The Tale of a Yangban양반전 · 兩班傳
A deed is drawn up to sell the status of a yangban. As its terms change, questions of respectability and privilege emerge.
Social status · Respectability8 min
Korean classics,
for the world.
Discover Korean stories in English and Korean.
Meet the people, places and ideas behind each classic.
Start with one story
Discover short classics that stay with you long after the last line.
The Tale of Master Yedeok예덕선생전 · 穢德先生傳
A teacher befriends Eom Haengsu, who carries away night soil, but his pupil cannot understand the friendship. Their conversation asks what makes a person worthy of respect.
Labor · Friendship8 min
The Tale of Songok the Mountain Dweller손곡산인전 · 蓀谷山人傳
The poet Lee Dal sets aside a familiar way of writing and spends five years learning anew. Heo Gyun remembers a man whose poetic reputation grew while his place in society remained narrow.
Talent · Learning10 min
The Tale of Jang장생전 · 蔣生傳
Jang shares the grain he begs and imitates every kind of sound. A night beyond the palace walls and a reunion after death turn a street performer into a man who defies easy explanation.
Sharing · Skill10 min
Follow a question
Read different stories through a shared theme.
The Person Beyond the Name
The title of yangban, the stigma of beggar. What person comes into view when we set aside the names others give?
The Dignity of Ordinary Lives
The appearance of a job is not the measure of a person. Discover standards for living beyond grand reputations.
Questions That Outlast the Laughter
A witty remark unsettles familiar assumptions. These stories make us pause in the middle of a laugh.
Measuring the Distance from the World
Unrecognized talent, inexplicable abilities. Read about people who mingle with the world or withdraw from it.
Make yourself at home in a classic
Find your own questions, rather than a single right answer.
Your First Classic Can Begin with a Single Scene
Follow what the characters do before trying to master every unfamiliar term. This guide helps you form your own questions as you move between the original, the plain retelling, and the commentary.
Separating Record and Judgment in a Life Story
Compare the Recluse Eom's way of life, Songok's poetry, the debate in The Horse Brokers, and reports about unusual people. Discover the interest of life stories in the ways their narrators remember a person.
Traceable originals,
stories for readers today
Our selections draw on ITKC’s publicly released original texts.
Read the Chinese originals alongside complete English versions of our retellings and commentary.