Pak Oo

A scholar in Yon-nan falls ill and is taken by spirit soldiers to the ruler of the lower world. When the King hears the scholar’s name and home, he realizes the arrest is a mistake: the intended prisoner shares his name. Before sending the scholar back, the King asks him to tell his family that his outer coat has worn out.

The scholar worries that no one will believe a message from Hades. The King gives him a way to prove it: a head button with a broken edge is hidden in the third volume of the Book of History. He also explains that a new coat can be sent by offering it in a fire. The guards lead the scholar to a river; he wakes at home after three days and goes to Seoul to find the household.

Pak Oo’s sons initially dismiss the visitor, but the scholar describes the button. They find it exactly where their father said it would be and accept the message. The family mourns, makes the coat and offers it by fire before the ancestral altar. Three days later, the scholar and Pak’s family each dream that the King has come to thank them. They keep the scholar as a respected friend.