Japan's "national character" was best portrayed by the three actual incidents in their historical past. There are numerous folktales and legends that also could be used, but the three historical incidents used in the initial blog on this subject best describe Japanese "national character" - or so it is thought by most.
Like Japan, China also has numerous historical incidents that could be used and the story of Ssu Ma Chien, the great historian, is possibly the best of all. At the same time, the folktale about the archer in the "Warring States Period" is also considered to be an excellent example of representing the Chinese "national character." Chinese folktales and legends abound with stories that might be used to illustrate this point, but the story about the archer is perhaps the most popular.
Korea also has its share of historical incidents as well as folk tales and legends that illustrate their "national character." But perhaps the best known folk tale in this regard is the story about the "Great White Tiger," the Paek Horang as it is called in Korean. It is a story about patience, guile, adaptation and innovation. Koreans pride themselves in their ability to adapt to new conditions and circumstances and at their ability to be innovative. They have demonstrated this time and again in modern times in their electronic and automotive industry! But most of all, the tale is about loyalty and duty to one's parents, and vengeance!
The story begins in the northern part of Korea, in the region of the Long White Mountains, the almost mythical mountains of northern Korea that border Manchuria, Paek Too San. Paek Too San is the region where Korean communist's legend claims that their founder Kim Il Song was born! It is a mountain range that has mythical status in Korean folklore and legends. It also has the same status with Manchus, the Jurchen tribe (the one that conquered China and established the Ching Dynasty) that consider it as their birthplace and holy grounds. The Jurchens call the Paek Too San mountain range "manjhur", and they called themselves by that name! You can easily see where the name Manchu and Manchuria originated!
At any rate, somewhere in that region lived a famous Korean hunter. The old hunter was a widower and had one child, a beautiful young daughter. He taught his daughter all of his skills on hunting and woodcraft and she was an accomplished huntress by the time she was a teenager.
There was a great white tiger in the area that the old hunter had been trying to kill all of his life. It was a white tiger that had killed his wife, the mother of his daughter, and had also killed his parents before that. The tiger was considered to be supernatural and it was thought that it could not be killed by a mere human. Then one day while the old man was hunting in the mountains, the white tiger killed and ate him! The young teenaged daughter was left an orphan.
Some of the relatives of the girl wanted her to come and live with them, but she refused. She had numerous offers of marriage by rich men, for she was very beautiful. But she refused them all and continued to live in the little hut in the forest and survived by hunting as she did before with her father.
All the while she was preparing to go after the white tiger. What she did to prepare herself was to practice walking, talking, and acting just like her father. After she had practiced for a period and was satisfied with the results, she put on a disguise, a moustache and a beard just like her father had, donned his clothes, and set out after the white tiger. At the base of Paek Too San she met the white tiger. The white tiger was so surprised at seeing the old man that he thought he had killed and eaten, that he froze and stared at the apparition before him in total surprise. He had watched this "old man" approach him for he had recognized the walk, so he was totally stunned.
"You may have thought that you had killed and eaten me, but you were mistaken!" The girl spoke to the surprised tiger in her father's voice. "You cannot kill me! Now I have come to kill you!"
The tiger was so shocked at seeing the old man and hearing his voice that he was momentarily paralyzed. This gave the girl enough time to plunge the spear that she carried and kill the white tiger.
The girl knew that she could not just go after the tiger and hope to kill it. Her father, who was even a greater hunter than she was, had failed and was ultimately killed by the tiger. So, she had to devise a plan, a way to gain an upper hand. She did this through deception, by disguising herself as her father and thereby confusing the tiger and succeeded in killing it. By killing the tiger and carrying out the act of vengeance, she had fulfilled her duty to her father as a good daughter!
This story not only illustrates that sons and daughters must be dutiful to their parents, but that a girl could be just as successful at doing what is considered man's work. Despite the fact that like all Asian countries Korean society tends to be sexist and favor men, it is still possible for women to be successful. One of the most successful Korean king or queen of the historical past was the last Korean Queen, Queen Myeongseong who was popularly called Queen Min, and was murdered by Japanese in 1895 before Japan annexed Korea. She was the greatest obstacle to Japan's annexation of Korea. She was very progressive in thought and wanted to ally Korea with western powers. Queen Min's death (murder) is considered one of the greatest if not the greatest tragedy in Korean history. Today, South Korea's president is a woman, Park Geun-hye, who is considered to be a very progressive thinker and one of the best presidents that they have had so far.
So, the folktale about the killing of the great white tiger by a girl has many layers, one of them being that a girl can do anything, if she sets her mind to it. It demonstrates Korean "national character" by way of showing innovation, adaptation, loyalty, fulfillment of duty to parents (and country, in this case), and that a woman can be successful in whatever she pursues. This Korean "national character" has been demonstrated amply in modern era, particularly in recent times with their economic prosperity, electronic and automotive innovations, and leadership by a female president of the country!
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