving.

    Unchi thought of a trick and spoke with a smile, “Why are you praising this picture like it’s such a great work?”

    A young man named O replied. “You may think that you have high taste, but you shouldn’t speak of things you are ignorant of. See how the woman in the picture seems to be speaking and watching, so how could it not be a masterpiece?”

    Unchi laughed at that and asked for the price of the painting.

    O answered. “It is worth fifty nyang. That’s actually cheap for such a quality work.”

    “I have scroll picture of my own, so come look at it.”

    He took a scroll out of his sleeve and unfurled it, revealing another picture of a beautiful woman. She was of great fairness, dressed in a blue jacket and red skirt. She also wore a golden coronet on her head. Her beauty was truly incomparable in the whole world.

    All the youths looked and praised it. “She also looks alive, so this picture rivals ours.”

    Unchi laughed. “Your picture is fine, but mine has more liveliness. Witness its true quality.”

    Unchi hung up the scroll and quietly called to it. “Heavenly maiden Ju, where are you?”

    The woman in the picture replied as she stepped out of the picture with a little boy.

    Unchi spoke to her, “Pour all these gentlemen some liquor.”

    The heavenly maiden replied and poured drinks for everyone. Unchi drank his first and watched as all the young men received their liquor, all of them delighting in its taste. After everyone had their fill, the heavenly maiden cleared everything away before stepping back into the picture.

    The men exclaimed in wonder, “I don’t know if this picture is from the Heavenly Realm or something from a dream, but it is truly the most precious object of all time.”

    O spoke out, “Let me try it out. Allow me to ask Ju the heavenly maiden to bring us more liquor.”

    With Unchi’s assent, O quietly called out to Ju, “We want more liquor, so please give us some.”

    Ju the heavenly maiden replied and stepped out of the picture bearing a liquor bottle, while the little boy brought a table. She bent down and poured liquor as before.

    O drank his first and waited until everyone else had taken theirs before he got up and expressed his gratitude to Unchi. “I feel fortunate to have met you, to drink such fine liquor, and to witness such a marvel on this day.”

    “This picture may possess liveliness but it is a useless thing. So there is no need for you to be so grateful.”

    “If you think the picture is so useless, why don’t you sell it to me?”

    “If you really want it, I will.”

    When O asked for its price, Unchi replied, “Ju the heavenly maiden’s bottle is a true marvel that never runs out of liquor. So I will take a thousand nyang for it.”

    “Let us not haggle over the price now. How about we go to my house and discuss it there?”

    Unchi agreed and went to his house, where he gave O the scroll.

    “I will return tomorrow, so have the money ready by then.”

    After Unchi left, O hung up the scroll at the outer chamber of his house and stared drunkenly at Ju the heavenly maiden holding a liquor bottle. He was so taken with her beauty that he took her fair hand and put it on his lap. Overcome with love, he then tried to drag her over to his mattress. Suddenly the chamber door burst open and O’s wife, Lady Min, ran into the room. She was a woman given to jealousy and envy, and often got herself involved in other people’s business. She became so enraged by the sight of her husband showing affection to Ju that she tried to beat her rival. But Ju went back into the painting, which made Min take the scroll down and rip it to pieces, leaving O in shock.

    “I promised to pay a thousand nyang for that scroll. What have you done?”

    “When the owner comes, I’m going to tell him off and curse him.”

    So the two of them argued.

    When Unchi returned, O welcomed him and explained the situation. Unchi decided to play a trick on Lady Min and threw a net made of metal strings over her, which turned her into a giant snake. She found that when she tried to speak, no sound came out of her mouth, and when she tried to get up, she could not do so no matter how much she moved around.

    Unchi spoke to O, “I left the scroll here as a favor to you, yet the marvel has been destroyed. So meeting you was a misfortune for me. A great calamity will fall upon your house, so take care of yourself.”

    “What calamity?”

    “A demonic beast that has been waiting in this house for a thousand years will use your wife to create much chaos.”

    “How will the demon do that?”

    “Because your wife ripped up my scroll, she turned into that demon. Go open the door and see.”

    O was skeptical of Unchi’s words, but he opened the door and saw a snake the length of six arms on the ground with his wife nowhere in sight. O’s face turned pale with terror.

