There is a Korean children’s song about a 두꺼비. A 두꺼비 is a toad. Here’s a video you can sing along to:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3dDfbpkPVMs

두껍아 두껍아 헌집 줄게 새집 다오 

(dugguhba dugguhba huhnjip julge sehjip dao)

[Hey toad, hey toad, I’ll give you an old house, you give me a new house]

두껍아 두껍아 헌집 줄게 새집 다오 

(dugguhba dugguhba huhnjip julge sehjip dao)

[Hey toad, hey toad, I’ll give you an old house, you give me a new house]

두껍아 두껍아 네집 지어줄게 내집 지어다오

(dugguhba dugguhba nejip jiuhjulge nejip jiuhdao)

[Hey toad, hey toad, I’ll build your house, build me a house]

두껍아 두껍아 네집 지어줄게 내집 지어다오

(dugguhba dugguhba nejip jiuhjulge nejip jiuhdao)

[Hey toad, hey toad, I’ll build your house, build me a house]

In the song, 두꺼비 became 두껍아 because 두꺼비 was being addressed in an informal manner. It’s hard to sing to the words 두껍비아 두껍비아, so 두껍비아 was contracted to 두껍아. If you’ve analyzed the lyrics, you’ve have noticed that it’s a bit of a strange song. There are some theories as to what the meaning of this song might be. One interpretation is that this song is figurative, not literal. For example the mention of the 헌집 may refer to a mother, while the 새집 refers to the mother’s child. 헌집 literally means “old house”, but the metaphor for the ‘old house’ is a mother who is presumably older. In converse, the 새집 literally means ‘new house’, which is symbolic of a newborn.

Moreover, some toads are known to carry a poison that can harm both animals and humans. This song is a tale about a mother pleading with the toad to taker her life (헌집) in exchange for her child’s life (새집). So if you were to look at the phrase of the song that goes “헌집 줄게 새집 다오”, the mother is addressing the toad and saying “I’ll give you myself, now give me my child”.