A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.
Overview
A son visits the minister Kim Yu for advice after his nearly hundred-year-old father asks to be left alone and turns into a large pig. The children discover the change through a door crack; the animal tries to escape. They disagree over whether to keep caring for it indoors or bury it.
Kim Yu advises against burial while it lives and recommends releasing it in the mountains. The son follows this advice, then buries his father’s clothing and observes mourning and an annual rite on the date of transformation. The counsel belongs to the narrative’s response to an unprecedented change of kin, not a general rule about the treatment of elderly people.
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
“there was our father changed into a huge pig!”
Tale16, The Man Who Became a Pig, printed p.76 (Gutenberg markers 88) · James S. Gale
The son reports his father’s transformation after the family looks through the door crack.
Selected bibliography
Documented works and useful reading. This is not a list of every appearance.
- 01
Korean Folk Tales: Imps, Ghosts and Fairies
Tale 16, “The Man Who Became a Pig”, printed pp. 73–77 (Gutenberg page labels 85–89). English translation date, not the date of the narrated event.
- 02
Korean Folk Tales: Imps, Ghosts and Fairies — The Man Who Became a Pig
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 16, “The Man Who Became a Pig”, pp. 85–89
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.
- A son privately consults minister Kim Yu about his nearly hundred-year-old father, a relative of Kim’s. The father asked the children to leave him alone for a siesta; through a door crack they discover a huge pig trying to escape. Some propose continued household care, others burial. Kim admits uncertainty but advises against burial of a living being and recommends release in the mountains. The son releases it, buries the father’s clothes and observes mourning and an annual ceremony.
Tale16, The Man Who Became a Pig, printed pp.75–77 (Gutenberg markers 87–89), complete main story
The long introductory In-jo picture/dream narrative is separate from this transformation. Specific counsel in an unprecedented tale is not a general instruction for treatment of elderly people.
References
Sources supporting this profile. Linked pages have their own scope and editorial standards.
- Historical primary narrative translationTale 16, “The Man Who Became a Pig”, printed pp. 73–77 (Gutenberg page labels 85–89) — 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.