The Story of Hong Gildong

by Translated

  The king spoke out in anger. “The enemy army will soon reach this castle. How can we not fight back and just wait for them to depart?” So the king mobilized his soldiers and led them personally to the field.

  A soldier came to him with urgent news. “The enemy army has already taken many castles, and it is heading here on three different roads.”

  The alarmed king hurriedly gathered his force and marched them to a place called Yanggwan, where he found the enemy already dug in at its sandy ground. The monarch set up his camp in the direction facing enemy headquarters and observed the formation of his opponent’s force.

  He laughed out loud and spoke. “How could I worry myself over such a mob?”

  The next day, the king opened up the camp gates and went forth to provoke battle. Gildong put on dragon-scale armor and a golden helmet, took up his lance, and mounted a white horse with a bluish mane. He whipped the horse forward past his soldiers and loudly reprimanded the King of Yul. “Does the King of Yul not know of Hong Gildong of the Kingdom of Joseon? I received the command of Heaven and came here on a righteous cause. Yet you refuse to submit to fate and persist in resisting me. Stretch out your neck so that it may receive the blows of my sword.”

  The King of Yul was infuriated by those words, so he charged and gave battle to his opponent. The two armies fought forty rounds with no decisive result, until Mu Tong arrived with the soldiers under his command and joined the fight by enveloping the enemy. The noise of gongs and drums shook heaven and earth. The King of Yul took fright and turned his horse around to ride back to camp.

  Suddenly, a violent wind arose and a dark mist filled the air in all directions so that the king could not find his way.

  “King of Yul, do not run but surrender to me immediately,” a voice said with force like thunder.

  The King of Yul lamented to Heaven, “I meet my doom from underestimating my enemy, so I have no one to blame but myself.”

  He took up his sword and committed suicide. The entire country of Yul Island capitulated at once to Gildong, who led his men to the camp of his fallen enemy. He took the dead bodies of the King of Yul and his son124 and gave them a royal funeral. The next day, Gildong gathered his three armies and entered the central castle of Yul Island, where he pacified the people and organized a congratulatory feast for his soldiers. He then granted various positions and titles to his generals, including Mu Tong, who was made a royal inspector tasked with touring the island to manage its populace.

  On the first day of the twelfth lunar month of the year, Gildong made himself the king of the island and named his country Annam.125 He appointed various people to government positions and invested the posthumous title of King Hyeondeok126 upon his father and Queen Hyeondeok127 upon the great wife. Gildong’s own mother became the dowager queen, and his concubines Jeong and Jo were respectively entitled consort chungryeol of the left and consort chungryeol of the right,128 while his father-in-law, Bek Yong, was made a grand lord of the court.129 The gravesite of his father was named the Royal Tomb of Seol, where proper sacrifices were made and men were put on permanent guard. He then granted general amnesty to everyone on the island and had the royal palace thoroughly cleaned and washed. He finally sent envoys to Jae Island, to bring his family to him in a grand procession of the highest majesty. The dowager queen, the queen, and the two consorts all consoled him for the hardship he had gone through, and they greatly enjoyed one another’s company.

  After his ascendance to the throne, the new king ruled with such benevolence that his subjects drummed their full stomachs and sang happy ballads. “A time of peace and prosperity has come, like in the days of Yo and Sun.”130

  One day, the king made a pronouncement at the end of a morning meeting with his officials. “I originally came from the Kingdom of Joseon. My father, who now rests in the Royal Tomb of Seol, was a high minister in Joseon and I myself was the minister of war. I was granted three thousand seok of rice, which allowed me to move to Jae Island and achieve the great things that ultimately led to my attainment of kingship. How can I forget the favor I received from Joseon? My older brother is one of the most loyal subjects of his generation. So I am thinking of sending a memorial to the King of Joseon to express my gratitude, and to have someone pay respects at the graves of my ancestors. What is your opinion on this matter?”