    “I see a giant snake. I must kill it.”

    Unchi stopped him. “This demon is a thousand-year-old spirit. If you kill it, a great harm will come to you. I will attach a talismanic paper to its back, which will make it disappear overnight.”

    He took out a talismanic paper and put it on the snake’s back.

    He warned O, “Close the door and do not open it until I return.”

    He then went home and waited until the new day dawned before he returned to O’s house. There, he went up to Lady Min and reprimanded her.

    “You thought so low of your husband that you have acted in a violent and unrighteous manner. Out of jealousy, you ripped up my scroll and insulted me. So I was going to wrap you up in this metal net and put you in a hole in a rock to make you suffer. But if you promise to mend your ways, I will set you free.”

    Lady Min nodded her head, so Unchi cast a spell that released Lady Min from the net. She hurriedly got up and bowed down to him in gratitude.

—

On his way back home, Unchi stopped by the house of Yang Bongan, with whom he used to study. He found him lying down with an illness.

    When Unchi queried him in concern, Yang answered him, “I have pains in my stomach and chest. And I can’t partake in anything to eat or drink, so I don’t think I’ll be able to get up again.”

    Unchi checked his pulse and spoke, “Yours is not an illness that originated in the body but one that was caused by thoughts of another person. Who has made you so ill?”

    “That’s true. There is a woman named Lady Jeong who lives in Hoehyeon District, inside the south gate of the capital city. A person of incomparable beauty, she lost her husband early. She lives next to my uncle’s house, so during a visit I happened to see her over the wall and fell so deeply in love that it has made me ill. And now I fear that I do not have long to live in this world.”

    “You should send a matchmaker who talks well to propose marriage.”

    “She has such a strict sense of virtue that she will not only reject the proposal but curse me for it.”

    “In that case, I will try to bring her to you.”

    “No matter how clever you are, she won’t agree to come, so don’t bother putting your effort into it.”

    “Don’t worry.”

    Unchi then left and flew away on a cloud.

    After Lady Jeong had lost her husband, she lived alone and spent day and night weeping over her loss, wishing she could die. She had an elderly mother but no siblings. The mother and daughter spent their days taking care of each other.

    One day, Lady Jeong felt troubled for some reason and walked around in her chamber. Suddenly a cloud descended, and an official of the Heavenly Realm stepped forth, dressed in a red robe with a jade belt, wearing a gold crown, and bearing a jade tablet of officialdom.

    He spoke to her in a clear and calm voice. “Lady Jeong, come out and hear the command of the Great Jade Emperor of the Heavenly Realm.”

    When Jeong told her mother of what she had heard, the elderly woman became astonished and quickly lit incense on a table. Lady Jeong came out to the garden and prostrated herself on the ground.

    Unchi spoke, “Heavenly maiden Mun, how did you like living in the world of humans? It is time for you to return to the Heavenly Realm and attend the once-in-three-thousand-years party at the holy lake of Yoji.”

    Lady Jeong was astounded by the command of the Great Jade Emperor. “But I am only a human being with a base body who is guilty of many failings. So how could I possibly ascend to the Heavenly Realm?”

    “Heavenly maiden Mun has partaken of so much impure water of the human world that she has lost all memory of the Heavenly Realm.”

    He then poured fragrant holy water into a gourd bottle and offered it to Jeong. When she drank it, she became so disoriented that she did not know what was happening. Unchi wrapped her inside his cloud and bore her into the air, leaving her mother to bow numerous times toward the sky.

    At this time, a supernatural spirit called Heaven Sent Young Master was causing mischief by gathering beggars of all kinds to bother people in the marketplace for food and money. He suddenly became aware of a powerful fragrance and looked up to see a cloud traveling southeast. Heaven Sent Young Master lifted his hand and made a gesture, which created an open doorway on the cloud. A heavenly official and a beautiful woman fell out and dropped to the ground. It was Unchi and Lady Jeong.

    Unchi looked around in astonishment but could find nothing amiss.

    He was about to cast a spell when a beggar child suddenly appeared and reprimanded him loudly. “Mortal man Jeon Unchi, listen to me. You learned magic only to make use of the Heavenly Realm for your tricks and to deprive women of their virtue. Did you think that heaven would overlook that? I’ve been ordered to end the likes of you, so don’t blame me for your demise.”

