A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.
Overview
While Kim Su-ik studies at night, his wife goes to roast the few chestnuts left in the house. A woman brings them to him and waits beside the desk; then another, identical woman arrives with the same food. Under the lamp both appear to be his wife. Kim holds one by each hand until dawn.
At cockcrow the first arrival struggles to leave, falls to the floor and becomes a wild cat. Kim releases her in alarm and she escapes. Im Bang’s appended note compares the event with Chinese stories of fox transformations but acknowledges uncertainty about how either kind of change works. The name “wild cat” belongs to Gale’s translation; the account does not identify a modern zoological species.
Origins & earliest records
Korea; tale-specific historical narrative
Records & interpretation
Complete story and attribution read in the 1913 English witness; no independent confirmation of supernatural events.
In the literature
“suddenly changed into a wild cat.”
Tale6, The Wild-Cat Woman, printed p.43 (Gutenberg markers 55) · James S. Gale
The first apparent wife transforms at cockcrow.
Selected bibliography
Documented works and useful reading. This is not a list of every appearance.
- 01
Korean Folk Tales: Imps, Ghosts and Fairies
Tale 6, “The Wild-Cat Woman”, printed pp. 41–43 (Gutenberg page labels 53–55). English translation date, not the date of the narrated event.
- 02
Korean Folk Tales: Imps, Ghosts and Fairies — The Wild-Cat Woman
London:J.M.Dent/NewYork:E.P.Dutton1913, title page explicitly dated. Gale preface says Im Bang material came from an old manuscript obtained a year earlier; other Yi Ryuk/anonymous material is separate. Every selected chapter closes Im Bang. English text, preface and selected writer notes read, no independent Korean manuscript collation. University of Toronto Gale archival finding aid confirms1913 publication/death1937: https://discoverarchives.library.utoronto.ca/downloads/james-scarth-gale-papers.pdf . Pagination corrected2026-10-05: PG51002 body markers exceed printed1913 pages by12; physical pages in retained Korea176 PDF equal printed+16. Exact quotation page independently checked in retained scan OCR; page pixels not newly reviewed here.
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
Korean Folk Tales: Imps, Ghosts and Fairies
Im Bang; James S. Gale translation, London Dent/New York Dutton, 1913. Tale 6, “The Wild-Cat Woman”, pp. 53–55
Complete story and author signature read from cached Gutenberg51002 HTML. Translator’s bracketed introductions and author notes distinguished from narrative. No illustration claimed.
Located primary passages
Specific passages supporting details in this entry, grouped by their published witness.
Korean Folk Tales: Imps, Ghosts and Fairies
London:J.M.Dent/NewYork:E.P.Dutton1913, title page explicitly dated. Gale preface says Im Bang material came from an old manuscript obtained a year earlier; other Yi Ryuk/anonymous material is separate. Every selected chapter closes Im Bang. English text, preface and selected writer notes read, no independent Korean manuscript collation. University of Toronto Gale archival finding aid confirms1913 publication/death1937: https://discoverarchives.library.utoronto.ca/downloads/james-scarth-gale-papers.pdf . Pagination corrected2026-10-05: PG51002 body markers exceed printed1913 pages by12; physical pages in retained Korea176 PDF equal printed+16. Exact quotation page independently checked in retained scan OCR; page pixels not newly reviewed here.
- Kim Su-ik asks his wife for food while studying; she roasts their remaining chestnuts. One apparent wife brings them and waits, then an identical wife brings the same food. He holds one hand of each until cockcrow. The first arrival struggles, falls and visibly changes into a wild cat; his startled release permits her escape.
Tale6, The Wild-Cat Woman, printed pp.41–43 (Gutenberg markers 53–55), full story
- Im Bang compares the case with Chinese novels about foxes becoming women, but says he has not encountered the wild-cat transformation before and cannot find a law governing these changes. He reports a proposed fox charm without accepting it as an explanation of the wild-cat case.
Tale6, The Wild-Cat Woman, printed p.43 (Gutenberg markers 55), Note by the writer
No modern felid species inferred from Gale’s wild cat label; the real wife is not herself transformed. Writer’s explicit uncertainty retained, not replaced by a universal charm mechanism. Tong Chung-so’s Chinese anecdote in introductory brackets is separate from Kim’s full episode.
References
Sources supporting this profile. Linked pages have their own scope and editorial standards.
- Historical primary narrative translationTale 6, “The Wild-Cat Woman”, printed pp. 41–43 (Gutenberg page labels 53–55) — Im Bang, Gale translationResearch access: 2026-10-05
Image credits
A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.