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Sim Chung, a MythSource painting
Korean

Sim Chung

01Identity

Sim Chung in Korean tradition

Sim Chung grows up in poverty with her blind father, Sim Hyun, and takes responsibility for his care after her mother dies. His promise of rice to a Buddhist priest weighs on the family because they cannot afford to fulfil it. When a merchant seeks a maiden for an offering at sea in exchange for rice, Sim Chung decides to go in her father’s place. She arranges for the promised rice to reach the priest, then boards the ship in bridal clothes despite the merchant’s regret.

The sea voyage becomes a passage through danger and wonder. Sim Chung prays before leaping into the water, awakens in the Sea King’s palace, and later returns to the human world inside a great flower. The king marries her, but she still longs for her father. At a feast she watches among the blind guests until Sim Hyun arrives; when she reveals herself, his cry of joy is followed by the return of his sight. Her filial devotion shapes both the peril she accepts and the reunion she seeks.

SourceKorean Tales / Being a collection of stories translated from the Korean folk lore, together with introductory chapters descriptive of Korea: printed pp. 152-169; SIM CHUNG

Top questions

The quick answers

02The myths

The myths of Sim Chung

1 myth, with sources recorded for each.

Sim Chung and the Sea-King’s Lotus

Sim Chung grew up caring for her blind father, Sim Hyun, after her mother died. Her father had promised rice to a Buddhist priest, but poverty left him unable to fulfil the vow. When she heard that a merchant needed a maiden for an offering at sea in return for three hundred bags of rice, Sim Chung decided to go in her father’s place. She arranged for the rice to reach the priest, and the debt was cancelled. Though the merchant regretted taking her, Sim Chung insisted and boarded the boat in bridal clothes.

The boats reached the waters where an evil spirit was said to rule. After the merchant’s offering failed, Sim Chung prayed and leapt into the sea. The water quieted, and she woke in the care of servants who carried her to the Sea King’s palace. When her time there ended, she returned to the human world inside a great flower that floated into the royal garden. The king found her there and later married her. At a feast she hid herself to watch for her father among the blind guests. When he appeared, she revealed herself. He cried out in joy, and his sight returned.

Sim Chung and the Sea-King’s Lotus, a MythSource painting of the scene