    Unchi unsheathed his sword in anger and tried to threaten the spirit with it, but the weapon turned into a white tiger and attacked Unchi. He tried to escape, but his feet became attached to the ground, making it impossible for him to move. He then attempted to transform himself, but his magic spells no longer worked. He looked up in shock and realized that while the beggar child had a shabby appearance, his magical power was superior.

    Unchi got down on his knees and begged, “I may have eyes, but my vision is not clear, so I did not recognize you. I have committed crimes for which I deserve to be killed ten thousand times over. But I have an elderly mother whom I could not take care of properly because of my family’s poverty, so I felt that I had no choice but to trick the king. Also, what I am doing now is not for the purpose of depriving this woman of her virtue but to save the life of a man who has fallen ill. I bid you, master, to pardon my crimes and to teach me the Ways of Heaven.”

    Heaven Sent Young Master replied, “I knew all that before you told me. Due to the unfortunate state of this country, the likes of you felt free to create disturbances with magic, so I was going to execute you. But given the situation with your elderly mother, I will let you live for now. Now, return Lady Jeong to her home, and think of some other clever way of saving the life of Yang Bongan. In fact, there is someone who can take the place of Lady Jeong, a woman who lost both her parents early and had to live in dire poverty with no one to depend on. Her name is also Jeong and she is twenty-four years old. If you dare to disobey me, you will come to great harm.” 

    Unchi bowed down to him. “May I know your lofty name?”

    “I am called Heaven Sent Young Master. I’ve been wandering around to have some fun in the world of humans.”

    And he returned Unchi’s magical powers.

    Unchi immediately took Lady Jeong and returned to her house, where he called out to her mother, “When I went up to the palace of the Great Jade Emperor, he proclaimed, ‘The offenses committed by the heavenly maiden Mun have not been fully atoned for, so return her to the world of humans so that she may suffer some more.’ I am bringing her back to you, so bid her to live virtuously.”

    He then put some fragrant medicine in Lady Jeong’s mouth, which allowed her to eventually regain consciousness.

    Unchi went back to Heaven Sent Young Master and asked where the woman he spoke of lived. The spirit gave him some magical medicine of transformation and directions to her house. Unchi bowed to him and went to the place, where he found a thatched hut on the verge of collapse. Inside, there was a woman sitting alone, drowning in depression.

    Unchi approached her and spoke in a consoling tone, “I know that you are in a difficult situation. You are still unmarried at the age of twenty-four, and so you live a lonely life. I have taken pity on you and will act as your matchmaker.”

    She bowed down her head in embarrassment, but Unchi fed her the medicine, threw water on her, and cast a spell that changed her face to that of Lady Jeong. Unchi then told her the story of how Yang had fallen ill because of his love for Jeong and gave her instructions on what to do. He then wrapped her in cloth and transported her in a cloud to Yang’s house. He put her in the outer chamber and went into the inner chamber to speak to Yang.

    “Lady Jeong’s sense of virtue is indeed so strong that I could not exchange a single word with her.”

    Yang lamented pitifully, “Even with all your skills, you could not persuade her, so how could I expect her to change her mind in the future?”

    Unchi tried to console him. “I could not bring Lady Jeong, but I did bring a woman who is ten times more beautiful than her.”

    “I have seen a lot of beautiful women, but there is none like Lady Jeong. Don’t joke about something you know nothing of.”

    “How could I joke around with an ill person? I put her in the outer chamber. Her beauty is truly incomparable. Go and you will see.”

    Yang was hopeful and skeptical in equal measure, but he was finally persuaded to go to the outer chamber, where he saw a woman in a white dress. The clarity of her face was that of a full moon on an autumn sky, and the brightness of her eyes was that of the morning star. Her beauty was indeed incomparable. As he continued to look at her, he saw that her appearance was that of Lady Jeong, who had been on his mind day and night. He felt so intoxicated with delight and affection that his illness faded away.

—

One day, Unchi left home to pay his respects to a senior personage, taking with him a bolt of silk to present as a gift.

    At this time, the famed scholar Seo Hwadam¹ summoned a servant boy and spoke to him, “Today, at the Hour of the Horse, a man with the family name of Jeon will come. So clean up this cottage thoroughly.”

