The Story of Hong Gildong (11 page)

He hid himself well before he shot one of them with an arrow. The creature made a great noise before he fled with his many soldiers. Gildong chased after them, but the place was unfamiliar to him so he could not find his way in the night. Feeling sad that he had failed to rescue the woman, he spent the night in the woods. The next day, he was on his way down the mountain when he found traces of blood shed by the monster. He followed the trail for several
ri
, until he came upon a great building made of stone.

Gildong went up to its stone gate, where an
uldong
who stood guard there questioned him. “What kind of a person are you that you would venture so deep into the mountain?”

Gildong looked at him and saw that he was one of the monsters he had seen in the night. He was secretly pleased as he thought to himself, “Let us see how all this plays out.”

And he spoke out. “I am a man from Joseon who makes his living by practicing the healing arts. I came up here to obtain some medicine, but then, to my embarrassment, I lost my way. I bid you to tell me the right direction to go.”

When the creature heard those words, he questioned him further. “You say that you practice the healing arts. Can you heal a wound?”

Gildong replied, “I possess the medical skills of Hwa Ta and Pyeon Jak,
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so a mere wound is nothing to me.”

The joyful creature spoke out. “Heaven has sent you to us to help our great king.”

Gildong pretended not to understand and questioned him. “What do you speak of? Tell me your story.”

The
uldong
informed him. “Our great king has obtained a new wife for himself, but on our way back home an arrow came flying out of nowhere and pierced him. Not only could he not consummate his marriage last night, but the state of his health is in a precarious condition. Come and use your good medicine to let your healing skills shine forth,” he said and quickly went inside.

He returned after a while, asked Gildong to follow him, and led him to a palace within. Inside, there was a throne surrounded by fresh grass and beautiful flowers in full bloom. An
uldong
lay there moaning in pain. Gildong looked around and saw a woman in the stone building who was trying to commit suicide by hanging herself from a crossbeam. Two other women were holding on to her steadfastly, preventing her from carrying out her intent. Gildong recognized the first woman as the one from the previous night.

Gildong went before the king and spoke deceitfully to him. “I can see that your illness is not a serious one. I carry in my pocket a miracle medicine that needs to be stirred into liquid. If you take it, the poison inside your body will dissipate and new flesh will appear. With just one dose, not only will your wound heal, but you will also attain immortality, great king.”

The
uldong
was filled with joy at those words and spoke out. “I did not think to take precaution against a misfortune like this falling on me, and my illness has taken me to the verge of death. How I lamented this fateful turn in my life. But you have come to me by the grace of Heaven, so now I can hope to recover my health. I beg you to use your good medicine to save me.”

Gildong immediately took a package of drug out of his pocket, diluted it in liquid, and fed it to the creature. After a while, the
uldong
began hitting himself in the stomach as he screamed out in pain.

He spoke to Gildong. “We have never had cause to become enemies, so why did you feed me a poisonous drug to kill me?”

He then summoned all the
uldongs
and addressed them. “Out of nowhere, this wicked person has appeared in my life's path, and he has murdered me. I order you to avenge my death by killing him.” As soon as he finished speaking, he fell down dead.

All the
uldongs
wailed in grief as they took up their swords and rebuked Gildong. “Foul enemy, who has harmed our king and caused his death, receive the blows of our swords.” And they charged him.

Gildong laughed out loud and talked back to them. “I did not kill your king. He has just lived out his natural span of life.”

As the enraged
uldongs
came at him, he wanted to fight them, but he had no weapon in hand to defend himself with. In the dire situation, Gildong flew up into the air to flee, but the
uldongs
were crafty monsters who had been practicing magic for thousands of years. As he aroused a tempest to make his escape, the creatures let out a noise in unison that brought them a wind that they rode in pursuit. Left with no other choice, Gildong cast a
spell that summoned Heavenly Soldiers who descended from above and restrained all the
uldongs
. The monsters were brought down and forced to kneel before the stairs of the palace. Gildong grabbed a sword from an
uldong
and slaughtered every single one of them.

He went back inside the palace for the women he had seen before, but they began to cry and plead. “We are not monsters but humans captured by the creatures, who kept us and would not let us die. We beg you, great general, spare our lives.”

Gildong considered them before he asked for their names and places of origin. One was from the family of Jeong, another of Jo, while the third was the daughter of Bek Yong of Nakcheon County. As he listened to them, he realized that they were all women from respectable families.

He immediately took them to Nakcheon County, where he found Bek Yong and explained what had happened. He then returned Bek Yong's daughter to him. He and his wife were so happy to see their child again that they organized a magnificent feast and invited all their relatives and village neighbors. After they enjoyed themselves, Bek Yong accepted Gildong as his son-in-law, sparing no expense for the grandest of weddings.

The next day, the women named Jeong and Jo asked to see Master Hong, and spoke to him with appreciation. “We were on the verge of death, but Heaven saw fit to send a great general who returned us to the world of the living. We have no wish to go anywhere without you. So we beg you, great general, not to leave us but allow us to live under your protection so that we may have the opportunity to pay you back for saving our lives.”

Gildong could not resist them, so he made them his concubines.

Up to this time Gildong had not known the joys of the phoenix's union, but now that he had so suddenly gained a beautiful woman of grace and virtue as his wife, the love he felt for her knew no bounds. He took his entire family-in-law to Jae Island, where all his soldiers met him at a river's shore and congratulated
him on his safe return. The men escorted the traveling party home, where they enjoyed themselves at a great feast.

