Semi-author-ized L.J. on Nostr: Mentions of #kissing are somewhat rare in Korean mythology and folklore, but here are ...

Mentions of #kissing are somewhat rare in Korean mythology and folklore, but here are two variants of kissing a transformed fox demon with a similar ending:

In the first variant a student fell in love with a pretty maiden, and realized she must be a transformed nine-tailed fox because she would not permit him to kiss her. He gave her an ultimatum that he would never meet with her again unless they kissed.

When the maiden relented, the student took the magical jewel from her mouth and put it in his own. If he had looked to the skies while he did he would have become well-versed in the ways of Heaven, but he looked at the ground and became knowledgeable of the things on earth instead.

In the second variant, a fox needed to kill 100 students by kissing them to ascend to Heaven. It transformed itself into a woman to kiss 99 students, but the 100th escaped ahead of time. She went outside, lamenting loudly, and he followed her. She hid behind a rock in a cemetery, however.

The woman then approached him seductively and repeatedly put her jewel of power in and out of his mouth. After a few days of this the student lost most of his energy and was close to death. His teacher, learning of the cause, told him the woman must be a nine-tailed fox and he should swallow the gem. The student did so, and was similarly left knowledgeable about the earth because he looked at the ground when he swallowed.

Source: https://encykorea.aks.ac.kr/Article/E0036434

#MythologyMonday #folklore