Fairy tales bring multiracial families closer

By Kwon Mee-yoo

Staff reporter

Kim Woo-hye, a third grader of Jeonnong Elementary School in Dongdaemun-gu, wielded a magic wand to transform a thumb boy into a child, drawing wows and applause from some 100 children and their families at a library in northern Seoul, Tuesday.

Kim and her Japanese mother Miyuki Nakai, 48, were performing the Japanese tale "Little Thumb" during the second World Fairy Story Telling Contest at the Multicultural Library Modoo in Seoul.

Nakai was dressed in a Kimono, a Japanese traditional garment, and the mother and daughter used both Korean and Japanese to tell the story of a thumb-sized boy saving a young girl from a goblin. Nakai played the thumb boy, while her daughter played the girl, and a friend acted as the evil goblin.

The two won the contest and had a pleasant time with eight other contestants from China, Vietnam, Iran, the Philippines and Korea.

Nakai, who came to Korea in 1996 and married a Korean man here, said she and her daughter rehearsed for about a month for the performance.

"I had to go through traditional Japanese fairy tales and it was fun to rediscover stories from my childhood," she said. "The participants in last year's contest helped and taught us a lot."

They sometimes wrangled as Kim tried to correct her mother's pronunciation of Korean, but the mother and daughter learned a lot and understood each other better while rehearsing.

Confidence-building contest

The contest was a festival for everyone, and also gave an opportunity for foreign spouses to learn Korean while listening to folk tales from various countries.

The contest was full of fun and colorful stories ― from young Korean brothers who told the tale of a person who fell from a ridge and only lived for three more years, to a married woman from China who with her husband and baby acted out "The Goose with the Golden Egg."

Last year's winner Maeheran, 42, from Iran, performed a puppet show of the Iranian story "Grandmother and Pumpkin" as a special guest this year.

Kyung Hee University professor Jin Eun-jin, the head judge, said they focused on the family's participation and use of mother tongues in judging the contestants.

"We could see that Nakai and Kim practiced a lot for this contest and that helped them get used to life in Korea. They also used both Korean and Japanese," Jin said. "We want the participants to gain confidence and pride through this contest."

Mun Jong-seok, the director of the library, said the contest was a successful multicultural festival, planned and run by the librarians and members of the library.

"Multicultural families are our friends and neighbors. If you still think they are someone to help out, give up the idea of pity," he said.

"I hope we can hold the contest at a larger venue next year," he added with a smile.

Located in Dongdaemun-gu, the multicultural library owns a collection of more than 10,800 Korean books and 6,200 books from 12 countries. It also runs reading programs for both multicultural families and Koreans.