Korean Folktales: Four Feminist Retellings

For anyone who grew up listening to the old folktales told by their mothers and grandmothers and thought: there must be more to this story…

Featuring four Korean feminist writers, thinkers, artists, and educators, Korean Folktales: Four Feminist Retellings reimagines some of Korea's oldest narratives in powerful and innovative ways, centering the stories of intrepid and intelligent women who have, for too long, been relegated to the role of folktales' victims or villains. In each of these four folktales, patriarchy is challenged, sexism is subverted, sisterhood is celebrated, and women's voices lead the way.

Take a journey from ancient Seoul to some of Korea's most rural provinces as authors tell traditional tales their way—through the eyes of the formidable and compelling women at the heart of each story. Each folktale in this collection is followed by a valuable author analysis, in which the writer describes her own journey through the folktale, shares her creative process and inspiration, and invites readers of any age and background into new ways of thinking about how women's stories are told, by whom, and why.

This collection is a call to action for anyone interested in raising women's voices and infusing a uniquely feminine power into the corners of literature where women have too long been silenced.