Takatukahane

Today I am here to brighten up your day with a Korean fairy tale. There are many versions of this tale, but as a hopeless fun of romantic stories, I certainly chose the one with a “happy ending”.

A long time ago there was a poor farmer boy. Every day he worked in the rice paddy and supported his aging mother. One day, while he was working in the rice paddy, he said to himself “What am I gonna do with all those rice? I don’t even have anybody to share with” Then he heard a woman’s voice reply “I can share with you,” The farmer looked around but couldn’t see anything but a snail. Somehow he found the snail very interesting and decided to bring it home. From that day on, he started to find open buffet breakfasts, unlimited lunches, and sumptuous dinners as if there was a Masterchef at home. He wondered who was preparing those meals and days after he pretended he was leaving the house for work but hid somewhere in the house. Having thought that the former left the house already, the snail came out of its shell and turned into a very beautiful girl and started to prepare one of those meals. As the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach, he immediately declared his love to Snail Lady and asked her hand in marriage and The Snail Lady accepted it.

While they were living a happy life for a while, the King of the country, who was our villain in this story, was charmed by the beauty of the Snail Lady and wanted to make her his wife. He called the farmer and challenged him to three contests in “fastest logging”, “fastest horse riding” and “fastest crossing the river” and he asked the farmer’s wife in exchange for his kingdom. Having understood that the cruel king was going to cheat her husband, The Snail Lady has informed her father, the Dragon King, who lives in the deep ocean. With the help of the Dragon King, the farmer won all the contests and defeated the king who was trying to cheat at all the contests. The farmer both had the wife and the kingdom.

The Snail Lady was also very happy that she was saved from being the wife of the cruel king and preparing meals three times a day. And they lived happily ever after.

• The Snail-Shell Bride: bad things come to those who can’t wait, Korea.net
• Salyangoz Hanım Masalı: Kore Mitolojisi, Orhan Öztürk
• Snail Bride, Encyclopedia of Korean Folk Culture
• The Snail lady, Redbreadtie.blogspot.com