The Story of Sim Cheong or The Tale of Shim Ch'ŏng () is a Korean classical novel about a filial daughter named Sim Cheong. Simcheongga, the pansori version, performed by a single narrator, is believed to be the older version of the story, with the novel having been adapted from its script. Some examples of the story, though nominally referred to as novels, are practically the same as the pansori libretti, and are thus referred to as "pansori novels". Woodblock-printed editions, written entirely in Hangul, were issued in the early 20th century. These books, printed in Jeonju (referred to as "Wanpan bon" editions), fall in the "pansori novel" category. The Seoul woodblock editions (called "Gyeongpan bon" editions) assume the more conventional literary style of the novel. Summary Sim Cheong-jeon is a story about the titular Sim Cheong, who throws herself into the Indang Sea as a sacrifice so that her blind father can regain his eyesight. This selfless act of filial piety causes her to be resurrected and become an empress, and her father's blindness is cured. Literary forms and versions Genres The Tale of Sim Cheong () refers to the classical novel (or pansori novel) form of the legend, while the "Simcheongga (Song of Sim Cheong)" () refers to p'ansori performed version. There is also the form performed by the mudang shamanesses at the gut ritual, and the recited text may be referred to as the "Shamanic Song of Sim Cheong" (). Texts There are handwritten, woodblock print, and metal-type print editions of Sim Cheong-jeon. And despite the aforementioned convention that the pansori works be distinguished as Sim Cheong ga ("Song") and not be referred to as Sim Cheong jeun ("Story"), The Complete Collection of Sim Cheong jeon (1997) edited by Kim Jinyoung, Kim Hyun Ju, et al. (1997) include p'ansori recordings and libretti also, and amassing 83 variant texts in the compilation. The woodblock editions are largely divided into three groups: the “Hannam edition” version and the “Songdong edition” version in close-to-prose form, and the “Jeonju edition” version set down in verse. The Hannam Seolim (, 1917) edition and Songdong () editions were both printed in Seoul, and are collectively known as the Seoul editions version (). The Jeonju () edition, named after the city, is also called the Wanpan () version after Wansan, the archaic name for the city. These Seoul woodblock editions date to pre-1920, while