2025 Sejong Writing Competition
Winning Entries :: Essays :: Junior honorable mention
Title:
Yi Sang’s “Ox and Goblin” is a story that presents Korean folktales’ common theme of good and hardworking people getting rewarded. However, the story places a shift in the traditional messaging. Typically, the main character is both kind and hardworking, overcoming challenges and persevering antagonistic obstacles through their own efforts. In this story, Dolswe starts off being kind but not hard working. He uses his time leisurely and passively reacts to his situations, selling firewood only when he needs money. The story’s shift in theme is shown through Dolswe’s gradual transformation into a person who actively makes choices and finds enjoyment in his work.
In the beginning of the story, Dolswe is described to be a self-content person, viewing his work as nothing more than a way to earn money and finding little enjoyment in it. One day, Dolswe encounters a small goblin who has lost his tail as a result of a dog attack. This is especially bad for the goblin, as the goblin could not perform tricks without his tail, preventing him from being able to return to his home. The goblin asks to heal his wounds inside Dolswe’s ox’s stomach for two months. In return, the goblin promises to make the ox ten times stronger. Dolswe agrees, but only after his ox’s consent to the arrangement. As promised, the ox becomes ten times stronger and is able to pull more firewood. Selling more firewood than before, Dolswe begins to appreciate his work, finding enjoyment in it for the first time. Thanks to the money made from the increased sales, Dolswe is able to keep his ox very well fed.
However, complications arise when the well-fed ox’s stomach begins to grow larger. Toward the end of the promised two month’s period, Dolswe finds his ox in extreme pain. Both the ox and the goblin have been so well fed that the goblin can no longer escape the ox without hurting it. After learning this, Dolswe becomes worried for his ox. The goblin child suggests that if the ox yawns, he might be able to escape through its mouth. Dolswe consults everyone he knows, including the wisest person in the village, but he is unable to find a solution. Exhausted and saddened, Dolswe sits by his ox and yawns, inadvertently causing the ox to yawn as well. This allows the plump goblin to escape from the ox safely. The goblin is very grateful towards Dolswe, as he is able to heal and even gain weight under his care. The goblin rewards Dolswe by increasing the ox’s strength a hundredfold.
At first, I was confused by the ending. When Dolswe’s selfless choice caused his ox’s pain, I expected that the solution would be found through another good deed or hard work. However, the answer came not through a difficult decision for Dolswe to make but through a coincidence. Annoyed at the random solution, I pondered on it, and I realized the moral of the story was not as simple as that good people get rewarded. The true reward for Dolswe was his transformation from a lazy person into one who worked extremely hard to save the ox and the goblin. He made a choice to consult everyone he knew, instead of allowing the tragic situation to unfold. In the end, Dolswe was rewarded not only with his ox’s strength increasing by a hundred times but also with appreciating hard work and finding joy in it.
The character I related to the most is Dolswe, as he cares deeply about his close friend, the ox. I appreciate how he doesn’t fully agree to the goblin’s request until his ox shows its consent by nodding. When his ox could possibly die, he frantically tries to find a solution. This reminded me of a recent situation where I stood up for my friend. One of my friends had an issue with a group of our peers at school who were discussing her personal matters without consent. Usually, I prefer to avoid social confrontation if possible. But when it came to that instance, I had no problems talking to the students that were making my friend upset. From Dolswe, I learned the importance of being considerate and helping others, even when their struggles are difficult to fully understand. Because Dolswe does not have a tail or magical abilities, he would probably have not fully empathized with the goblin’s plight. Nevertheless, Dolswe still helps the goblin because he fears the goblin will die if he refuses.
Something I would change about the story is showing how Dolswe’s character development aligns to the theme of the story. I would do this by displaying how Dolswe doesn’t put in much effort or thought to his work early in the story. Then, at the end of the story, the goblin would ask Dolswe what reward he would like for his kindness. Instead of asking for infinite wealth, which would mean he would never have to work again, he asks for his ox’s strength to be increased by a hundred times. He would explain how his ox’s increased power motivates him to work hard and enjoy his work more. This choice would show Dolswe’s growth and give him more agency at the end of the story, in contrast to the beginning of the story where a situation and reward is passively presented to him.
In conclusion, “Ox and Goblin” teaches us that good people receive good things, but it redefines what “good things” means. When we think of good things, we typically think of wealth or power. However, the folktale presents the good thing to be enjoyment of life through Dolswe, who changes from an idle person to a person who makes active choices for himself and his close friend.