The Mirror

One day, Mr Kim set out on a journey to Seoul. He lived with his family in a small village up in the mountains. Up until now, he had never visited the capital in his life. But he had heard the rumours, of course – that it was a city like no other, full of wonders and riches the likes of which you couldn’t find anywhere else.

Mr Kim decided to go, because his daughter was coming of age, and he wanted to buy silver hair pins and silk shoes for her wedding. He wanted her to be the most beautiful bride in the village, so he counted his hard-earned coins and set off.

The capital was far away, and the road ahead was long and bumpy, but Mr Kim was fuelled by his curiosity. He couldn’t wait to see the legendary Seoul for himself. When he finally arrived, he saw that the legends were all true.

Seoul really was a marvel to behold, teeming with bright colours and exciting sounds. Broad streets ran down along the banks of the majestic river Han, lined with shining shop windows. The townsfolk were parading around in their fancy clothes, and the merchants were offering goods from every corner of the world.

Mr Kim’s head was spinning from all the wonders. He was so taken aback with all of the strange smells and colours that he almost didn’t dare enter a shop or speak to a vendor.

As he was timidly examining the amber beads and rustling silk on display in one of the shops, a shopkeeper eyed him from a corner. His keen eyes didn’t miss Mr Kim’s simple, patchy clothes, indicating he had arrived from a village. He decided to play an innocent trick on the customer.…