박씨전: 허물을 벗은 박씨
The Tale of Lady Park: The Shed Skin
Traditional Korean novel (Bakssi-jeon, anonymous, Joseon era)
The Story
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박씨가 시집온 지 어느덧 삼 년이 지났어요.그동안 박씨는 피화당에서 홀로 지내며 한 번도 불평하지 않았어요.
어느 봄날, 금강산의 박 처사가 다시 이 대감의 집을 찾아왔어요.박 처사는 딸을 보고 말했어요. “이제 네 액운이 다 끝났으니, 허물을 벗어도 되겠구나.”박 처사는 딸에게 주문을 가르쳐 주고, 그날로 다시 금강산으로 떠났어요.
그날 밤, 박씨는 목욕을 하고 몸을 깨끗이 씻은 뒤 조용히 주문을 외웠어요.그러자 얼굴과 몸을 덮고 있던 흉한 허물이 뱀 껍질처럼 벗겨졌어요.다음 날 아침, 피화당에는 달처럼 고운 여인이 앉아 있었어요.
박씨는 몸종 계화를 불러, 벗은 허물을 시아버지께 보여 드리라고 했어요.허물을 본 이 대감은 크게 기뻐하며 서둘러 피화당으로 갔어요.집안 사람들과 하인들은 몰라보게 아름다워진 박씨를 보고 입을 다물지 못했어요.
소문을 들은 시백은 얼른 피화당으로 갔지만, 부끄러워서 차마 문을 열지 못했어요.며칠 뒤에야 시백은 아내 앞에 나아가 고개를 숙였어요. “그동안 내가 큰 잘못을 했소.”박씨가 차분하게 말했어요. “사람을 겉모습으로만 판단하면 어찌 큰일을 할 수 있겠어요?”“앞으로는 글공부에 힘써서 나라를 위하는 사람이 되세요.”시백은 아내의 말을 마음 깊이 새겼어요.
그날부터 시백은 밤낮으로 책을 읽었어요.이듬해 시백은 과거에서 장원 급제를 해서 임금님께 큰 칭찬을 받았어요.두 사람은 비로소 서로를 아끼는 부부가 되었어요.하지만 박씨는 가끔 북쪽 하늘을 바라보며 걱정스러운 얼굴을 했어요.
Full translationTry the story first — open this only to check your understanding.
Three years had passed since Lady Park married into the family. All that time, she lived alone in Pihwadang and never once complained.
One spring day, Park Cheosa of the Diamond Mountains came to Lord Yi's house again. He looked at his daughter and said, "Your misfortune is over now, so you may shed your skin." He taught his daughter a spell and left for the Diamond Mountains that same day.
That night, Lady Park bathed, washed herself clean and quietly recited the spell. Then the ugly skin that had covered her face and body peeled away like a snake's skin. The next morning, a woman as lovely as the moon was sitting in Pihwadang.
Lady Park called her maid Gyehwa and told her to show the shed skin to her father-in-law. When Lord Yi saw it, he was overjoyed and hurried to Pihwadang. The family and the servants could not close their mouths when they saw how beautiful she had become.
When Si-baek heard the news, he rushed to Pihwadang, but he was too ashamed to open the door. Only days later did he go before his wife and bow his head. "I have done you a great wrong." Lady Park said calmly, "If you judge people only by their looks, how can you ever do great things?" "From now on, work hard at your studies and become someone who serves the country." Si-baek took her words deeply to heart.
From that day on, Si-baek read his books day and night. The next year, he came first in the state examination and was highly praised by the king. At last, the two of them became a couple who cherished each other. But Lady Park sometimes gazed at the northern sky with a worried face.
Comprehension Check
1. What did Park Cheosa tell his daughter had ended?
2. What advice did Lady Park give Si-baek?
3. What happened to Si-baek the next year?
Vocabulary
noun
허물
heomul
a shed skin; also a fault or flaw
박씨는 하룻밤 사이에 흉한 허물을 벗었어요.
In a single night, Lady Park shed her ugly skin.
Your Summary
In 1–2 sentences, say how Lady Park changed, and what she taught her husband afterwards.
Source: Based on Bakssi-jeon (박씨전, The Tale of Lady Park), an anonymous Korean novel of the late Joseon era, long in the public domain. Part 2 retells the turning point: Lady Park's three years of hardship end, she sheds her ugly skin and is revealed as a great beauty, and she teaches her husband Si-baek not to judge by appearances. This simplified retelling in modern Korean and its English translation are original text written for SeoJae Story.
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