A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.

Overview

A man named Kim climbs a monumental stone Buddha to reach a huge pear growing from a tree rooted in its head. Griffis calls the image a mir-yek and describes a projecting nose, broad mouth and flat granite cap. Unable to climb the smooth face, Kim crawls into a nostril.

The colossus sneezes with a tremendous blast, throwing Kim onto bushes and shaking the pear loose. He recovers, takes the fruit home and tells his family what happened. The stone image’s bodily response belongs to this comic literary telling; the account does not establish a named historical monument, a verified miracle or a universal Buddhist teaching.

Animated monumental stone Buddha in Griffis’s taleExact historical telling
01

Origins & earliest records

Korean tale in an English literary retelling

02

Records & interpretation

Full relevant tale and collection preface directly read.

Selected bibliography

Documented works and useful reading. This is not a list of every appearance.

  1. 01

    Korean Fairy Tales

    William Elliot Griffis · 1922

    The Sneezing Colossus, pp. 49–52

Family & connections

A source-supported family tree or inspiration record has not yet been compiled for this profile. Related reading below indicates a connection in subject matter, not a proven lineage or creative influence.

Primary records and illustrations

Direct primary record

William Elliot Griffis, Korean Fairy Tales (1922)

Korean Fairy Tales. The Sneezing Colossus, pp. 49–52

Complete relevant chapter plus preface/title metadata read. Griffis’s English literary collection supplies no named Korean narrator or original-language source for this tale. Printed copyright page says 1911 and 1922; the digitized1922 volume is the witness used. Broad cultural assertions in his narration are not accepted as independent ethnography. Original paraphrase of a historical text identified as public domain in the United States; no worldwide rights claim.

Inspect the digitized plate · Source collection manifest

References

Sources supporting this profile. Linked pages have their own scope and editorial standards.

  1. Historical tale collectionWilliam Elliot Griffis, Korean Fairy Tales, The Sneezing Colossus, pp. 49–52Research access: 2026-10-05

Image credits

A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.

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