English through Mythology – Mount Chiak (치악산)

Mount Chiak and the Grateful Pheasant:

Creative Dialogue

Instructions: Please read the sample dialogue about Mount Chiak (치악산). Check that you understand the dialogue. After reading the sample dialogue,

please make up a new dialogue (새로운 대화) about Mount Chiak and its stories!

Sample dialogue: Jae-hong and Ji-hong discuss Mount Chiak

Jae-hong: I think Mount Chiak is a really boring (따분한) mountain.

Ji-hong: I disagree. In my opinion (제 의견으로는), Mount Chiak

is a fascinating (흥미로운) mountain with many stories.

Jae-hong: Stories? There aren’t any stories. There are only

hiking paths (등산로).

Ji-hong: Let me tell you Mount Chiak’s stories. After hearing the stories, you will love Mount Chiak!

Jae-hong: Okay. I’m listening.

Ji-hong: Well, my favourite story from Mount Chiak is the folktale

(동화) about the grateful pheasant (은혜 갚은 꿩).

Jae-hong: What’s a pheasant (꿩)?

Ji-hong: A pheasant is a kind of bird. Jae-hong, do you want to

hear this story? Please don’t interrupt (중단하지 마세요)!

Jae-hong: Okay. I’m listening. I won’t interrupt again.

Ji-hong: Once upon a time, a woodcutter (나무꾼) was lost on

Mount Chiak. Suddenly, he saw a snake (뱀) that was trying to

eat several baby pheasants (아기 꿩). The woodcutter killed the snake and rescued the little pheasants.

Jae-hong: Great! What happened next?

Ji-hong: Well, it was getting dark, and the woodcutter was tired

(피곤했어요). He looked for somewhere to stay overnight. At last,

he saw a cottage (시골집) on the mountain. He knocked on the door. The door opened. The woman who lived at the cottage

invited the woodcutter inside. She gave him dinner (저녁식사) and a bed for the night.

Jae-hong: I think I’ve heard this story before. The woman is the wife of the snake that the woodcutter killed. She turns into a snake and wraps herself around the woodcutter. She threatens to kill the woodcutter…

Ji-hong: That’s right. Do you know how the woodcutter escapes?

Jae-hong: Well, the snake’s wife promises to let the woodcutter go

if the temple bell rings before dawn (새벽).

Ji-hong: Yes, but how can the woodcutter ring the temple bell? It’s impossible, isn’t it?

Jae-hong: He can’t, but the temple bell rings. The woodcutter is saved! Later, the woodcutter visits the temple. He finds a dead pheasant next to the big bell. The dead pheasant is the baby pheasants’ mother.

Ji-hong: You enjoyed telling that story, didn’t you?

Jae-hong: Yes, I did. It’s a good story, but it’s a bit sad. I feel sorry for the pheasant that dies. Why can’t the pheasant live?

Ji-hong: Maybe you can write a new version of the folktale. In the new version of the folktale, the woodcutter uses magic to bring the pheasant back to life.

Jae-hong: Hey, that’s a good idea.

Ji-hong: By the way, do you still think Mount Chiak is boring?

Jae-hong: No, not at all. I think Mount Chiak is a very exciting mountain with many stories!

Ji-hong: In that case, let’s go hiking on Mount Chiak!

Jae-hong: I’m ready! Let’s go!