Hotteok Story

Summary

In the Joseon era, a young scholar named Lee Hanseop set out for Hanyang, dreaming of passing the state exam and returning home in glory. Because he departed late, he couldn’t take the main path through Mungyeong Saejae and instead chose a shortcut said to be haunted by a fearsome man-eating tiger—the mountain guardian itself. He climbed the mountain cautiously, but in the end, he encountered the tiger. Before leaving, the scholar had heard rumours that tigers loved rice cakes, so he had brought some along and offered them. But the tiger immediately refused—and instead suggested pounding rice cakes (?) together with him…