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

Overview

Prince Pa-song’s son-in-law encounters a great company practicing archery, riding and spear-throwing at night. They seize and beat him for failing to dismount. A tall member intervenes, calls the traveler his master, releases him and escorts him home.

The rescuer disappears beneath the Hoi tree outside Prince Pa-song’s house. The narrator identifies both him and the other archers as spirits, and connects this particular protector with the household’s tree. Hoi is retained as printed without guessing a botanical species. The passage does not say that the tree itself uproots or turns into a human body.

Tree-associated protector among supernatural archersTale-specific identity
01

Origins & earliest records

Korea; tale-specific historical narrative

02

Records & interpretation

Complete story and attribution read in the 1913 English witness; no independent confirmation of supernatural events.

In the literature

“a spirit too”
Yi Ryuk · Korean Folk Tales: Imps, Ghosts and Fairies
Tale52, The Mysterious Hoi Tree, printed p.218 (Gutenberg marker230) · James S. Gale

The narrator identifies the rescuer as a spirit associated with the household tree.

Selected bibliography

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

  1. 01

    Korean Folk Tales: Imps, Ghosts and Fairies

    Yi Ryuk; translated by James S. Gale · 1913

    Tale 52, “The Mysterious Hoi Tree”, printed pp. 217–218 (Gutenberg page labels 229–230). English translation date, not the date of the narrated event.

  2. 02

    Korean Folk Tales: Imps, Ghosts and Fairies — The Mysterious Hoi Tree

    Yi Ryuk · 1913

    London:J.M.Dent/NewYork:E.P.Dutton1913, actual title page. Gale preface distinguishes Im Bang old manuscript, thirteen Yi Ryuk stories from1911 reprint, and three anonymous selections. Complete selected chapter/signature read; no Korean manuscript collation. Printed pagination checked in retained1913 PDF OCR; Gutenberg body markers are printed+12, physical PDFpages printed+16. No new page-pixel claim. Gale death1937 confirmed by UniversityToronto archival finding aid.

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

Korean Folk Tales: Imps, Ghosts and Fairies

Yi Ryuk; James S. Gale translation, London Dent/New York Dutton, 1913. Tale 52, “The Mysterious Hoi Tree”, pp. 229–230

Complete story and author signature read from cached Gutenberg51002 HTML. Translator’s bracketed introductions and author notes distinguished from narrative. No illustration claimed.

Inspect the digitized plate · Source collection manifest

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, actual title page. Gale preface distinguishes Im Bang old manuscript, thirteen Yi Ryuk stories from1911 reprint, and three anonymous selections. Complete selected chapter/signature read; no Korean manuscript collation. Printed pagination checked in retained1913 PDF OCR; Gutenberg body markers are printed+12, physical PDFpages printed+16. No new page-pixel claim. Gale death1937 confirmed by UniversityToronto archival finding aid.

  1. Prince Pa-song’s son-in-law is seized by a great nocturnal company practising weapons and riding near an archers’ pavilion, because he did not dismount. A tall member recognises him as master, releases and escorts him. At the house gate the traveller sees his rescuer disappear under the Hoi tree. The narrative identifies the archers and rescuer as spirits and links the rescuer to the particular household tree.

    Tale52, The Mysterious Hoi Tree, printed pp.217–218, complete story

No human-to-tree transformation is narrated. Hoi retained as printed without guessed botanical species; source closes Yi Ryuk, separate from Im Bang’s selections.

References

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

  1. Historical primary narrative translationTale 52, “The Mysterious Hoi Tree”, printed pp. 217–218 (Gutenberg page labels 229–230) — Yi Ryuk, Gale translationResearch 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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