Magic Spring: A Korean Folktale

by Nami Rhee, Tomie dePaola (Foreword)

A greedy man is transformed into a baby by a magical spring and is adopted by a humble, loving couple who had been restored to their youth by the same magic.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Folklore

32 pages, Hardcover

First published May 26, 1993

Reviews

[Abigail · Rating 4 out of 5]

An elderly woodcutter and his wife carry on despite their poverty and childlessness in this retelling of a traditional tale from Korea. Ridiculed by their neighbor, who is far wealthier than they, they keep silent and never complain. Then one day, enchanted by the song of a bluebird that he follows into the mountains, the elderly man finds a spring, and drinking its pure, cold water, is transformed—once more a strong and healthy young man. Taking his wife to the spring, the woodcutter sees her transformed into a young woman. Delighting in the new lease on life that has been given to them, they share the news with their neighbor, whose greed in consuming the water ends up giving the couple the one thing more precious than youth...

Born and raised in South Korea, where she currently resides, author/illustrator Nami Rhee created Magic Spring: A Korean Folktale while living in the United States, where it was published. It appears to be one of only two books to her credit, the other being Woodcutter and Tiger Brother , which also appears to be a folkloric retelling. This one was published by G.P. Putnam's Sons as part of their Whitebird Books imprint, which was active in the early 1990s, and which included a number of folk tales from around the world. In his foreword, imprint editor Tomie dePaola mentions that the tale presented here was a childhood favorite of Rhee. In any case, I found the story in Magic Spring, and was not expecting the conclusion, in which the greedy neighbor grows so young after drinking the magic water that he becomes a baby and is adopted by the couple. I don't think I've ever encountered a traditional tale in which the antagonist grows young and is becomes the baby of those he tormented. I definitely appreciated that unusual ending, and I also appreciated the illustrations, which were created using Korean rice paper, ink and watercolor. I enjoyed the subtle but lovely color palette used, and the folk style overall. The inclusion of Korean phrases in the artwork was a nice touch as well. Recommended to young folklore enthusiasts in general, and to picture book readers looking for Korean stories.

Note: If half stars were available, this would be a 3.5-star book for me, but as they are not I have rounded up to four.

[Allie Outhouse · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a charming but predictable tale with delightful illustrations . The characterization of the elderly was very well portrayed and I enjoyed the caligraphy along each page's narration. The simple style enhanced the descriptive language so that this was a perfectly balanced tale presented through complimentary text and images.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Korean folktale about a magical pool of youth and how it provides the wishes of an old couple in every way.

[Marilyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are many ways to get a baby.

[Jacquie Penton]

Magic Spring by Nami Rhee is traditional literature on a Korean Folktale. This book can teach children that being greedy will never make you better than someone else and this is why I chose this book for my book talk #2.

[Benji Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a very satisfying folk tale. It's not too long, and the kids loved seeing what happened to the greedy neighbor in the end. It seems to be a tale that is still told. Several of my Korean students had heard the story before, and they all wanted to see the book when I was finished to read the Korean parts. The illustrations, by the way, were beautiful and worked well with the story.

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful illustrations enhance the gentle telling of this somewhat familiar tale.

[SmokingMirror · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unusual tale of peasants much more generous than generally seen in folk tales. Nicely coloured illustrations.