what comes to your mind whensomeone mentions korean monsters? dokkaebi i think of the dokkaebi and the bulgasari. what about the nine-tailed fox? ever heard of the changgwi?
Gyeonghuigung Palace, i don't know that one. i've never heard of a changgwi. changgwi? we're familiar with the dokkaebi and the nine-tailedfox, as they've been featured on tv and in movies.
however, korea has many moremonsters we've never heard of. let's find out more about the changgwiand the bulgasari! fantasy: korea's traditional monsters changgwi the changgwi describes the ghost ofa person who has been devoured by a tiger. apparently, this ghost follows the tigerand serves as its guide and servant. the changgwi can only escape the tiger it serveswhen it finds another human for the beast to eat. that's why it calls on anyone, be it a relativeor a friend, to be feasted on by the tiger. "hojil," a novel by yeonam park ji-won
when a tiger swallows a man, the changgwiis destined to follow the tiger by its arm, and lead it into another man'skitchen. then it lures the owner of the house into cooking late at night, upon whichthe tiger swallows this man as well. then this changgwi is allowed to livenear the tiger's cheekbones and act as the lookout for the tiger for anytraps laid by hunters. when the changgwi finds another prey for his tiger, then this man is allowed to live nearthe tiger's chin. he brings his friends to the tiger. when a tiger feasted upon a person, it wouldleave behind a part of his victim's body. the victim's family would burn this part ofthe body and bury it in a sacred grave
in order to keep the changgwi from escaping. bulgasari the bulgasari is a monster with the bodyof a bear and the head of an elephant. it is said to feast on steel to grow to an enormousheight and strike fear into the hearts of men. bulgasari, bulgasalithere are two origin stories of the bulgasari. first let's take a look at the recordswritten by cho jae-sam in "songnamjapji." there was a monster that lived in the late yearsof the goryeo dynasty that ate all the metal. the people tried to kill it but failed. thus they named the monster "bulgasari,"or "that which does not die."
there's also a folk legend onhow the bulgasari is defeated. it is first lured by metal, and once fire is set to its tail,the bulgasari is said to burn to black ash. therefore the name "bulgasari" can alsomean "that which can be killed by fire." some people believed the bulgsari chased awayevil energy and feasted on fire. that was why bulgasari statues were built ingyeonghuigung palace to guard against fires. bulgasaris were also built on top of the roofof the queen's house in gyeongbokgung palace to protect the building against evil spirits. there are other more interesting creaturescalled the imugi, the dueoksini, and the datbal. they may look odd but their stories have been handeddown orally through many folk tales.
what comes to your mind whensomeone mentions korean monsters? dokkaebi i think of the dokkaebi and the bulgasari. what about the nine-tailed fox? ever heard of the changgwi?
Gyeonghuigung Palace, i don't know that one. i've never heard of a changgwi. changgwi? we're familiar with the dokkaebi and the nine-tailedfox, as they've been featured on tv and in movies.
however, korea has many moremonsters we've never heard of. let's find out more about the changgwiand the bulgasari! fantasy: korea's traditional monsters changgwi the changgwi describes the ghost ofa person who has been devoured by a tiger. apparently, this ghost follows the tigerand serves as its guide and servant. the changgwi can only escape the tiger it serveswhen it finds another human for the beast to eat. that's why it calls on anyone, be it a relativeor a friend, to be feasted on by the tiger. "hojil," a novel by yeonam park ji-won
when a tiger swallows a man, the changgwiis destined to follow the tiger by its arm, and lead it into another man'skitchen. then it lures the owner of the house into cooking late at night, upon whichthe tiger swallows this man as well. then this changgwi is allowed to livenear the tiger's cheekbones and act as the lookout for the tiger for anytraps laid by hunters. when the changgwi finds another prey for his tiger, then this man is allowed to live nearthe tiger's chin. he brings his friends to the tiger. when a tiger feasted upon a person, it wouldleave behind a part of his victim's body. the victim's family would burn this part ofthe body and bury it in a sacred grave
in order to keep the changgwi from escaping. bulgasari the bulgasari is a monster with the bodyof a bear and the head of an elephant. it is said to feast on steel to grow to an enormousheight and strike fear into the hearts of men. bulgasari, bulgasalithere are two origin stories of the bulgasari. first let's take a look at the recordswritten by cho jae-sam in "songnamjapji." there was a monster that lived in the late yearsof the goryeo dynasty that ate all the metal. the people tried to kill it but failed. thus they named the monster "bulgasari,"or "that which does not die."
there's also a folk legend onhow the bulgasari is defeated. it is first lured by metal, and once fire is set to its tail,the bulgasari is said to burn to black ash. therefore the name "bulgasari" can alsomean "that which can be killed by fire." some people believed the bulgsari chased awayevil energy and feasted on fire. that was why bulgasari statues were built ingyeonghuigung palace to guard against fires. bulgasaris were also built on top of the roofof the queen's house in gyeongbokgung palace to protect the building against evil spirits. there are other more interesting creaturescalled the imugi, the dueoksini, and the datbal. they may look odd but their stories have been handeddown orally through many folk tales.