The Young Man Who Must Not Sleep

Card meaning

Upright - tonight is a night to stay awake. Drowsiness always comes at the last stretch.

Reversed - do not hold out alone. Keep someone beside you who will wake you.

The card meanings are a game.

The tale

A young man is told he must not fall asleep at night.

He tries many ways to keep himself awake.

The turning point of the tale is the danger that arrives while he sleeps.

In some versions a person or an animal beside him wakes him.

What the danger is, and how it ends, differ from region to region.

Where you can see this in Korea now

We have not yet measured which places connect to this tale.

Sources

한국민족문화대백과사전 「구렁이 설화」

국립민속박물관 한국민속대백과사전 「밤에 자면 안 되는 총각」