Patjwi (팥쥐)

FolktaleKorea · East AsiaFolktaleFear 4/10

Description

Kongjwi's wicked stepsister who, along with her mother, torments and exploits Kongjwi. She tries to steal Kongjwi's happiness but ultimately faces karmic retribution. A classic antagonist representing jealousy and cruelty in Korean folktales.

Origin & Background

The story of Kongji and Patji is one of the famous domestic novels of Joseon, with an unknown author and date, and is a Cinderella-type folktale. This work has been passed down in printed versions in the format of Korean classical novels, such as the Daechangseowon edition (1919) and the Taehwa Publishing edition (1928).

The Legend

This story revolves around the conflict between the kind protagonist Kongji and her wicked stepmother and stepsister Patji. Kongji suffers abuse from her stepmother and Patji, but with the help of various animals and the heavens, she attends a village feast and marries Kim the magistrate. However, Patji drowns Kongji and pretends to be her. Eventually, Magistrate Kim discovers Kongji's corpse, and Patji and the stepmother are punished.

Variants

During the mid-Joseon period, in the vicinity of Jeonju, Jeollado, there lived a man named Choi Man-chun, his wife Mrs. Jo, and their daughter Kongji. After the wife died, he took a widow named Mrs. Bae as his second wife. Mrs. Bae gave birth to Patji and abused Kongji, ultimately leading to Kongji drowning in a pond. This story is passed down in Eungyo-ri, Iseo-myeon, Wanju-gun, Jeonbuk.

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