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The diffusion of civilization

Published: 10 Mar. 2025, 00:05

Kim Seung-jung

The author is an archaeologist and professor at the University of Toronto.

The tale of “Kongjwi and Patjwi” is often referred to as the “Korean Cinderella” story. The resemblance between the two stories is striking: A kind and beautiful commoner, cruelly mistreated by her stepmother and stepsister, ultimately rises in status with the aid of supernatural forces. Both narratives share the familiar motif of a lost slipper leading to poetic justice. One key difference, however, is that in Kongjwi and Patjwi, the protagonist — wrongfully killed after her marriage — returns to exact revenge on her tormentors. But how could a Joseon-era folktale bear such a remarkable resemblance to the Cinderella stories that emerged in 17th-century Italy and France?

A statue of Aphrodite holding a slipper and the pastoral god Pan. [KIM SEUNG-JUNG]

Recent studies on ancient Greek hero narratives reveal that the Cinderella motif traces back to classical Greek folklore. The earliest known version appears in accounts by Herodotus and Strabo, who recorded the tale of Rhodopis, or “Red Cheeks.” According to the story, a Greek slave girl living in Naukratis, a Hellenic trading colony on the Nile, was bathing when an eagle swooped down and snatched one of her slippers, only to drop it onto the lap of the Pharaoh in Memphis. Captivated by both the beauty of the slipper and the mysterious nature of its arrival, the king ordered a search for its owner — and ultimately made her his queen.

A crystalline glass slipper from the live-action ″Cinderella″ (2015) [EXHIBITION HUB ASIA]

Curiously, a similar story appears in “One Thousand and One Nights,” and a comparable folktale, “Mah Pishuni,” has been passed down in Iran. This narrative made its way to China by the ninth century, where it evolved into the story of “Ye Xian,” in which a golden slipper is lost at a festival. In Vietnam, the tale of “Tam and Cam” follows an almost identical plotline to “Kongjwi and Patjwi.”

Who would have imagined that the East Asian preference for small feet could have roots in ancient Greece? Or that Aphrodite, in a playful act of eroticism, once struck the pastoral god Pan with a slipper — an image that now seems strangely intertwined with the themes of Kongjwi and Patjwi? The diffusion of civilization transcends both time and geography, seamlessly weaving itself into the fabric of our daily lives. But as we absorb the influences of global culture today, one must ask: Are the values we embrace truly worthy of preservation?

Translated using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff.