Dokkaebi

Dokkaebi
Dokkaebi's Patterned Tiles from Oe-ri, Buyeo
Korean name
Hangul	도깨비
Revised Romanization	Dokkaebi
McCune–Reischauer	Tokkaepi

Dokkaebi (Korean: 도깨비), sometimes known as Duduri (Korean: 두두리) is a common word for a type of spirit in Korean folklore or fairy tales. They are old things transformed at night.

The Dokkaebi is a mythical being that appears in many old Korean folktales. Although usually frightening, it could also represent a humorous, grotesque-looking sprite or goblin. These creatures love mischief and playing mean tricks on bad people. They also reward good people with wealth and blessings. They are different from Gwisin (Korean: 귀신; Ghost) in that they are not formed by the death of a human being, but rather by the transformation of an inanimate object.

Characteristics

The Korean children at 21th century knows dokkaebi as Oni. The real Korean traditional dokkaebi is fool and like(wants) to play with humans. They may have horns. They are not bad like Oni, they are more kind.

Legends

Most Korean legends have Dokkaebi in the stories. They are about Dokkaebi playing pranks on mortals or punishing them because of their evil deeds. One of them is about an old man who lived alone in a mountain when a Dokkaebi visited his house. With surprise, the kind old man gave the Dokkaebi an alcoholic beverage and they become friends. The Dokkaebi visited the old man often and they had long conversations together, but one day, the man took a walk by himself in the woods near the river and discovered that his reflection looked like the Dokkaebi. With fear, he realized that he was gradually becoming that creature. The man made a plan to prevent himself from becoming a Dokkaebi and invited the creature to his house. He asked, "What are you most afraid of?" and the Dokkaebi answered, "I'm afraid of blood. What are you afraid of?" The man pretended to be frightened and said, "I'm afraid of money. That's why I live in the mountains by myself." The next day, the old man killed a cow and poured its blood all over his house. The Dokkaebi, with shock and great anger, ran away and said, "I'll be back with your greatest fear!" The next day, the Dokkaebi brought bags of money and threw it to the old man. After that, Dokkaebi never came back and the old man became the richest person in the town.

Kinds

Although Dokkaebis does not have actual form, some people divide them into types. These are common ones.

• Cham dokkaebi (Korean: 참도깨비; literally really dokkaebi): A mischievous dokkaebi. Contrast with gae dokkaebi.
• Gae dokkaebi (Korean: 개도깨비; literally wild dokkaebi): Evil dokkaebi. Contrast with Cham Dokkaebi.
• Gim Seobang dokkaebi (Korean: 김서방 도깨비; literally Mr. Kim Dokkaebi): A dumb dokkaebi that looks like a farmer.
• Nat dokkaebi (Korean: 낮도깨비; literally day dokkaebi): Unlike other dokkaebis, these appear during the daylight. They are known to give dokkaebi gamtus to humans.
• Go dokkaebi (Korean: 고도깨비; literally high dokkaebi): Dokkaebis known to be good at fighting and handling weapons, especially arrows.
• Gaksi dokkaebi (Korean: 각시도깨비; literally maiden dokkaebi) and chonggak dokkaebi (Korean: 총각도깨비; literally Bachelor Dokkaebi): Dokkaebis, known to attract humans.
• Oenun dokkaebi (Korean: 외눈도깨비; literally one-eyed dokkaebi): A one-eyed dokkaebi that eats a lot.
• Oedari dokkaebi (Korean: 외다리도깨비; literally one-legged dokkaebi): A one-legged dokkaebi that likes to play Ssireum.

In popular culture

• Larry Correia's 2014 novel Monster Hunter Nemesis includes a character, Michael Putlack, who has been possessed by a Go Dokkaebi.
• The K-drama My Girlfriend is a Gumiho (Nine-tailed Fox) includes a dokkaebi character who tries to steal the Gumiho's "bead" (qi energy source).

See also

• Culture of Korea
• Oni
• Gwisin
• History of Korea
• Tsukumogami, similar creatures in Japanese folklore

External links

• Dokkaebi in Korea, Korea Creative Content Agency (Korean)
• Dokkaebi story, Pa-in Folkpainting Research Institute (Korean)