The Bear(-woman) Fell for the Man

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Why don’t we pull back a little? We focused on beings found in Korean folklore and mythology in the past posts, so let’s switch things up a little. All mythologies have an origin, their own story of creation. Korea is no different.

Reading myths, Korea’s foundation and birth is all thanks to a couple of gods that cast their gaze to the Earth and a tenacious bear that wished to be more.

Hwanung Casts His Gaze to the Earth.

An image of a summit from Taekbaeksan National Park, the grounds are covered with snow and many people in winter gear are walking along the path to reach the stone altar at the peak.

Teakbaeksan National Park from This is Korea tours

In the ancient times, Hwanin, known as the Heavenly Emperor, noticed his son, Hwanung, has cast his gaze towards the Earth, and expressed the desire to rule it. In some versions of the myth, Hwanin was the one to cast his gaze upon the Earth and tasked Hwanung to rule. Either way, with his father’s blessing, Hwanung descended onto Mt. Taebaek and sought to build his kingdom.

Though this number can vary depending on the myth, he was accompanied by three thousand devotees and built Sinsi, the holy city where he ruled. Aside from the three thousand followers, the Wind God, Rainfall God, and Cloud God came with Hwanung.

Along with them, Hwanung also had the Three Seals of Heaven (Cheonbuin)—which is said to be a divine mirror, divine sword and a divine rattle or drum—as proof of his rule.

Hwanung, the Bear and Humanity

acarriganart’s depiction of Ungnyeo, emerging from the cave as a woman.

While Hwanung began overseeing the numerous affairs of the human world—from grains to life to diseases to mediating between good and evil—two animals caught his attention.

A bear and a tiger prayed to him with the desire to become human and Hwanung instructed them to stay inside a cave for 100 days, with only mugwort and 20 cloves of garlic as food (in some versions, instead of divine mugwort, they had to eat garlic and wormwood) to earn in their humanity.

Partway through, the tiger grew impatient and left the cave. This left the bear alone, but through perseverance, the bear emerged from the cave as a human woman. She took on the name Ungnyeo meaning Bear-Woman.

Ungnyeo is happy with her new life as a human, but eventually as a result of loneliness, she prays to Hwanung and asks for a child since she had no one. Hwanung having heard her prayers and feeling pity, turned himself to a mortal man and married her. Together they had a son Dangun who eventually established Gojoseon that became the Korean peninsula.

Dangun and Gojoseon

Dangun became known as the first mortal prince of the land. He later established his own kingdom, Gojoseon or the Ancient kingdom Joseon.

Dangun set up capital at Pyeongyang Fortress. The capital moved several times before finding its way back to Pyeongyang Fortress. Dangun continued to rule for approximately a thousand and five hundred years  before the Zhou dynasty, a Chinese dynasty, came into the picture and appointed Jizi to govern Joseon. Dangun moved to different states, Jangdanggyeong then to Asadal, before he went to the mountains nearby Asadal and ascended into godhood as a Sansin or Mountain God at the age of 1,908 years.

Historical Notes

Some suggest that the myth of Dangun actually parallelizes the actual founding of Korea. Hwanung and Ungnyeo’s union representing the union between foreigners—Hwanung, God and Sky—that settled the land that Korea now stands, and one of the Indigenous tribes in proto-Korea—Ungnyeo, bear, woman, and Earth— to unify their people under a marriage alliance, although some say the Bear Tribe Ungnyeo represented was still subjugated by the former.

Some Irony

An image of a family of tigers drawn on a scroll with ink, titled Tiger Family. It is estimated to be from Korea's Joseon Dynasty.

Tiger Family, The Cleveland Museum of Art

Funnily enough, despite referred to as the Dangun Myth, most of the focus of the myth is on Hwanin and Hwanung. The myth does acknowledge Dangun as the founder of Korea. So, while in folklore Dangun can be attributed to the creation of Korea, the creation of Dangun is the focus of the myth itself instead of a detailed account of his life and rule.

Furthermore, it was mentioned earlier in Ungnyeo’s myth that a bear and tiger begged for a human form, the tiger left early due to its impatience and hunger. Despite this portrayal, the tiger is a revered animal in Korea. Portrayals of tigers as creatures that protect humanity against evil spirits is depicted throughout Korean history and artwork. This reverence may be the reason why the tiger is Korea’s national animal.

Rica Equibal, a Philippine-born writer and artist, started Algonquin college with the goal to find her way into publishing. She went into her Algonquin journey with from her literature degree and proofreading experience supporting her, but she’s always up to learn more to add to her knowledge and repertoire. Aside from that, she also writes fiction—with hope to turn those little scenes and moments into a full story or novel—and draws.

She writes as inspiration strikes and primarily draws digital—that is, if she's not distracted by whatever video game she has in reach.

Fooling Fools But Never Twice

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From “Sun & Moon: Fairy Tales from Korea,” by Kathleen Seros, published by Hollym

Not all tricksters are created equal.

They’re found throughout all media, literature and mythology, and can range from harmless little critters that will gaslight you by moving your things around to large malicious creatures that will see you hurt. Despite the caution and the red warning signs in literature alike, people are still drawn to them—whether for their own gain or not is up to interpretation.

