The Folktale ‘The Fairy and the Woodcutter’ Reinterpreted in the Webtoon

This study explores how the episode ‘The Fairy and the Woodcutter’ in the webtoon , reinterprets the traditional Korean folktale ‘The Fairy and the Woodcutter’. In the folktale ‘The Fairy and the Woodcutter’, a kind woodcutter helps a weak deer and, in return, receives the deer's assistance in marrying a fairy from heaven, with whom he has children and lives. The story features three central figures: the benevolent woodcutter, the fairy, and the vulnerable deer. However, in the webtoon Princess Bari, these characters are reinterpreted from a different perspective. The woodcutter is no longer a compassionate man helping a helpless creature, but rather a thief who disguises his selfishness as love; the deer is portrayed as a self-serving animal who exploits the fairy; and the fairy is depicted as a victim of a conspiracy between the two. Rather than the protagonist of a love story cut short by a broken taboo, the fairy is reimagined as a woman forced into an unwanted marriage who ultimately takes her own life due to overwhelming despair. The woodcutter becomes an obsessive figure unable to let her go, and the deer is transformed into a cunning instigator responsible for their shared misfortune. Furthermore, the webtoon shifts the setting entirely to the human world, removing the fantastical elements of the original tale. The characters are restructured within a realistic Joseon-era context, with a government official's daughter and her servant replacing the celestial and animal figures. This change eliminates the mythic atmosphere and increases the story’s realism. Through such recontextualization of classical narratives, classical literature can be preserved and revitalized in ways that speak to modern audiences. This case illustrates how the reinterpretation of classical literature through webtoons can help bridge the gap between past and present, contributing to both the preservation of cultural heritage and the dynamism of today’s content market.