콩쥐팥쥐전 The Story of Kongjwi and Patjwi

This is a traditional Korean Cinderella-style tale of a young girl who is mistreated by her step-mother. It’s interesting to see how similar traditional stories from different parts of the world can be: the Korean tale is very similar to the one English-speakers will be familiar with, until near the end, where there is an unexpected twist.

The book’s layout is the same as 토끼전, with grammar notes throughout the text and vocabulary definitions at the bottom of the page. Likewise, it has an appendix with comprehension questions and an English translation. The only noticeable difference from the previous volume is that the story is read slightly quicker, but it still maintains a comfortable pace for readers to follow the story.

While I was reading and listening to the story, it occurred to me that the accompanying audio is really high-quality for a graded reader. It would have been totally acceptable for the text just to be read normally by a native speaker, but instead it uses voice actors to perform the story, which makes it a much more enjoyable experience.

The only slight detraction for me is that it's so similar to Cinderella that it can feel a bit boring until you reach the point where the Korean story diverges. However, the similarity may be welcome to some readers as it can make the reading experience smoother if you are already familiar with the story.