| Dokkaebi | |
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 This file comes from National Museum of Korea under a Korea Open Government License Type I: Attribution. | |
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Other Name |
Korean Goblins |
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First Appearance |
Korean Mythology and Folklore |
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Created by |
Unknown |
Origin[]
Dokkaebi are legendary creatures from Korean mythology and folklore. Dokkaebi, also known as "Korean goblins", are nature deities or spirits possessing extraordinary powers and abilities that are used to interact with humans, at times playing tricks on them and at times helping them. Legends describe different dokkaebi in many forms and beings with a thousand faces, and dokkaebi often wear hanbok.
Different versions of the dokkaebi mythology assign different attributes to them. In some cases, they are considered harmless but nevertheless mischievous, usually playing pranks on people or challenging wayward travelers to a ssireum (Korean wrestling) match for the right to pass. Dokkaebi are extremely skilled at wrestling and cannot be beaten unless their right side is exploited. In other tales, dokkaebi only have one leg, so one should hook their leg and push them to win.
Dokkaebi fire is a glimmering light or tall blue flames that herald the appearance of dokkaebi.
Dokkaebi possess magical items, such as the dokkaebi hat called the dokkaebi gamtu (도깨비 감투), which grants the wearer the ability of invisibility, and the dokkaebi magic club called the dokkaebi bangmangi (도깨비 방망이), which can summon things and act functionally as a magic wand. Dokkaebi like Buckwheat jelly, Sorghum and red bean rice cakes, mashed Sorghum and the drinks. So in dokkaebi gosa (도깨비 고사), there are foods which dokkaebi like.
Many Korean legends have dokkaebi featured in them. In several, dokkaebi play pranks on mortals or punish them because of their evil deeds. One such tale describes an old man who lived alone on a mountain. One day, a dokkaebi visited his house. Surprised, 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. He discovered that his reflection looked like the dokkaebi. The old man was afraid as 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.
Although dokkaebis have no set form, some people divide them into types. These are some common types:
- Cham dokkaebi (참도깨비; lit. true dokkaebi): A mischievous dokkaebi. Contrast with Gae Dokkaebi.
- Gae dokkaebi (개도깨비; lit. dog dokkaebi): Evil dokkaebi. Contrast with Cham Dokkaebi.
- Gaksi dokkaebi (각시도깨비; lit. maiden dokkaebi) and chonggak dokkaebi (총각도깨비; lit. bachelor dokkaebi): Dokkaebi, known to attract humans.
- Go dokkaebi (고도깨비; lit. high dokkaebi): Dokkaebi known to be good at fighting and handling weapons, especially arrows.
- Kim Seobang dokkaebi (김서방 도깨비; lit. Mr. Kim Dokkaebi): A dumb dokkaebi that looks like a farmer.
- Nat dokkaebi (낮도깨비; lit. day dokkaebi): Unlike other dokkaebi, these appear during the daylight. They are known to give dokkaebi gamtus to humans.
- Oedari dokkaebi (외다리도깨비; lit. one-legged dokkaebi): A one-legged dokkaebi that likes to play Ssireum.
- Oenun dokkaebi (외눈도깨비; lit. one-eyed dokkaebi): A one-eyed dokkaebi that eats a lot.
Dokkaebi are different from deities, divinities, spirits or ghosts, called gwishin (귀신) in Korean, in that they are not formed by the death of a human being, but rather by the spiritual possession of an inanimate object such as old discarded household tools like brooms, or objects stained with human blood.
Public Domain Appearances[]
All published appearances of Dokkaebi from before January 1, 1930 are public domain in the US.
Some notable appearances are listed below:
Public Domain Literary Appearances[]
- Memorabilia of the Three Kingdoms
- Lady Dohwa and Bachelor Bihyeong
Notes[]
- Dokkaebi are featured prominently in the 2025 animated film KPop Demon Hunters.