심청전
The Tale of Sim Cheong
Traditional Korean novel (Sim Cheong-jeon, anonymous, Joseon era)
The Story
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옛날 어느 마을에 눈이 먼 아버지와 함께 사는 효녀 심청이 살았어요.심청의 어머니는 심청이 아기였을 때 돌아가셨고, 아버지 심학규는 홀로 딸을 키웠어요.심청은 자라서 삯바느질과 허드렛일을 하며 눈먼 아버지를 정성껏 모셨어요.
어느 날 아버지는 냇물에 빠졌다가, 자신을 구해 준 스님에게서 뜻밖의 말을 들었어요.쌀 삼백 석을 부처님께 바치면 눈을 뜰 수 있다는 말이었어요.가진 것이 없었던 아버지는 그만 그러겠다고 약속해 버리고 말았어요.
심청은 아버지의 눈을 뜨게 해 드리고 싶어서, 자신을 뱃사람들에게 팔아 쌀 삼백 석을 마련했어요.뱃사람들은 바다의 용왕님을 달래기 위해 처녀 한 명이 필요했던 것이었어요.심청은 아버지에게 사실을 알리지 않은 채, 배를 타고 먼 바다로 떠났어요.
거센 바다 한가운데서, 심청은 아버지를 위해 기도하며 스스로 파도 속으로 몸을 던졌어요.하지만 심청은 죽지 않고, 커다랗고 아름다운 연꽃 속에서 다시 눈을 떴어요.그 연꽃은 물결을 따라 떠올랐고, 마침 지나가던 임금님이 그것을 발견했어요.
연꽃 속에서 나온 심청은 임금님과 결혼하여 왕비가 되었어요.왕비가 된 심청은 온 나라의 눈먼 사람들을 궁궐로 초대하는 잔치를 열었어요.잔치에 온 아버지가 마침내 딸의 목소리를 듣고 놀라 눈을 번쩍 뜨니, 그의 눈도 밝아졌어요.
Full translationTry the story first — open this only to check your understanding.
Long ago, in a small village, there lived a devoted daughter named Sim Cheong, who lived with her blind father. Sim Cheong's mother died when she was just a baby, and her father, Sim Hak-gyu, raised her alone. As she grew up, Sim Cheong took in sewing and odd jobs to earn money, and cared for her blind father with all her heart.
One day her father fell into a stream, and a monk who saved him told him something unexpected. The monk said that if three hundred sacks of rice were offered to Buddha, her father's eyes would open again. Having nothing of his own to give, the father rashly promised to do exactly that.
Wanting more than anything to give her father his sight, Sim Cheong sold herself to some sailors to raise the three hundred sacks of rice. The sailors needed a young woman to offer to the Dragon King of the sea, to calm his stormy waters. Without telling her father the truth, Sim Cheong boarded the ship and sailed far out to sea.
In the middle of the rough sea, Sim Cheong prayed for her father and threw herself into the waves. But Sim Cheong did not die; instead, she opened her eyes again inside a huge and beautiful lotus flower. The lotus flower floated up on the waves, and a passing king happened to discover it.
Sim Cheong, who emerged from the flower, married the king and became queen. As queen, Sim Cheong held a great feast and invited every blind person in the kingdom to the palace. When her father, who had come to the feast, suddenly heard his daughter's voice and opened his eyes wide in surprise, his sight was restored as well.
Comprehension Check
1. Why did Sim Cheong sell herself to the sailors?
2. What happened to Sim Cheong after she threw herself into the sea?
3. How did Sim Cheong's father get his sight back?
Vocabulary
noun
효녀
hyonyeo
devoted daughter
심청은 효녀였어요.
Sim Cheong was a devoted daughter.
Your Summary
In 1–2 sentences, say why Sim Cheong sold herself to the sailors, and how her father's sight was finally restored.
Source: Based on Sim Cheong-jeon (심청전), an anonymous traditional Korean folktale believed to date from the Joseon era and long in the public domain. This simplified retelling and its English translation are original text written for SeoJae Story; Sim Cheong survives her sacrifice in every known version of the tale, and this retelling keeps that ending.
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