  His officials replied, “Your royal desire is most fitting.”

  The king was pleased as he addressed them. “Who among you will take on this task?”

  His officials responded, “We believe that Jang Hoe, the royal secretary,131 would make a capable emissary.”

  So the king made Jang Hoe his royal envoy and addressed him. “I command you to go to Joseon and deliver my memorial to the king, and then go to the graves of my ancestors and perform proper rites there. Afterward, bring Queen Hyeondeok and my older brother here. Should you complete the tasks well, I will reward you with an important position in the court.”

  Jang Hoe bowed down and replied, “I will do my utmost to escort them here with great care, so I bid Your Majesty to concern yourself no more about this matter.” He then took leave of the king.

  The emissary oversaw the collection of great gifts to Joseon and took charge of his sovereign’s memorial to the Joseon court as well as his letters to Queen Hyeondeok and to his older brother. After a few days of preparation, he went to a riverside and boarded a ship that departed for Joseon. When it landed at Seogang in Joseon’s capital, he went directly to the royal court and presented the memorial.

  The King of Joseon had heard no word of Gildong for a long time, until one day the chief royal secretary came to him with the news that a memorial from the King of Annam had arrived. The surprised monarch quickly opened the letter and read the following.

  “Your former minister of war, who is now the King of Annam, bows to you a hundred times as he sends this letter. Despite my low background, I have now become a monarch, all thanks to your grand benevolence. When I think of all that has passed, I am filled with awe at Your Majesty. I beg you not to refuse the gift of silver I am sending you. I wish you a long and healthy life. Long live Your Majesty.”

  After the king finished reading the memorial, he praised it with astonishment and joy. Jang Hoe prostrated himself before the monarch and spoke. “My king would like me to pay respects at his ancestors’ graves in his stead, so I beg Your Majesty to give me leave to do so, and to write your response to my sovereign.”

  The king granted him permission and immediately summoned the minister of personnel Hong Inhyeon132 and appointed him as the royal envoy of consolation and counsel133 to the Kingdom of Annam.

  He spoke to him. “Go with the emissary to the graves of your ancestors and pay your respects there.”

  Inhyeon expressed his gratitude and returned home, where he was visited by the emissary, who presented him with the letters sent by his king. The great wife and the minister of personnel read them with much praise. The next day, they went to the graves of the family’s ancestors, where the emissary played his king’s part in reading out the prayer to the dead and offering sacrifices. After the completion of the rites, they returned to the court, where the King of Joseon complimented them for properly fulfilling the rituals. Inhyeon took leave of his sovereign with gratitude and then returned home to escort his mother on their journey out of Gyeongseong. They all went aboard the emissary’s ship, which sailed forth and met a favorable wind. After a few months they reached Annam. The emissary sent ahead a written pronouncement of the arrival of Queen Hyeondeok and the lord minister. The joyful king sent an envoy to greet them and then raised Jang Hoe’s position in the court. As the honored visitors made their way to the capital, the emissary notified every place of their coming, so they were greeted in each town with a fanfare worthy of a royal procession.

  When the king’s envoy met them, he presented them with the monarch’s letter of welcome and announc
ed Jang Hoe’s promotion to his new position. Jang Hoe expressed gratitude for his sovereign’s favor and led the visitors on until they arrived at the capital city a few days later. The king came out a hundred ri to meet them and to escort them to his abode. Upon their arrival, the monarch exchanged formal greetings with his guests, followed by the dowager queen, the queen, and the two consorts. They then all sat down together. The great wife felt tremendous joy from meeting them all and regarded the king with special affection. The king opened the letter of consolation and counsel from the King of Joseon and read the following.

  Because of my lack of benevolence, I missed the opportunity of having a great hero like you in my service. I know that you would have shown me great loyalty. Even now, when you have become a person of great importance, you have not forgotten me. Instead, you thought of our relationship of old and sent an emissary across the vast blue ocean to ask after me. How can I not be moved by such fidelity?