 • • • 

Time flowed on, and three years passed since Gildong had first come to Jae Island. One night, as he took a walk to enjoy the moonlight, he gazed up at the stars and was suddenly overcome with such sorrow that he began to weep.

Lady Bek
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questioned him. “My dear husband, in all the time I have been with you, I have never seen you sad. So what has happened on this day that you should grieve so?”

Gildong sighed as he spoke. “I am the most disloyal son in the world. There can be no forgiveness for me. I am not a native of this part of the world. I was, rather, born the son of High Minister Hong and his lowborn concubine in the country of Joseon. I could not bear to be treated as a lowly person in the household, nor could I enter into the service of the royal court. There was no way for me to realize my will and spirit as a true man, so I took leave of my parents and eventually came to live in this place. But I have constantly looked to the stars for signs of my parents' health. Just now, I saw in the constellations that my father has fallen ill and that he will soon leave this world. I am ten thousand
ri
away and I will not reach him in time. So I will never see him alive again. That is the reason for my grief.”

Lady Bek also felt sad hearing his words, but she tried her best to console him. “It is hard to evade one's fate, so please do not be so distraught.”

The next day, he took some men up to Ilbong Mountain and had them begin preparing a gravesite at the place he once marked.

He spoke to them. “Make the grave three
ja
107
wide, and follow my instructions in erecting the tomb.”

He then summoned his soldiers and addressed them. “On a day of my choosing, take a big ship to Seogang in Joseon and wait for my order.”

He then bade farewell to Lady Bek as well as to his concubines Jeong and Jo and went forth on a small ship. On his way to Joseon, he cut off all his hair and dressed himself up as a monk.

At this time, High Minister Hong was eighty years old. He suddenly fell ill, and his condition grew serious as all medicine proved ineffective. This was in the middle of the ninth lunar month.

The minister summoned his wife and his son, the assistant section chief,
108
and addressed the latter. “I am eighty years old and I regret nothing in my life except for one thing. Gildong may have been born of a servant girl, but his talent and courage were those of an extraordinary person. He is also my progeny. Ever since he went away, I have had to live without knowing whether my own son was alive or dead. And now I will pass from this world without seeing him again. So I feel a great sorrow in my heart. After I die, take special care of Gildong's mother and make sure that she lives out her life in comfort. If Gildong should return, then lay aside the practice of separating legitimate children from the illegitimate, and act without discrimination toward him as if he were born of the same mother as you. I ask you to honor this last command from your father.”

He then summoned Gildong's mother and took her hand.

He wept as he spoke to her. “The only thing I regret is that I will die without seeing Gildong again. He is not a feckless person so he will not abandon you. But, for me, I will not be able to close my eyes in peace, even after I have entered the Land of Yellow Spring.”
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After he finished speaking, he passed away. His wife and Chunseom both fainted in grief, and the sound of wailing reverberated throughout the household, letting all know that the mourning period had begun.
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After the family members regained their composure, they made certain that all the rites were performed with the utmost care. They put on their funeral clothes and kept watch over the coffin in the house.

At this time, a male servant and a female one came and spoke to them. “A monk has come asking to offer condolences before the monumental tablet
111
of the deceased.” The mourning son
112
thought it peculiar but allowed the visitor to come.

The monk entered the house in a respectful manner, went up to the minister's monumental tablet, and began to wail in grief.

The household servants spoke among themselves. “His Lordship was never close to any monk, so who is he that he should mourn so sadly?” They thought the scene peculiar.

Some time passed before Gildong's cries finally calmed down to sorrowful moans.

He then spoke out. “Older brother, do you not know who I am?”

Only then did the mourning son lift his head and look carefully at the monk to see that it was his younger brother, Gildong.

Filled with both joy and sadness, he cried out as he addressed him. “Heartless brother, where have you been all this time? As our father was dying, his last thoughts were of you. In his final words he said much in your favor, but he also lamented that he could not close his eyes in peace because of you.”

He then took his hand and led him into the inner chamber, where the minister's wife looked upon them and spoke. “Why have you brought a monk into the inner chamber?”

The mourning son quietly replied, “This is not a stranger but my younger brother, Gildong.”

The minister's wife was also filled with joy and sadness at the same time.

She addressed him. “We have received no word from you since you left us. When His Lordship's illness became serious and he began to expire, he repeatedly said that he would not be able to close his eyes in peace even in the Land of Yellow Spring because he could not see you one last time before he bade his final farewell to this world. How tragic this is.”

Gildong let out a sigh and replied, “This disloyal son Gildong lost all desire to live in the world, so I went into a mountain and cut off all my hair to become a monk. I then studied geomancy
113
and found a suitable gravesite for my parents to rest in after their passing. At least in that way I sought to repay my parents for the immense gift of life they have given me, and to make up what paltry amount I can for my lack of filial piety.”

The minister's wife sent a maid to summon Gildong's mother. When Chunseom heard that Gildong had come, she lost all composure and fainted. The servants eventually managed to revive her so that she was able to regain enough decorum to go see her son. When mother and son came together, they wailed so much that it sounded as if mourning for the deceased had begun all over again.

When Gildong finally managed to stop crying, he consoled her. “Mother, please do not be sad anymore.”

He then addressed his older brother. “I came in disguise because I was afraid that if it became known that your younger brother has come, harm might come to this household.”

The mourning son replied, “You are right.” And so he allowed Gildong to maintain his appearance.

Gildong informed him, “I found a radiant mountain
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for our father's gravesite. Will you trust me on this matter?”

The mourning son replied, “I will see the place before I decide.”

The next day, Gildong took some of the family members up a rocky cliff, where he sat down and addressed them. “How about this place?”