The Kumiho

The Kumiho

Simu was the son of a Korean minister who passed his exams and held high office. When his father was Governor of Jo-Sun Province, Simu was a little boy and accompanied him. The Governor’s first wife being dead, Simu’s stepmother was the mistress of the home. Once when the minister had gone out on an inspecting tour, the office was left vacant, and Simu was there with her. In the rear garden of the official quarters was a pavilion, called the Pagosas Hill, that was connected by a narrow gateway with the public hall.

Frequently Simu took one of the office boys with him and went there to study, and once at night when it had grown late and the boy who accompanied him had taken his leave, the door opened suddenly and a young woman came in. Her clothes were neat and clean, and she was very pretty. Simu looked carefully at her, but did not recognize her. She was evidently a stranger, as there was no such person among the dancing-girls of the office. He remained looking at her, in doubt as to who she was, while she on the other hand took her place in the corner of the room and said nothing.

“Who are you?” Simu asked. She merely laughed and made no reply. He called her. She came and knelt down before him, and he took her by the hand and patted her shoulder, as though he greeted her favorably. The woman smiled and pretended to enjoy it. He concluded, however, that she was not a real woman, but a mythical beast of some kind, or perhaps a fox, and he did not know of what to do. Suddenly he decided on a plan, caught her, swung her on to his back, and rushed out through the gate into the office quarters, where he shouted at the top of his voice for his stepmother and the servants to come.

It was midnight and all were asleep. No one replied, and no one came. The woman, then, being on his back, bit him furiously at the nape of the neck. By this he knew that she was the fox. "But... why?" Simu asked, groaning in pain. She did not say a word, but simply grinned wider, keeping her sharp teeth buried in his back. Unable to stand the pain of it, he loosened his grasp, when she jumped to the ground, made her escape and was seen no more.

Author's Note:

Korean folktales tend to contain a lot of mythical creatures like many other countries' folktales. A kumiho is a creature that appears in the folktales and legends of Korea that can freely transform, among other things, into a beautiful woman often set out to seduce men, and eat their liver or heart. This fox is said to have nine tails and they tend to drain men of their masculine force and leave them dissipated or dead. Traditional Korea is a culture dominated by Confucian morality and ethics and the Korean kumiho is most often used as a cautionary symbol for the danger of female sexuality. Shape-shifting creatures have already intrigued me as I used to day dream about becoming whoever I wanted as a kid. The name I used, Simu, is actually my legal middle name that I changed to a few months back. My name originally was Taeam Augustine Kang, and now it is Augustine Simu Kang. Why have I changed my name? Korean culture plus my mother's ambition and superstition. Many months and court dates later, my name is legally changed and my old name is close to being no more as soon as the names are switched out in all systems.