The story of "Heungbu and Nolbu” is one of Korea's all-time favorite folktales, together with “The Story of Sim Cheong,” “The Story of Chunhyang” and “The Fairy and the Woodcutter.” It is the story of two brothers: Heungbu is a poor, but goodhearted, empathetic little brother and Nolbu is a rich, but coldhearted, avaricious big brother. Their comparison presents us with a good parable for our time.
One day, good-natured Heungu takes care of a swallow with a broken leg. The grateful swallow brings him a seed for gourds to reward his good deed. Heungbu sows the seed and harvests the gourds that cover the roof of his thatched-roof house. To his surprise, the gourds are full of treasures that make Heungbu rich overnight.
Hearing how Heungbu has become rich, Nolbu becomes jealous. He breaks a swallow’s leg on purpose and fixes it. The swallow brings Nolbu a seed of gourds, as well. Nolbu, too, sows it and harvests the gourds. To his dismay, however, the gourds are full of human excrement, demons and goblins that destroy his wealth and house. It is a classic tale of “reward good and punish evil.”
However, interpretations of the story varied, depending on the times and situations. For example, North Korea reinterpreted the story to suit its socialist ideology. In North Korea, Nolbu is a greedy capitalist landowner who ruthlessly exploits workers like Heungbu. On the contrary, Hengbu is a conscientious working-class person willing to share everything with his neighbors.
The late renowned South Korean graphic novelist, Ko Woo-young, amused his readers with his up-to-date, modern-day interpretation of the tale. In “The Story of Nolbu,” the author came up with an alternative viewpoint on the two contrasting brothers. He portrays Heungbu as a dependent, incompetent person and Nolbu as a diligent, competent man who, in fact, cares about his pathetic, poor little brother. In his comic book, Ko presents Nolbu as a thoughtful person who treats Heungbu coldheartedly on purpose to stimulate him to work diligently and become rich in revenge against his callous big brother. Indeed, Ko’s intriguing, thought-provoking interpretation of Nolbu shed new light on the story.
Despite such different interpretations, traditionally in Korea, Nolbu is a symbol of a cantankerous and cross-minded person. If someone is mean and malicious, grumpy and grouchy, Koreans call them “Nolbu.” Koreans think that humans have “ojangyukbu,” which means, “five vital organs and six viscera,” and that Nolbu has one more viscera called “Nolbu,” rhyming Nolbu with “yukbu.”
These days, political commentators often point out that the opposition Democratic Party of Korea resembles Nolbu, judging from what it has been doing in the National Assembly since it became the majority. Instead of cooperating with the Yoon administration, it has maliciously sabotaged nearly all government propositions and projects. Moreover, the Democratic Party has unscrupulously passed numerous bills that were beneficial only to itself.
Some psychologists say that Koreans have both the Heungbu personality and the Nolbu trait, depending on the situation. Indeed, sometimes Koreans are extremely warm-hearted and full of “jeong,” just like Heungbu, especially when someone falls and needs help. Other times, however, they are surprisingly peevish and cranky, just like Nolbu, and want to shoot someone down when they seem to be rising high above them.
Perhaps Koreans think that everybody should be absolutely equal in their society. Therefore, if someone outsmarts them, excels or surpasses them in any way, they become uneasy and uncomfortable. The social atmosphere of intense competition, too, must contribute to such a tendency. Some historians reveal that according to ancient documents, Koreans like to sing and dance joyfully together, but frequently end up quarreling and fighting. That is another way of saying that Koreans have the mindsets of both Heungbu and Nolbu.
If we have the two contradicting traits of Heungbu and Nolbu at the same time, we might use them appropriately. For example, like Heungbu, we could be nice and friendly to our allies or to countries that need our help. At the same time, like Nolbu, we should be ornery and petulant to the bullying countries that are overbearing, domineering and threatening.
However, we have been doing quite the opposite. To our allies, some of our politicians have often been cranky and nasty, just like Nolbu, and to our neighboring bullying countries, those politicians have frequently acted timidly and spinelessly, just like Heungbu, seldom complaining or protesting. In the eyes of other nations, it is an inscrutable Sphinx’s riddle.
Indeed, it would be embarrassing if we acted as if we were Nolbu when we should have behaved like Heungbu, and vice versa. From now on, we should reverse the role of Heungbu and Nolbu when we deal with friendly and hostile countries. Then, we can earn esteem from the international community.
Kim Seong-kon
Kim Seong-kon is a professor emeritus of English at Seoul National University and a visiting scholar at Dartmouth College. The views expressed here are the writer’s own. -- Ed.
