English through Mythology – the Gaya kingdom (가야왕국)

Legends from the Gaya kingdom:

Creative Dialogue 가야왕국에서 온 전설 : 대화

Instructions: Please read the sample dialogue (대화) about Gimhae and the Gaya kingdom (김해와 가야왕국). After reading the sample dialogue, please make up a new dialogue (새로운 대화) about Gimhae and the Gaya kingdom. Good luck!

Sample dialogue 1: Ji-hye persuades Cheol-su to visit Gimhae for the first time.

Cheol-su: Ji-hye, where’s your hometown?

Ji-hye: My hometown is Gimhae.

Cheol-su: What’s Gimhae famous for?

Ji-hye: Gimhae was the centre of the Gaya kingdom (가야왕국). If you visit Gimhae, you can learn more about the Gaya kingdom. There are lots of interesting sights.

Cheol-su: Can you give me an example?

Ji-hye: There are several royal tombs (묘). For instance, you can see the tomb of King Suro (수로왕릉).

Cheol-su: I’ve never heard of King Suro. Who was he?

Ji-hye: He was the founder of the Gaya kingdom. According to legend, King Suro came down from the sky in an egg (계란). After hatching from the egg, he founded the Gaya kingdom. According to the Samguk Yusa, King Suro lived to be 158 years old!

Cheol-su: That’s hard to believe! Still, it’s a good story.

Ji-hye: Gimhae has lots of other historic sights. Maybe we can visit Gimhae together. I can introduce you to my hometown.

Cheol-su: That sounds wonderful! When can we go to Gimhae?

Ji-hye: How about this weekend? Do you have time?

Cheol-su: Yes, I do. Let’s go to Gimhae on Saturday!

Sample dialogue 2: Ji-hye and Cheol-su arrive in Gimhae

Ji-hye: Here we are in Gimhae! This is Gimhae’s bus station.

Cheol-su: Ji-hye, what’s that?

Ji-hye: It’s a cartoon turtle (거북). The turtle is Gimhae’s mascot.

Cheol-su: Why did Gimhae choose a turtle as its mascot?

Ji-hye: That’s a good question. I suppose it’s because of Guji-bong Hill. Guji-bong Hill is shaped like a turtle. According to legend, the rulers of the Gaya kingdom hatched from eggs on Guji-bong Hill.

Cheol-su: That sounds interesting! Can we visit Guji-bong Hill?

Ji-hye: Yes, we can. It’s just a short walk from here.

Cheol-su: Great! Let’s go!

Sample dialogue 3: Ji-hye and Cheol-su visit Queen Heo’s tomb

Cheol-su: Thank you for showing me Guji-bong Hill! It was really interesting! Gimhae seems to be a land of legend.

Ji-hye: Let me tell you more about Guji-bong Hill. The hill is shaped like a turtle (거북). This bridge over the road is said to be the turtle’s neck (거북의 목). In a moment, we’ll come to the turtle’s head (거북의 머리).

Cheol-su: Ji-hye, look! It’s a burial mound (분묘). Is this another royal tomb (묘)?

Ji-hye: Yes, it’s Queen Heo’s tomb. Queen Heo is buried inside that burial mound.

Cheol-su: It’s very quiet and peaceful here! Ji-hye, who was Queen Heo? Please tell me about her!

Ji-hye: Queen Heo was an Indian princess (인도에서 온 공주). She came to Korea and married King Suro. People believe that she brought the surname ‘Heo’ to Korea.

Cheol-su: That’s interesting! Let’s walk down the steps. Look! There’s a pile of stones.

Ji-hye: That’s right. This pile of stones is a pagoda.

Cheol-su: Why is the pagoda near to Queen Heo’s tomb?

Ji-hye: According to legend, Queen Heo carried this pagoda with her from India to Korea. People believed that it would calm the waves.

Cheol-su: How interesting! Gimhae has so many myths and legends!

Ji-hye: Yes, that’s true. I’m very proud of my hometown.

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Instructions: Now it’s your turn to make up a great dialogue about the Gimhae and the Gaya kingdom (김해와 가야왕국 에 대한 대화). You have six minutes (6 분). Good luck!