Module 2- Book 1 Folktale: In the Moonlight Mist

1. Bibliography San Souci,Daniel.1999.In the Moonlight Mist:A Korean Tale Ill. by Eujin Kim Neilan. Honesdale, PA
Boyds Mills Press: 1999.ISBN1563977540


2.Plot Summary
In this Korean folk tale set during the Chosun dynasty, a kind-hearted woodcutter rescues an enchanted deer,who then then tells the woodcutter how to trick a celestial maiden into marriage. The maiden learns to love the woodcutter,but soon longs for her heavenly home. Always the dutiful son, the woodcutter also worries about his frail elderly mother and ultimately shows that he is willing to sacrifice his happiness for her maternal well-being.


3.Critical Analysis
The illustrator uses thick, textured,vigorous concentric strokes of acrylic to convey mood and expression. Ms. Eujin Kim Neilan shows great skill in portraying the intensely expressive faces of the characters. The look of sorrow on the face of the now earth-bound magical wife is especially moving. The illustrations incorporate cinematic perspective with the use of close-ups and angles that look like movie stills. Especially notable is the illustration that shows the woodcutter, his wife and his baby with the page divided into three frames.
Another well done scene,which demonstrates the illustrator's adept use of perspective, shows the wife floating up into the sky with the bereft woodcutter shouting in the background. The colors are carefully tied to the scenes of the plot with lighter yellow colors used to picture earth scenes while a darker blue,violet palette is used to represent, enchanted, celestial space.

This story portrays the values that are prized by Korean society. These values include self-sacrifice,self-denial and taking care of elders. Filial duty,which is very important in Korea,creates a culturally related family dilemma. This dilemma occurs when the son must choose between joining his wife in heaven or using the opportunity to send his mother to this wonderful paradise instead. As this story reflects the strongly held Korean values,influenced by Confucianism,of filial piety and self sacrifice,American readers,raised in a culture of individualism,may feel distanced from the story and could find it difficult to relate to this point of view.

4.Review Excerpts
Booklist."An evocative tale with a dulcet message."
The Horn Book."The acrylic paintings extend the well-told text and add cultural details."

5.Connections
Teachers could use this book as an impetus to study and teach more about Korean culture. The juvenile series Cultures of the World has a very informative and interesting book on Korea by Jill Dubois.

Another tale that exposes children to Korean customs and history is:
Park, Linda Sue. The Firekeeper's Son. Ill. By Jill Dowling.
ISBN-13: 978-0618133376

Another fairy tale about self-sacrifice and filial duty is The Green Frogs: A Korean Folk Tale. Written and Illustrated by Yumi Heo.
ISBN-13: 978-0395683781.
This story is also a "pour-qoi" tale.


Teach some of the Korean games found in the book Look What we Bought You From Korea : Crafts,Games,Stories and Other Cultural Activities from Korean Americans By Phyllis Shalant. Illustrations by Sooyoo Hyunjoo Park. ISBN :0671887025

This book includes many fun Korean games,such as the Korean version of Paper,Scissors,Rock called Kawi/Pawi/Po.