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Cultural Background

The Magic Gem is a Korean folktale that has been handed down by word of mouth from one generation to the next. It has been told by grandparents to their grandchildren, huddled on the heated floors of Korean homes in the bitterly cold days of mid winter, with snow-laden winds raging outside; repeated in the yards of Korean homes to children seated on straw mats in the cool of a summer evening; and shared by farmer folk as they rested from their work in the fields in the shade of a nearby tree.

The author, Kim So-un, first heard this tale when he was a child. He hopes that a wider audience will now enjoy this story, and that readers will feel a kindred spirit with the people of ancient Korea. Kim So-un is also the author of Korean Children’s Favorite Stories and The Tigers of the Kumgang Mountains.