Basic Info.

​One night, a hungry tiger wandered into a village and entered a house. Inside, a child was crying, and the child’s mother tried to calm them down by mentioning various scary things, but the child kept crying. Then, when she mentioned dried persimmons, the child suddenly stopped crying. The tiger overheard this and mistakenly believed that dried persimmons were something far scarier than himself. Just as the frightened tiger was about to flee, a cow thief happened to appear and mistook the tiger for a cow. The thief climbed onto the tiger's back to catch it, causing the already terrified tiger to panic and run away, creating a comical misunderstanding.​

Additional Info.

​"The Tiger and the Persimmon" is a humorous Korean folktale about fear and misunderstanding. One night, a hungry tiger sneaks into a village and hears a mother trying to calm her crying child. The mother mentions scary things, but the child only stops crying when she says "dried persimmon." The tiger mistakenly believes the persimmon must be more terrifying than himself. As he tries to escape, a cow thief accidentally lands on the tiger’s back, mistaking it for a cow. The tiger, thinking it is being attacked, runs away in fear.​

Cultural Note:

​Different versions of the story exist. In some, the tiger gets injured while fleeing and dies. In others, the story ends with the tiger’s encounter with a rabbit, leading to more misunderstandings.​​