    Unchi came upon the entrance to a mountain path, which he walked through to climb up to a beauteous land, where he wandered leisurely to enjoy its scenery. The place was full of pine and bamboo trees, along with a calmly flowing river where deer looked for mushrooms and cranes danced about in joy. It was such a fair place that it appeared to be in a supernatural realm. 

    Unchi noticed a door made of twigs among bamboo trees and knocked on it.

    A little boy came out. “Are you Master Jeon?”

    “How do you know who I am?”

    “My master told me this morning.”

    Unchi was greatly pleased, so he gave the boy the bolt of silk to present as a gift and asked to see his master. Hwadam invited him to his cottage, where they greeted each other politely before settling down to talk.

    Unchi spoke. “You lofty name is so renowned that I decided to see you even if I had to travel a thousand ri. So I bid you to allow me to learn from you.”

    “So Master Jeon wants to follow my learning. But what profound knowledge do you think I possess that you should praise me so profusely? I have heard that your magical powers are so great that there is nothing that is unknown to you. So I hoped to meet you one day as well. Now that you are here, I feel most fortunate.”

    Unchi expressed his gratitude for his words, and they spent the entire day conversing leisurely. Hwadam summoned a maid and had her bring some liquor and food. He then grabbed a sword and stabbed it into a wall, which made holy liquor that supernatural spirits drank pour out, filling a bowl in an instant. On the north wall was a beautifully painted image of a magnificent tower. Hwadam reached into the picture and opened a silk-covered window through which they could see a maiden in a colorful dress approach with a table bearing liquor cups. She stepped out of the picture and sat by Unchi to present liquor to him. Unchi drank it and found it wonderfully fragrant.

    “I have come to a place of supernatural beauty where I got to drink the liquor of holy spirits and partake in a sumptuous meal, so my gratitude toward you knows no bounds.”

    Hwadam laughed at that. “How excessively you praise such modest liquor and food.”

    They had been exchanging liquor for a while when suddenly a modestly dressed gentleman came in.

    “Who is your guest?” he asked Hwadam.

    “This is Master Jeon from the southwest.” He then addressed Unchi. “This is my younger brother Yongdam. He has never seen you before, and he has forgotten how to act politely before a guest, so please forgive him.”

    Unchi looked at Yongdam and saw that he possessed clear eyes and outstanding eyebrows. He was of such grand appearance that his aura of dignity was liable to startle people.

    Yongdam addressed Unchi in a polite manner. “For a long time I have heard of your great magical powers, so I have been wanting to meet you for a while. Could I possibly ask you to demonstrate your prowess?”

    “How could a lowly person like myself pretend to know such things?”

    But Yongdam made the request two or three more times until Unchi finally relented. He cast a spell, which turned Yongdam’s hat into a bull’s head with horns that stretched the length of six arms. It fell to the floor, twitched its eyes, and opened its mouth. Yongdam became upset and cast a spell of his own, which turned Unchi’s hat into a pig’s head. It fell to the ground as well, where it displayed its teeth and shook its ears.

    Unchi thought to himself, “This man seems to possess some skills, so I’ll take him on.”

He cast a spell on the pig’s head, transforming it into a long, three-pronged spear. Yongdam also cast a spell, turning the bull’s head into a great sword.

    The long spear and the great sword clashed in the air, their blades shimmering as they reflected the light of the sun. Yongdam then threw his fan into the mix and cast another spell, turning the sword and the fan into a red dragon and a blue dragon. Unchi threw in his own fan and cast a spell, turning the spear and the fan into a white dragon and a black dragon. As the four dragons fought, the place became filled with clouds and fog while thunder and lightning struck. Yet no clear winner emerged.

    When Hwadam saw the blue dragon and the red dragon losing strength, he thought to himself, “If the two of them keep competing like this, it will come to no good end.” 

    He threw down a water plate, which turned everything back to their original shape.

    Unchi put his hat back on, retrieved his fan, and spoke in a reconciliatory manner, which made Yongdam leave his hat and fan on the floor, all in good humor.

    Unchi then bowed down to Hwadam. “I insulted you by daring to display my talent before your superior skills, which is a grievous thing. I will return later to apologize properly.”

