Wednesday 5 May 2021

The Stupid Ondal - Korea

Once upon a time, in a kingdom called Kaguryeo, there lived a young man named Ondal. The Ondal is a very stupid young man. Due to his stupidity, he became a laughing stock of those around him. The Ondal lives in poverty and lives with his mother. His mother is a widow who is in need. However, Ondal really loves his mother. 
The Stupid Ondal - Korea

He will do anything to help his mother. Reluctantly, Ondal did stupid things like imitating animal styles to cheer up his neighbors. The neighbors will laugh out loud at the cuteness of Ondal. They will feed Ondal if Ondal can cheer them up. Ondal's ignorance and stupidity eventually became famous throughout the country.

“Hey Ondal! Try to imitate how monkeys walk,” cried one of his neighbors.

"Alright ...," Happily, Si Ondal imitated how a monkey walked.

"Ondal, try to imitate the sound of a tiger," said one of them.

The Ondal finally roared like a tiger.

Everyone burst out laughing. They will reward Ondal. The ondal can buy food for herself and his mother from the wages of his neighbors. He didn't care about other people's taunts. For Ondal, the most important thing is to be able to help his parents. His mother's happiness is happiness for Ondal too.

At the palace, the king was dizzy when he faced his daughter who often cried. The daughter's name is Pyeongkang. The princess is known to be very whiny but noble, beautiful, and also smart. However, if the princess experienced resentment, she did not hesitate to cry profusely in front of the general public. If the princess had done this, the king liked to silence his daughter with a warning that he would marry her off to Ondal.

"My daughter, don't cry anymore. If you keep crying, I will marry you to the stupid Ondal,” said the king to comfort his daughter.

The king, of course, had no intention of marrying off his daughter to The Stupid Ondal. This was done by the king to calm his daughter.

When the princess grew older, the king intended to marry the princess off to a prince from across the country.

"My daughter, you have grown up. It is time for you to be married to someone who is worthy and respectful. Your father has planned to marry you off to a prince from across the country," said the king.

"I am sorry my father, I do not want to be married to anyone," replied the Princess Pyeongkang.

"Why don't you want to marry anyone?" asked the king in amazement to his daughter.

The king finally got an unexpected answer from his daughter.

“Father once said that I would be married off to Ondal. So, I don't want to marry anyone, except the Ondal,” replied his daughter.

Instantly the king was furious to hear the explanation from his own daughter. He couldn't imagine if his beloved daughter married the Stupid Ondal. He couldn't accept Ondal as his son-in-law. This is because Ondal has been known as a stupid young man who is willing to do anything, including imitating animal styles to meet his and his mother's needs. The king continued to persuade his daughter to marry a prince from a neighboring country, who he hoped would be a suitable partner for his daughter. However, Princess Pyeongkang continued to refuse. The king was furious and kicked the princess out of the palace.

Finally, Princess Pyeongkang left the palace. She brought some of her personal jewelry and some silk cloth. The beautiful and intelligent Pyeongkang princess went out of the palace. He intends to go to the village where Ondal lives.

According to Korean folklore, Princess Pyeongkang finally found Ondal's house. Ondal and his mother did not believe Princess Pyeongkang would come. However, they finally accepted the arrival of the princess to stay at their house. It's an honor for them to receive the princess. The princess finally sells her jewelery and silk cloth, then teaches Ondal about science, language, arithmetic, and other skills so that Ondal is not stupid.

The princess patiently teaches Ondal to be a smart young man. Finally the Princess and Ondal became good friends.

At one point, the Kaguryeo Kingdom received an attack from another kingdom. The king became very worried due to the blind attack from the opposing kingdom. Because, the people will definitely suffer as a result of war. Plus his sadness at expelling his own daughter, Princess Pyeongkang.

However, in the end, the Kaguryeo Kingdom got an unexpected victory. The victory turned out to come from an unknown young man who had fought against the enemy forces. A young man who is not known can lead the war well.

The king was curious about the existence of this great young man. The king wanted to get acquainted with the young man who had become a hero in saving his kingdom. The king wanted to thank and give appreciation to the hero. But the king was shocked, because the young man was Ondal. The young man who was known to be poor and stupid and made fun of Princess Pyeongkang.

The king was ashamed of himself. A young man who was considered stupid turned out to have saved his kingdom. The king then appointed Ondal to be commander-in-chief. His daughter, Pyeongkang, finally got married to Ondal. They finally live happily.

Such is the story from Korea entitled The Stupid Ondal. The story tells of a stupid young man named Ondal. The lesson we can take from the story is that no one is stupid, people become smarter and smarter because they want to learn. In addition, don't underestimate other people, because every human being has intelligence that we don't necessarily have.

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