견우와 직녀
The Herdsman and the Weaver
Traditional Korean folktale (견우와 직녀, anonymous, oral tradition)
The Story
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옛날 하늘나라 임금님에게는 직녀라는 딸이 있었어요.직녀는 베를 아주 잘 짜는 부지런한 공주였어요.은하수 건너편에는 소를 돌보는 성실한 청년 견우가 살았어요.
어느 날 직녀와 견우는 처음 만나 서로 사랑에 빠졌어요.임금님은 두 사람의 결혼을 기쁘게 허락해 주었어요.결혼한 두 사람은 하루 종일 함께 지내며 무척 행복했어요.
하지만 두 사람은 너무 행복해서 할 일을 모두 잊어버렸어요.직녀는 더 이상 베를 짜지 않았고, 견우의 소들은 들판에서 배가 고파 울었어요.하늘나라 사람들은 입을 옷이 없어서 큰일이 났어요.
화가 난 임금님은 두 사람을 은하수 양쪽 끝으로 떼어 놓았어요.“이제부터는 일 년에 딱 한 번, 칠월 칠석에만 만나거라.”견우와 직녀는 은하수를 사이에 두고 날마다 서로를 그리워했어요.
마침내 칠월 칠석이 되었지만, 은하수는 너무 넓고 깊었어요.다리가 없어서 두 사람은 강가에 서서 눈물만 흘렸어요.두 사람의 눈물은 비가 되어 땅으로 쏟아졌고, 땅에 사는 사람들은 큰 홍수를 겪었어요.
이를 본 까치와 까마귀들이 하늘로 날아올라 서로 날개를 이어 다리를 만들었어요.이 다리를 ‘오작교’라고 해요. 견우와 직녀는 그 다리 위에서 드디어 다시 만났어요.그래서 지금도 칠석날에는 비가 자주 오고, 그 무렵 까치들의 머리 깃털이 빠져 있다고 해요.
Full translationTry the story first — open this only to check your understanding.
Long ago, the king of the heavens had a daughter named Jingnyeo. Jingnyeo was a hard-working princess who wove beautiful cloth. Across the Milky Way lived Gyeonu, a diligent young man who looked after cattle.
One day Jingnyeo and Gyeonu met for the first time and fell in love. The king gladly gave the two of them permission to marry. Once married, the two spent all day together and were very happy.
But they were so happy that they forgot all about their work. Jingnyeo stopped weaving, and Gyeonu's cattle cried with hunger in the fields. The people of the heavens had no clothes to wear, and there was a great deal of trouble.
The angry king sent the two of them to opposite ends of the Milky Way. "From now on, you may meet only once a year, on the seventh day of the seventh month." With the Milky Way between them, Gyeonu and Jingnyeo missed each other every day.
At last the seventh day of the seventh month came, but the Milky Way was too wide and too deep. There was no bridge, so the two could only stand on the riverbanks and weep. Their tears became rain that poured down onto the earth, and the people below suffered a great flood.
Seeing this, the magpies and crows flew up into the sky and joined their wings to make a bridge. This bridge is called Ojakgyo, the Bridge of Magpies and Crows. On it, Gyeonu and Jingnyeo finally met again. That is why, even now, it often rains on Chilseok, and people say magpies lose the feathers on their heads around that time.
Comprehension Check
1. Why did the king get angry?
2. When were Gyeonu and Jingnyeo allowed to meet?
3. Who built the bridge called Ojakgyo?
Vocabulary
noun
은하수
eunhasu
the Milky Way
은하수 건너편에 견우가 살았어요.
Gyeonu lived across the Milky Way.
Your Summary
In 1–2 sentences, say why the king separated the herdsman and the weaver, and how they are able to meet once a year.
Source: Based on 견우와 직녀 (Gyeonuwa Jingnyeo), the Korean telling of the ancient East Asian star legend behind the 칠석 (Chilseok) festival, passed down orally and long in the public domain. This simplified retelling and its English translation are original text written for SeoJae Story.
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