해님 달님 — read along with Eonni
A tiger, a rope from the sky, and how the sun and moon were born — in easy Korean.
Eonni··7 min read해님 달님 (“Mr. Sun and Ms. Moon”) is one of the most loved Korean folktales — almost every Korean child knows the tiger’s famous line. Read each line out loud, then check the English. Try it twice: once slowly, once like a storyteller!
Key words first
The story
옛날 옛날에, 산골 마을에 엄마와 오누이가 살았어요.Once upon a time, a mother lived with her son and daughter in a mountain village.
어느 날, 엄마가 떡을 팔고 집에 돌아오고 있었어요.One day, the mother was coming home after selling rice cakes.
그때 커다란 호랑이가 나타났어요. “떡 하나 주면 안 잡아먹지!”Then a huge tiger appeared. “Give me a rice cake, and I won’t eat you!”
호랑이는 떡을 다 먹고, 엄마 옷을 입고 오누이의 집으로 갔어요.The tiger ate all the rice cakes, put on the mother’s clothes and went to the children’s house.
“얘들아, 엄마 왔다. 문 열어라.” “우리 엄마 목소리가 아니에요!”“Children, Mom is home. Open the door.” “That’s not our mom’s voice!”
“손을 보여 주세요.” 문틈으로 털이 북슬북슬한 손이 보였어요.“Show us your hand.” Through the gap in the door, they saw a big, furry hand.
오누이는 뒷문으로 도망쳐서 높은 나무 위로 올라갔어요.The children ran out the back door and climbed up a tall tree.
오누이는 하늘에 빌었어요. “하느님, 저희를 살려 주시려면 튼튼한 동아줄을 내려 주세요!”They prayed to the sky. “If you want to save us, please send down a strong rope!”
하늘에서 튼튼한 동아줄이 내려왔어요. 오누이는 하늘로 올라갔어요.A strong rope came down from the sky, and the children climbed up to heaven.
호랑이도 빌었지만, 썩은 동아줄이 내려왔어요. 툭! 호랑이는 땅으로 떨어졌어요.The tiger prayed too, but a rotten rope came down. Snap! The tiger fell to the ground.
오빠는 달이 되고, 밤을 무서워하는 동생은 해가 되었어요.The brother became the moon, and his little sister, who was afraid of the dark, became the sun.
Grammar in the story
| Pattern | In the story | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| -(으)면 | 떡 하나 주면 안 잡아먹지! | if |
| -고 있었어요 | 돌아오고 있었어요 | was (doing) |
| -아/어서 | 도망쳐서 올라갔어요 | and then (in order) |
| -이/가 되다 | 달이 되고, 해가 되었어요 | to become |
Who became the sun (해)?
Say it out loud with Eonni.
This lesson is part of Beginner 1 · First Steps.