  After the king finished reading, he came down from his abode and bowed northward to express his gratitude.

  Queen Hyeondeok asked a question. “Where is the tomb of the lord minister?” She wished to visit the place, so the king immediately picked a day for it.

  He ordered Dol Tong, his state councilor of the left, to escort the great wife and the minister to the Royal Tomb of Seol on Jae Island. In accordance with the king’s instructions, their traveling procession was organized in a majestic manner that was without rival in its grandeur. As they traveled through the roads from one town to the next, they were greeted and attended to with due magnificence. After many days, they arrived on Jae Island, where they were met by all of its officials, who escorted them to the Royal Tomb of Seol. There, the old minister’s wife and the minister wailed in mourning before the grave, then read aloud a funeral address that they had composed for the deceased. Afterward, they looked around the area and saw that the place featured the fairest view, and they marveled at Gildong’s wondrous talent in finding such a site. They sorrowfully bade their final farewell to the deceased before the tomb’s stone table and came down to stay at the castle of the local district.

  That night, the great wife had a dream in which the lord minister greeted her with joy and consoled her. It all seemed so real that she forgot that he was deceased and basked in the vision. After that night, she stayed in bed with health complaints, until she lost her consciousness for good. Her son took fright and nursed her to the best of his ability, but no medicine could revive her. So she passed away, at the age of seventy-eight. The minister grieved that he should suffer such an earth-shattering loss in a foreign land. He wailed until he could not breathe, so all those around him had to calm and console him until he regained his composure enough to send an emissary to the king, informing him of what had occurred.

  At this time, the king sensed the flow of fortune and misfortune in the air and spoke out. “Queen Hyeondeok has passed away.”

  He then loosened his hair134 and wept as he began his mourning. He appointed an envoy to act as the organizer of funeral rites and instructed him to go and perform all the necessary rituals before burying the deceased at a designated spot on the left side of the Royal Tomb of Seol. The envoy was on his way to the gravesite when he met a messenger on the road who was coming to announce the death, and both of them marveled at how the king had known of it before word had arrived. After the envoy arrived on Jae Island, he expressed his condolences to the bereaved and saw to it that all the funeral rites were conducted with the utmost care. Within three months,135 the body was interred at the Royal Tomb of Seol and the envoy escorted the minister to the capital city of Annam. Many days later, they arrived there and were met by the king, who grieved with his older brother and consoled him. The king then took him into his abode, where they joined his wives. And they all wailed together in great sadness at the final ceremony.

  Time flowed on, and after the minister went through his three-year mourning period, he began to worry over the affairs of his sovereign and the state of his household in Joseon. When he asked his brother for leave to return to his home country, the monarch immediately organized a great feast so that they could enjoy themselves before his departure.

  On the day of their parting they held each other as they wept and lamented. “How sad it is that this is the final parting of brothers who will never see each other again in this world.”

  And so they grieved over their separation.

  The minister left the palace and sent word to Jae Island of his coming. The king accompanied him for a hundred ri and gave him a final farewell banquet with immeasurable sadness. The minister departed from the king and came to Jae Island, where he went to the Royal Tomb of Seol and mourned as he took his leave. He then bade farewell to all the officials of the land before he finally left for his country. He crossed the great sea and arrived in Gyeongseong, where he reported to the king before going home. There, he gathered his wife and children and told them all about what he had experienced, praising Gildong all the while.

  After the King of Annam parted from his brother, he went back to the castle of his capital city. Time flowed on and Queen Chunseom reached the age of seventy. In the Year of the Red Snake,136 in the middle of the ninth lunar month, she passed away. The king and his wives loosened their hair and wept as they began their mourning. Within three months, the deceased was interred on the right side of the Royal Tomb of Seol while the funeral rites were performed. The bereaved could hardly cease their wailing.

