Tales of a Korean Grandmother was well but not widely received in its first few years of
publication, and yet it is a staple at many children's libraries today. When first published, it
was included in the Children's Catalog and the Bulletin of the Center of Children's
Books, as well as a few other books. It was not, however, covered in Children and Books,
which is a considerable oversight. While Tales of a Korean Grandmother was Frances
Carpenter's last Grandmother Tales book, it was not the first folktale collection to come out of
Korea. In 1932, a woman by the name of Berta Metzger published Tales Told in Korea.
Her collection was out for fifteen years by the time Frances Carpenter published her collection,
and although Tales Told in Korea was not reviewed as much as Tales of a Korean
Grandmother, Frances Carpenter's work nevertheless was not the first of its kind.
Perhaps the fact that Tales of a Korean Grandmother was the last Grandmother Tales collection
explains why Frances Carpenter's work was not as widely reviewed as her other works. By the time
the fifth Grandmother Tales was published, perhaps the receiving community felt her work followed
a formula and was not as groundbreaking. That it was one of several folktale collections from
non-western countries, and certainly not the first from Korea, makes it not stand out so much on its own.
Another reason why Tales of a Korean Grandmother may not have been more widely received at
its first publication can be attributed to the historical situation of the time. In 1940, the
United States Census counted 8,568 Koreans in the United States, and in 1950 the Census counted
approximately 10,000, compared to 1,076,872 in the 2000 Census. From 1907 to 1945, Korea was
colonized by Japan. The Japanese government attempted to obliterate Korean culture and history,
and acted as the representative of Korean affairs to the global community. Many (not all) people
in the United States reading these folktales may not have been aware of where Korea was or the
status of her sovereignty since Japan claimed her as part of its empire.
After the Korean War (1950-1953), there was heightened awareness of Korea among people in the
United States. Many fathers, brothers and husbands had fought in the peninsula. Also, military
men began to marry Korean women who they met while abroad, and brought them back to live in the
United States. Around the same time, Korean War orphans began to arrive in the United States, a
phenomenon which is still heavily practiced today, as reflected in many other children's books.
Furthermore, in 1965, the Immigration Law abolished unfair national origins quotas, which opened
the door for a flood of immigrants from East Asia. The number of immigrants from Korea has
consistently grown over the past three decades, tapering only recently. Thus, Tales of a
Korean Grandmother may have become more popular beginning a few years after its publication,
as Korean immigration to the United States increased and the United States population became
more aware of Koreans, and the existence of a huge Korean American contemporary population may
be a reason for its perseverance today.
A factor that possibly contributes to its strong contemporary reception is Frances Carpenter's
enduring reputation and legacy as an ambassador of foreign stories. Each folktale in this
collection is just one chapter of the stories of Yong Tu and Ok Cha, two siblings in the grand
House of Kim that lived in Korea during the late Chosun (also known as Yi) Dynasty. The
folktales are structured within the larger framework of the two children talking with their
beloved grandmother, Halmoni. Some chapters begin with Yong Tu's inquisitiveness, and
others begin with Ok Cha's curiosity. Thus, readers can glimpse into the lives of Korean
children in the late Yi dynasty through both Yong Tu's male perspective and from Ok Cha's
female perspective, which makes the stories accessible for both male and female readers.
Their relationship with their beloved Halmoni is another aspect that resonates well with
children, regardless of culture or ethnic background.
Many other lovers of stories have taken the folktales of Tales of a Korean Grandmother
and written new versions. For example, "The Korean Cinderella" is now a beautiful picture book
by Shirley Climo, with the same title. The plot of "A Story for Sale" can also be found in
Mr. Pak Buys a Story, by Carol J. Farley. Also, in one of her speeches, Newbery
Award-winner Linda Sue Park mentioned that she had read Tales of a Korean Grandmother as
a child, and she remembered and was appalled at the fact that young Korean girls were not allowed
outside their family gates. She used this fact as the basis for her first book, Seesaw Girl.
Indeed, many cultural and historical facts that form the basis of Linda Sue Park's novels Seesaw Girl,
The Kite Fighters, and Newbery-Award winner A Single Shard can be traced to brief
mentions in Tale of a Korean Grandmother.
I had no trouble locating Tales of a Korean Grandmother in several public libraries so I
think it is currently highly regarded, even though there were not many reviews when it first came
out. It was available at both the Urbana Free and Champaign Public Library, and it is part of the
collections of five libraries in the Los Angeles County Public Library system. Interestingly, a
copy of Tales of a Korean Grandmother cannot be found in Pio Pico Los Angeles
Public Library, which is located in the heart of Koreatown, Los Angeles.