129. Keeping a Promise There was a peerless beauty in a certain place, renowned as a chaste widow. A philanderer living in the same village coveted the widow and tried every possible way to seduce her, but she was not easily conquered. Hearing that the widow was blind to money, he visited her one day and pleaded, “If you let me touch your breasts just once, I will give you one hundred won.” Since one hundred won for touching her breasts once was not such a harmful thing, the widow agreed to it.
So, the philanderer went every day with one hundred won and touched her breasts, and the widow, in turn, welcomed it every day, enjoying the taste of money. After some time, the man offered two hundred nyang to touch her navel once. The widow agreed to that too. After a while, he offered one thousand won to touch her lower gate (vagina) once. Blinded by money, she readily agreed to that as well. Then, one day, the man finally proposed to the woman that if she would let him touch her lower gate with his glans just once, he would give her all his property. The widow agreed to that too, swayed by the promise of all his property.
When the hot flesh touched her lower gate, the widow, who had been deprived of sex for a long time, could not help but be aroused, no matter how renowned a chaste woman she was. So, the woman finally yearned to have the entire piece of flesh inserted. However, the philanderer firmly refused, saying that was not part of the agreement. At this, the widow became increasingly unable to bear it and pleaded with him to listen to her, saying she would not even ask for compensation this time.
However, the man still didn't listen. The more he refused, the more the widow pleaded, saying she would return all the money she had received if he would just grant her request. But the philanderer stubbornly insisted, “That’s not what we agreed to. A promise must be kept,” and refused her request. When it came to that, the woman became even more anxious, her limbs shriveling, and finally she cried out, “I’ll give you not only your money but all my property too, just put it in once!” At this, the philanderer said, “If you go that far, then I will!” and only then did he listen. Thus, the philanderer not only achieved his desire but also took much of the widow’s property and eventually made the beautiful widow his concubine.
130. Even Buddha There was a truly ignorant monk who knew nothing of women. He had heard that the taste of it was so good that one day he brought a woman to experience it for himself. Before tasting it himself, he wanted to offer it to Buddha first, so he laid the woman before Buddha, inserted a spoon into her nether regions, and chanted prayers. The woman found it so amusing that she giggled and giggled, trying to suppress her laughter. Seeing the spoon wobble because of her laughter, the enlightened monk was greatly impressed and thought, 'If even Buddha enjoys this so much, then it must indeed taste good!'
Soon after the chanting ended, the enlightened monk, intending to taste it himself, pulled out the spoon he had inserted, scooped up a spoonful of the fluid, and tasted it. He immediately gagged and spat, “Ugh, ptooey… They say this tastes good, ugh, ptooey, ptooey, ptooey… Even Buddha is a fool!”
131. Only the umbrella is mine A person stayed at an inn and left an umbrella in the room when checking out. That night, remembering it, they rushed back to the room they had stayed in to retrieve the umbrella. The door was half-open, and peeking inside, they saw a newlywed couple staying there, currently embracing and kissing each other. The man asked his bride, who was in his arms, "Whose nose is this?" The bride replied, "It's yours, of course." "And these eyes?" "Those are yours too." "And these ears?" "These are also yours." "Then what about this...?" "That's also yours." In this manner, they went through each item, identifying its owner.
Mr. Mo, who was staring blankly at the figure from the doorway, was so terrified that he might lose his umbrella to the man if he hesitated, so he shouted loudly, "Hey! Even if everything belonging to the bride is your husband's, that umbrella is definitely mine!"
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閑山
8
참으로 직설적입니다. 오늘날의 기준으로 보면 다소 거칠고 민망한 대목도 있지만, 당시 민간에서 통용되던 욕망과 인간 심리를 과장과 반전으로 풀어낸 풍자성이 돋보입니다. 특히 129편의 ‘약속 엄수’와 131편의 ‘우산만은 내 것’은 마지막 반전이 웃음을 만들어내는 전형적인 상말식 해학이라고 봅니다.
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이종호
7
세 편 모두 결국 인간의 욕망과 허점을 웃음으로 뒤집는 이야기입니다. 129편은 약속을 문자 그대로 지키는 역설, 130편은 어설픈 수행자의 순진함, 131편은 소유권에 대한 엉뚱한 집착이 핵심이네요. 표현은 옛날식이라 거칠지만, ‘마지막 한 방’으로 웃음을 만드는 민간 해학의 전통은 확실히 느껴집니다.
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namhee
5
읽다 보면 조선상말의 특징이 분명하게 드러납니다. 점잖은 교훈을 앞세우기보다 인간의 욕망과 허욕, 착각을 적나라하게 드러내고 끝에서 뒤집어 웃음을 끌어냅니다. 옛 민간 해학의 한 단면을 보여주는 기록이라 흥미롭습니다.
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최혁준
5
요즘 감각으로 읽으면 꽤 당황스러운 이야기들이지만, 당시 사람들이 웃음을 통해 인간의 본성을 어떻게 바라봤는지 엿볼 수 있다는 점에서는 흥미롭습니다. 욕망을 숨기기보다 과장하고 뒤집어 보여주는 방식이 특징적입니다. 상말이라는 형식 자체가 가진 거침과 해학을 그대로 보여주는 세 편입니다.
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에델바이스
4
‘인간은 참으로 허술하고 우습다’는 시선인 듯합니다. 돈에 흔들리고, 엉뚱한 것을 믿고, 남의 행동을 보다가 자기 물건까지 빼앗길까 걱정하는 모습까지 모두 풍자의 대상이 됩니다. 시대의 성윤리와는 별개로, 반전과 과장을 이용한 민간 해학의 구조는 상당히 선명하게 느껴집니다.
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홍해
4
세 편을 읽고 나니 ‘상말’이라는 이름이 왜 붙었는지 알 것 같습니다. 체면과 격식을 벗어던지고 인간의 욕망과 허점을 노골적으로 드러내면서 마지막에는 반드시 웃음을 터뜨리게 합니다. 특히 131편은 긴 설명 없이도 ‘내 우산은 내 것’이라는 한마디로 상황을 완벽하게 뒤집네요. 거칠지만 생생한 민중 해학입니다.
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Ellie
3
옛이야기의 웃음은 의외로 단순한 데서 나오는 것 같습니다. 욕심, 착각, 오해, 집착 같은 인간의 본성을 과장해서 보여주고 마지막에 한 번 뒤집는 방식입니다. 129편의 약속 타령이나 130편의 엉뚱한 깨달음, 131편의 우산 이야기가 모두 그런 구조입니다. 시대가 달라도 사람 사는 모습은 크게 다르지 않은 듯합니다.
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