  Through the benevolent rule of the king, the country was at peace and saw rich harvests, the people feeling secure with their households well stocked. No inauspicious incident disturbed the country. The king spent his days enjoying the performance of music. He saw the birth of three sons, the oldest of whom was given the name of Seon. He was the child of the queen. The second son was named Chang and was born of Consort Jeong, while the third, named Hyeong, was born of Consort Jo. The king designated his oldest son, Seon, as his crown prince; granted his second son, Chang, the title of lord of Jae Island; and his third son, Hyeong, the title of duke of Jae Island. He gave the lord of Jae Island the responsibility of overseeing the rites at the Royal Tomb of Seol and sent the mothers of his younger sons to live with them.

  Thirty years after the king had ascended to the throne, he reached the age of sixty. One day, he was overcome by such sadness that he could not settle his mind. He wanted to follow the way of holy men,137 so he summoned his officials and suddenly abdicated in favor of his heir. He then brought together his most loyal men from old times and granted them treasures before he enjoyed himself with music in their company.

  After the performance, he spoke out in a half-drunken state. “When I think upon the world, I see that a human being is as insignificant as a single piece of grain on a vast ocean, and that a lifetime can pass in the blink of an eye. It is in the natural order of things that people who are taken high are brought down low, and those who become rich are made poor again, as if our lives are nothing more than pieces on a game board. So I wish nothing more than to have Angi Saeng and Jeok Songja138 as my friends.”

  He was then overcome by a sorrow so powerful that he could not stop grieving, and all of his officials wept at his sadness. He ended the party and oversaw the ascendance of King Seon.

  About ten ri from the capital city, there was a radiant mountain called Myeongsin. It was the most pleasant place of the fairest scenery featuring many peaks and valleys. On clear days, one could see holy spirits ride about on many-colored clouds. There, the king built a clean and well-constructed thatched hut of several gan,139 and lived there with his queen. He practiced the way of holy men daily by adhering to the rules of enlightened beings. He drank in the force of the sun at daytime and of the moon at nighttime, while taking no food, until his mind became so powerful that his white hair turned black and he regained teeth that he had lost.

  One day, luminous clouds of many colors enveloped Myeongsin Mou
ntain, and thunder and lightning shook heaven and earth. The new king took fright at the phenomenon and took all of his officials up the mountain, only to find the place devoid of clouds and settled down in a tranquil state. The monarch went into his father’s hut and saw that everything was in order, but his parents were nowhere to be found. The distraught king and his officials became astonished and afraid, but there was nothing that could be done. So they returned to the palace and sent out people in all directions in search of the former king and queen, but they could find no trace of them. The king wailed in sorrow and sent envoys to Jae Island to inform his relatives there of what had occurred. The lord and the duke of Jae Island grieved at the news along with their mothers and went to the capital city, where they loosened their hair to begin their mourning. The family conducted a funeral ceremony by the thatched hut, but without a body. The place was named the Royal Tomb of Hyeon, where their father continued to be honored.

  When the lord and the duke of Jae Island returned home, everyone from the palace came out to greet them and to mourn endlessly with them.

  Notes

  In order to replicate the reading experience of The Story of Hong Gildong in the original language as much as possible, I have transliterated Korean words with no exact English equivalents (e.g., units of measurement like ri and jang). Their significances are fully explained in the notes below. I have also done the same thing for Chinese names and titles, transliterating them from Korean and identifying them in the notes. So the philosopher Kongzi (Confucius) is written in the Korean form as Gongja, the book Zhouyi (Book of Changes) as Juyeok, and the city of Nanjing as Namgyeong.

  INTRODUCTION

  1. On the universal figure of the heroic outlaw see Eric Hobsbawm, Bandits (New York: The New Press, 2000); Paul Kooistra, Criminals as Heroes: Structure, Power, and Identity (Bowling Green, Ohio: Bowling Green State University Popular Press, 1989); and Graham Seal, The Outlaw Legend: A Cultural Tradition in Britain, America, and Australia (Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press, 1996).