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Overview
An old man without legs tells a merchant how his shipwrecked company reached an island castle. Its sole occupant is enormously tall and broad, with large rolling eyes and a braying voice. He locks the gate, roasts one of the castaways and eats him. After drinking from a jar he falls asleep, but the immense gate and walls prevent the captives from escaping.
The men stab the sleeping giant’s eyes. He survives and gropes for them while they mingle with pigs and sheep in a rear enclosure. When he opens the gate to send the animals out, each survivor carries a pig or sheep on his own back; the blinded giant feels the animal and lets him pass. This is not an account of a single-eyed creature, nor does it use the escape method of hanging beneath an animal.
The giant calls others, who pursue with immense strides and seize the boat. The men strike their hands with axes and escape. A later storm destroys the vessel, leaving only the narrator afloat on timber; a separate fish bites off his legs before he drifts home. The source is an anonymous tale framed as his testimony, not an identification of an actual island population. Gale’s preface compares it to Sinbad, but that editorial comparison does not establish a common species or the story’s precise transmission.
Origins & earliest records
Korean narrative in historical English translation
Records & interpretation
Complete chapter, relevant introduction and ending directly read; claims separated from editorial explanation.
Selected bibliography
Documented works and useful reading. This is not a list of every appearance.
- 01
Korean Imps, Ghosts and Fairies
Chapter 22, complete narrative and attached introductory notes. Gutenberg page labels are not relied on as printed pagination.
Family & connections
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Primary records and illustrations
Korean Imps, Ghosts and Fairies (1913), translated by J. S. Gale
Chapter 22. Chapter 22, complete narrative and attached introductory notes. Gutenberg page labels are not relied on as printed pagination.
Complete source section, attached editorial matter and ending directly read. The giant calls others, who pursue with immense strides and seize the boat. The men strike their hands with axes and escape. A later storm destroys the vessel, leaving only the narrator afloat on timber; a separate fish bites off his legs before he drifts home. The source is an anonymous tale framed as his testimony, not an identification of an actual island population. Gale’s preface compares it to Sinbad, but that editorial comparison does not establish a common species or the story’s precise transmission.
References
Sources supporting this profile. Linked pages have their own scope and editorial standards.
- Historical translated narrative collectionGale, Korean Imps, Ghosts and Fairies (1913), chapter 22Research access: 2026-10-05
Image credits
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