''Gyeonmyo jaengju'' is a

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

folktale A folktale or folk tale is a folklore genre that typically consists of a story passed down from generation to generation orally. Folktale may also refer to: Categories of stories * Folkloric tale from oral tradition * Fable (written form of the a ...

that has been traditionally been cited as the reason why cats and dogs fail to get along with each other. The story appears in numerous variations in several history folktale collections. The story is about a precious marble gifted to a poor fisherman by a mythic

carp Carp are various species of oily freshwater fish from the family Cyprinidae, a very large group of fish native to Europe and Asia. While carp is consumed in many parts of the world, they are generally considered an invasive species in parts of ...

. After the marble is stolen, the fisherman's dog and cat, out of gratitude for their master, steal back the marble. On their way home, the cat loses the marble and the two fight about it. The cat ultimately retrieves the marble and returns it to the fisherman.

History and transmission

''Gyeonmyo jaengju'' has been passed down orally all over Korea. More than fifteen variations of the tale are included in major Korean folktale collections such as ''Hanguk gubi munhak daegye'' (한국구비문학대계 Compendium of Korean Oral Literature). During a shamanistic rite called ''Mangmutgut'' primarily performed in the

Hamgyeong Province Hamgyong Province () was one of the Eight Provinces of Korea during the Joseon Dynasty. Hamgyŏng was located in the northeast of Korea. The provincial capital was Hamhŭng. Names The province was first established as Yonggil ( ko, 영길, , '' ...

of Korea, a song called ''Donjeon puri'' (돈전풀이The Origin of Money) is performed to lyrics about a protagonist who comes into possession of a treasure with help from a snake and a cat. In ways like this, ''Gyeonmyo jaengju'' has been fused with other stories and passed down in diverse variations over the years. In the late twentieth century, the folktale was introduced in elementary school Korean language textbooks, which made it familiar to many in modern day Korea.

Plot

Summary

Once there was an old man who caught

fish Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% of li ...

for a living. One day, the

fisherman A fisher or fisherman is someone who captures fish and other animals from a body of water, or gathers shellfish. Worldwide, there are about 38 million commercial and subsistence fishers and fish farmers. Fishers may be professional or recreati ...

caught a large

but let it go when he saw the carp shedding tears. When the fisherman went to the seashore the next day, a boy appeared, introduced himself as the son of the Dragon King of the Sea, and told the fisherman that he was the carp the fisherman had spared the day before. The boy went on to thank the old fisherman and invited him to the Dragon King’s palace. The fisherman was well received by the Dragon King and gifted with a precious marble that would make him rich once he returned home. Hearing news of this, an old woman in the neighboring village stole the precious marble by secretly switching it with a different marble, which dragged the old fisherman back into poverty. The cat and the dog living with the fisherman saw the

burglary Burglary, also called breaking and entering and sometimes housebreaking, is the act of entering a building or other areas without permission, with the intention of committing a criminal offence. Usually that offence is theft, robbery or murder ...

as an opportunity to express their gratitude to their master and set out for the old woman’s house in the neighboring village. The cat and the dog threatened the mouse living at the old woman’s house to find out where she hid the precious marble. While making their way back home, the dog had to swim across a river while the cat sat on the dog’s back with the marble in its mouth. However, when the dog kept asking the cat whether it was safely holding on to the marble, the cat finally opened its mouth to answer and dropped the marble into the river. This caused the cat and the dog to fight, after which the dog left for home and the cat remained by the riverside to eat some fish. When the precious marble turned up inside the fish it was eating, the cat brought the marble back to its master. From then on, the fisherman gave preference to the cat and kept the dog outside the house, which is how the relationship between the cat and the dog turned from friend to foe.

Variation

''Gyeonmyo jaengju'' is composed of multiple parts including the part where the fisherman spares the carp’s life, the part where the old woman tricks the fisherman into losing his marble, and the part where the cat and the dog fight because of the marble. The cat and dog fight tends to be combined with different parts to create variations of this tale that largely fall under two types: one that combines the cat and dog fight with the part about the carp returning the favor, and the other that combines the cat and dog fight with the fisherman’s wife defeating a python (

imugi Korean dragons are legendary creatures in Korean mythology and folklore. The appearance of the dragon reflects its relation to its East Asian counterparts, including the Chinese dragons. Korean dragons Whereas most dragons in European mytholog ...

). Variations of the second type feature a python filled with resentment toward the fisherman, which the fisherman’s wife wisely defeats. Some variations skip much of the details related to how the fisherman obtains the marble. In other variations, the person who steals the marble is not an old woman from a nearby village, but a friend of the fisherman or a peddler.

Features and Significance

''Gyeonmyo jaengju'' is the quintessential story of animals repaying the kindness of humans. The Dragon King’s son who shapeshifts into a carp repays the kindness shown by the fisherman. When the fisherman finds himself in a crisis, the cat and the dog set out to retrieve the treasure to show their appreciation to their master. Such developments hint at the moral that animals not only show gratitude toward good deeds humans do, but also help humans overcome the difficulties they encounter.

Classification

''Gyeonmyo jaengju'' is a story passed down not only in Korea, but in other parts of the world including Asia, Europe, Africa, North America, and South America. The story corresponds to the type

ATU Atu may refer to: * Atu, a character in Samoan mythology * Atu Bosenavulagi, an Australian rules footballer * Atu, Iran, a village in Iran * Atu Moli, New Zealand rugby union player * Atu'u is a village on Tutuila Island, American Samoa ATU may re ...

560, "The Magic Ring", in the international classification system. According to folklorist Wolfram Eberhard, variants of the tale type in China and other countries serve to explain the rivalry between cats and dogs.

Translations

A version of the story was translated into

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

by Horace Newton Allen as ''The Enchanted Wine Jug''.

Other

From November 20, 2018 to October 12, 2020, the Children’s Museum of the

National Folk Museum of Korea National Folk Museum of Korea is a national museum of South Korea, located within the grounds of the Gyeongbokgung Palace in Jongno-gu, Seoul. It uses replicas of historical objects to illustrate the history of traditional life of the Korean pe ...

held an exhibition inspired by ''Gyeonmyo jaengju'' titled “The Dog, the Cat, and the Magic Marble.”The Children’s Museum of the National Folk Museum of Korea

References

{{reflist

Sources

* �
The Dog and the Cat
” Compendium of Korean Oral Literature. * �
The Dog and Cat Fight Over the Marble
” Compendium of Korean Oral Literature. * �
Why Dogs and Cats Hate Each Other
” Compendium of Korean Oral Literature.