In the region of Cheolgu, there lived a respected official named Bae Mu-ryong, who had a kind and gentle wife and two beautiful daughters, Janghwa, the elder, and Hongryeon, the younger. Their names symbolized the purest and most exquisite flowers. After his wife passed away, Bae remarried a woman surnamed Heo, hoping to maintain a caretaker for his household. However, Lady Heo was cruel and deeply jealous. After giving birth to three sons, she viewed Janghwa and Hongryeon as threats, not only because of their beauty but also because they were dearly loved by their father and were set to inherit the family’s wealth.
To eliminate Janghwa, the stepmother devised a devious plan. She captured a large rat, skinned it, and placed it in Janghwa’s bed while she slept. The next morning, Lady Heo shouted that Janghwa had engaged in an affair and suffered a miscarriage, showing the bloody “evidence” to Bae. In the strict Confucian society of the time, such an accusation was an unbearable dishonor. Blinded by fear of disgrace, Bae ordered his eldest stepson to take Janghwa to the mountains and drown her in a deep pond. After Janghwa’s tragic death, a fierce tiger appeared and attacked the stepson, leaving him injured, which was seen as the first act of karmic retribution. Distraught over her sister’s death, Hongryeon threw herself into the pond to join Janghwa, unable to bear life without her.
From that day on, the pond became shrouded in gloom, haunted by the restless spirits of the sisters. Their souls could not rest due to the injustice they suffered. They began to appear at the local magistrate’s office, seeking redress. Every time a new official arrived, the ghostly sisters would manifest in pale, bloodied forms, and the terrified magistrates would die from shock. The land became desolate, as no one dared to govern there.
Eventually, a brave and wise official named Jeong-dong was appointed. Unlike others, he sat quietly and listened to the mournful cries of the spirits. Janghwa and Hongryeon appeared and revealed the stepmother’s entire plot, asking him to investigate the truth. The next morning, Jeong-dong summoned the Bae family. He demanded that the stepmother produce the “fetal evidence” from years ago. When he cut open the supposedly human remains, everyone saw that inside was only rat fur and debris, not a human fetus. The stepmother was publicly executed, while Bae, spared but filled with remorse, had to live with his grief for the rest of his life.
After justice was served, Janghwa and Hongryeon appeared one last time in Jeong-dong’s dreams, expressing their gratitude before vanishing into a radiant, peaceful light. Their story remains a powerful lesson that truth and justice will prevail over deceit and malice. It warns against the dangers of jealousy and cruelty while reflecting the hardships women endured in a society where their honor could be destroyed without recourse.
The tale, known as “Janghwa and Hongryeon,” continues to be a central part of Korean folklore, teaching lessons about perseverance, justice, and the ultimate triumph of light over darkness.