구렁덩덩 신선비

FolktaleKorea · East AsiaFolktaleFear 4/10

Description

뱀신랑설화 또는 구렁덩덩 신선비 설화는 동물설화(Animal Folktale)이다. 뱀이 자신을 길러준 사람에게 장가를 보내달라고 했다. 세 따님과 사는 장인어른이 딸들의 의사를 물었는데, 셋째 따님만 결혼하겠다고 했다. 뱀신랑이 허물을 벗으니 매우 잘생긴 청년이었고, 허물을 가지고 있으라고 했다. 이를 안 두 언니가 질투와 시기로 허물을 불태우고, 신랑

Origin & Background

Paemshillang is a traditional Korean folktale classified under the Aarne-Thompson classification as 'the story of a woman searching for her lost husband,' adopting a narrative structure similar to the ancient Greek myth of Cupid and Psyche. This story has been passed down in over 45 variations throughout Korea and has been included in the major collection of Korean folktales, 'Korean Oral Literature Anthology.'

The Legend

Paemshillang tells the story of a woman who marries a snake, breaking her promise to her husband and overcoming adversity to reunite with him. The tale depicts the process of the snake shedding its skin and transforming into a man, with the snake husband also known as 'Gureongdeongdeong Sinseonbi.' The wife promises not to show her husband's skin to anyone, but ultimately, the skin burns away, causing her husband to disappear. To find her husband, the wife meets various people and eventually learns that her husband has remarried. Afterward, the wife undergoes several trials to reunite with her husband.

Variants

In the variations of this folktale, the birth of the snake, the marriage to the third daughter, and the reunion process are conveyed differently. The snake's mother is depicted as an old woman or a widow, and the causes of pregnancy vary. In some versions, the daughter's father initially rejects the snake's proposal but ultimately accepts it after the snake threatens to ruin the family. Additionally, there are variations that include detailed descriptions of the process of the snake husband shedding its skin or the reunion.

In Popular Culture

This story has provided the motif for the play 'Maengjinsadaek Gyeongsa' by Korean playwright Oh Young-jin, and it contains critiques of how humans obsess over external elements.

This article is based on the Wikipedia article "Paemshillang" (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Wikipedia