The Princess and the Beggar

This is a Korean folktale that would be really good for introducing the Korean culture into the classroom. The illustrations are all in water color, which really shows the setting of the fairy tale. The book is also set up as a fairy tale on the first page with the cutout description of where the story is and what it is about. The illustrations are wonderful for showing different aspects of the Korean culture, such as the houses, the landscape and the way they dress and wear their hair. This is a story about the weeping princess who cried about every little thing. One day, she sees a beggar boy and cries because she feels bad for him. Her family believes that she will not be wanted by men because she cries too much. When the daughter turns 16, the father announces that she will be put into an arranged marriage. The daughter does not want to be married because she wants to be able to study secretly. She tells her father that she will go marry the beggar. Her father is furious and sends her into exile. She goes to the beggar and asks him to marry her. He refuses at first, but after she learns his way of life, they begin to like each other. She teaches the beggar skills to be a hunter. The beggar enters in the king's hunting contest and wins. When the king realizes that the beggar is the man that has won the contest, he is astonished that a beggar could be that good. The beggar explains to the king that the weeping princess is the one that has taught him to hunt. The father becomes happy and accepts her back into his life. The very last picture shows the beggar on horseback going home to greet the princess and their 4 children. This book teaches a lot of things about the Korean culture. Arranged marriage is customary, women are not supposed to study and beggars are expected to be weak and incapable of manly tasks. This book also teaches that the most simplistic people end up the happiest in the end.