    Hwadam saw Unchi off before he reprimanded Yongdam. “You used a blue dragon and a red dragon, while Unchi used a white dragon and a black dragon. Blue represents wood and red represents fire, while white represents gold and black represents water. Among the five basic elements, gold wins over wood and water wins over fire. So how did you expect to win against Unchi? And why did you get into such a silly contest with a guest in the first place?”

    Yongdam pretended to apologize, but he bore a great resentment against Unchi, to the extent of wanting to do him harm.

    Three days later, Unchi visited Hwadam again.

    Hwadam spoke to him, “I have a favor to ask you, and I hope you will agree to it.”

    “What is it?”

    “There is a great mountain in the south sea called Hwa. There is wise man there who is known as Master Unsu. I studied under him when I was young, and he has sent me many letters since then, but I have been unable to reply to him. Could you possibly go there for me?”

    When Unchi readily agreed, Hwadam spoke to him, “Now that I think of it, Hwa Mountain is in the middle of the ocean, so it won’t be easy for you to get there.”

    “I may be modest in my talents, but I can go and return in no time.”

When Hwadam expressed skepticism at that, Unchi began to think that he underestimated his powers.

    “If I do not return in good time, I will never leave this mountain again, even if I end up dying here.”

    “In that case, I wish you a good journey, but I still worry that you might make a mistake along the way.”

    When Hwadam gave him a letter to deliver, Unchi transformed himself into a hawk and flew toward the center of the ocean.

    Suddenly a great net appeared out of nowhere and blocked his path. When Unchi tried to fly over it, it grew to block him further. No matter how high he flew, its size matched him to the extent of touching the sky. And its bottom knots were tied to ropes that were submerged in the water. When Unchi tried to fly around it, it spread wide as well, preventing him from reaching Hwa Mountain. After ten days of trying to break through, he had no choice but to return to Hwadam and relate the strange event in the middle of the ocean.

    Hwadam spoke to him, “You boasted so much before but you failed in your mission, so why don’t you try leaving the mountains now?”

    Unchi, in great trepidation, tried to run, but Hwadam, predicting his action, transformed himself into a wildcat and attacked him. Unchi hurriedly turned himself into a hawk to escape, but then Hwadam became a blue lion and took Unchi in his mouth before knocking him to the ground.

    Hwadam reprimanded him, “You used such measly magic to trick the king and cause mischief without thought. For your lack of manners, you deserve to die.”

    Unchi replied in a plaintive tone, “I was ignorant of how great your powers were, so I did act in defiance of your high dignity. I do deserve to die for that, but I have an elderly mother to take care of, so I ask that you spare my life.”

    “If I let you live just this once, you must promise never to act in an unrighteous manner again. Take care of your mother, but once she passes away, what do you say we go up to the holy mountain of Yeongju together and study the ways of heavenly spirits?” 

    “I will do as you say.”

    He bowed down to him before returning home. After that, he stopped using his magical powers and spent his time taking good care of his mother.

    After time passed like the flowing of water, Unchi’s mother passed away. He performed all the proper rituals as he buried her in a grave on a mountain. He then went through the three-year mourning period.

    One day, Hwadam came to visit and Unchi hurried over to meet him. After they exchanged greetings, they went into his house and sat down.

    Hwadam spoke to him, “We have made a promise before, so I came despite knowing that you are still in mourning. I have come to take you away, so prepare your travel gear.”

    Unchi, with great happiness, distributed his wealth to his servants. “This is my final farewell, so I bid you all to live well and perform proper rituals for my ancestors.”

    After Unchi bowed down before the graves of his ancestors, he and Hwadam got on a cloud and flew in the direction of Yeongju Mountain. No one knows what happened to them after that.

The Big Book of Classic Fantasy 

(Vintage Books, 2019)

Ed. Ann and Jeff VanderMeer

Trans. Minsoo Kang

Copyright © 2019 Vintage

Translation copyright © 2019 Minsoo Kang

Reprinted with permission from Vintage.

[1] Seo Hwadam: Hwadam was the literary name of the historical figure Seo Gyeongdeok (1489–1546), a revered Confucian philosopher who was famed for his brilliance, erudition, and commitment to scholarship.