The Tale of Shim Chung Poster

Once upon a time, there lived a very poor and blind man whose last name was Shim. His wife died while giving birth to their only child, Shim Chung, so this blind man had no choice but to feed his baby daughter by begging for food from the neighbours. As the years went by, the daughter became a beautiful young girl on the inside and outside. Luckily, she was able to find a job in a local noble man's house, and soon she became the main bread earner supporting and taking good care of her blind father. One day, when she was very late to return from work, the father got worried about his daughter and went out to meet her. While he was crossing a narrow bridge over the village stream, he accidentally fell into the water, and got rescued by a monk who was passing by. After saving the poor man's life, the monk told the father that he could regain his eyesight if he made an offering of 300 bags of rice to the Buddhist temple. Mr. Shim, feeling overexcited with the possibility of getting his sight back, promised the monk that the offering would be made by a certain date. However, the poor father, who very much struggled with poverty, soon realised that he was never able to keep the promise. Chung saw his father's worried face and asked him the reason when she got home from her work. Although she knew that they couldn't afford 300 bags of rice, she didn't stop praying for miracles to happen. One day, a group of sailors that were looking for a human sacrifice to calm the angry sea they had to face on their journey to China came to the village. When she heard that the sailors were eager to pay any price for the sacrifice, Chung decided to speak to the captain. The captain happily agreed that he would give 300 bags of rice to the temple in exchange for her life, and few days later, Chung followed the sailors after bidding a sad farewell to her father. Mr. Shim was crushed by despair and sorrow, but the offering had already been made to the temple and there was no way he could get the rice back to save his daughter's life. When the ship reached the point where the sea suddenly became violent and threatening, Chung was asked to throw herself into the sea. Praying that her father would soon regain his sight, she jumped into the water. The king of the sea, however, who was deeply touched by her love towards her father, put Chung inside a lotus flower and sent her back to the land. The huge lotus flower instantly caught many people's eyes when it arrived in the land and it was reported to the King. The King ordered the big flower to be carried to his palace and when he opened the flower, he found a beautiful young maiden was sleeping inside the flower! Later that day, Chung told the King about her blind father and the reason why she had been thrown to the sea. The King was utterly moved by her filial heart and decided to marry the beautiful young lady. Soon after becoming the Queen, Chung asked the King to hold a feast for the blind. She had no clue what happened to her father who was left alone, and if he ever got his eyesight back or not. She thought her father would come to the banquet if he was still blind. On the day of the feast, Chung waited and waited for her father to show up from the early morning. When she almost gave up her hope, she saw an old man who just walked into the yard, relying on a wooden walking stick; It was her father and he was still blind. Chung ran into her father screaming, "Dad, Dad, why are you still blind?", and the moment he heard his daughter's voice, the daughter who he believed had already been dead, Mr. Shim said, "Chung? My daughter Chung? You're alive? Let me see, let me see you!" And he tried to open his eyes that were closed for many many years, and he could see his beautiful daughter right in front of his eyes! The father and daughter happily reunited and lived the good long life together afterward. -------The story teaches children the principle of filial piety, and the main character, Shim Chung, is still the symbol of a good daughter in Korea. This is one of the most famous folk tales known in Korea. ((Contact ujean4791@gmail.com for custom work and/or matching items.))