Dokkaebi Through Time

Like any country, Korea has different of crafty tricksters that appear in their mythology—good, bad, and indifferent. Dokkaebis, or Doggaebi, are one of plenty that appear throughout history with diverse and conflicting appearances.

Dokkaebis have origins dating back to Korea’s ancient history and share some characteristics with humans. Although descriptions paint them as small, ugly and foul much like the goblins from western mythologies than man. Dokkaebis wore colourful hanbok, however, making it easy to mistake them for children from afar. They, however, carry clubs that channeled their powers.

Furthermore, some myths say there are different types of Dokkaebi, each with their temperament and own domain. With so many kinds of Dokkaebi, this might explain why their portrayal and demeanour myths can be so polarized. Though in some later myths, Dokkaebi are seen as silly and comical that only retaliates if they get cheated in something instead of their bloodthirsty roots.

Origins

Dokkaebi are born from objects that get stained with human blood, and because of this unique birth, myths often have them as something that borders life and death—natural with the supernatural. This perception is not helped by accounts that say you can only see Dokkaebis during the dark like spirits and ghosts, but they’re corporeal like man

Interestingly, the nature of their origin is partially similar to Japan’s Tsukumogami. However, in contrast to the Dokkaebi, the tsukumogami are born from forgotten objects turning one hundred years old.

Dokkaebi in Myths

Later myths about Dokkaebi show how eager and open they are to help people and how vulnerable they are to being taken advantage off, but they have a once bitten, twice shy approach with deceit.

Like in the story of the Goblin Reservoir, the Dokkaebis helped the protagonist build a reservoir. The promise of food in exchange for help was a great motivator for them, that they finished building in one night. After receiving their promised red bean porridge and portioning it among themselves, one Dokkaebi did not get its share of food and undid its part of the work out of spite. However, ironically because of the holes that Dokkaebi left, the reservoir did not collapse when it flooded.

Another interesting myth that loosely involved Dokkaebi was the story of the Goblin Hat. Dokkaebi’s have hats called dokkaebigamtu that turns them invisible. However, it was not a Dokkaebi causing mischief, instead it was a man using the dokkaebigamtu to steal from his neighbours until he was caught and beaten up by an angry mob.

Lastly, two stories that follow a similar theme, The Goblin’s Magic Club and The Old Man with a Lump on His Neck. They both follow a man somehow outsmarting the Dokkaebi and coming out richer, and a friend or neighbour asked how that happened. This friend would then try to do the exact same thing in hopes of having good fortune themselves but met misfortune instead. The second woodcutter from The Golbin’s Magic Club got beaten up when the Dokkaebis thought it was the thief wanting to steal another club from them, and the second old man in the latter story was left two lumps on his neck after his encounter with the Dokkaebi.

This even sparked the Korean proverb: “Went to lose the lump but returned with another” similar to ‘counting your chickens before they hatched.’

Chris Dokebi’s art showing how to pronounce their username which is similar to dokkaebi

Dokkaebi in Media Now

In modern media, the portrayals of Dokkaebi varies. Some portrayals reimagine them like the creatures of myths they used to be, while others just use the moniker Dokkaebi with loose ties to the actual creatures.

The webnovel Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint, have Dokkaebis as bit-sized, bloodthirsty troublemakers while in the Korean drama simply named Goblin, the entity known as goblin is more god-like than the fickle Dokkaebi. The video game Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege has a character named Dokkaebi. Chris Dokebi is an artist that creates and sells mischievous and playful figurines and art based off and named after the Dokkaebi.

Despite myths taking a step back as the world keeps moving forward, leaving the supernatural in myths, it doesn’t mean they’re completely forgotten. People adapt and so do myth.

Rica Equibal, a Philippine-born writer and artist, started Algonquin college with the goal to find her way into publishing. She went into her Algonquin journey with from her literature degree and proofreading experience supporting her, but she’s always up to learn more to add to her knowledge and repertoire. Aside from that, she also writes fiction—with hope to turn those little scenes and moments into a full story or novel—and draws.

She writes as inspiration strikes and primarily draws digital—that is, if she's not distracted by whatever video game she has in reach.

Tricky Trekking Tail-Wagging Fox Spirits

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Women wearing traditional hanbok with their backs to the camera

Asia is such a large continent made up of numerous countries, all diverse and connected not only by stretches of land and seas, but by history, people, and trade. Each one teeming with stories and myths, because of this, many Asian cultures share or have similar myths, spirits and creatures in their mythologies and would make direct mention of other countries in their retelling.

A common mythological figure that appears across cultures would be fox spirits. They appear across many Asian cultures and are known by different names. Some of the most well-known fox spirits type are the kitsune of Japan, huli jing or hu li jing of China and the gumiho of Korea. What is interesting about the gumiho is that they are often portrayed as malevolent spirits in contrast to the kind and helpful kitsune and huli jing.

Despite Korean myths giving various deities and spirits roles to play depending on the myth, and details can change depending on the island and region as well, the gumiho being an evil being is a persistent image. The gumiho, alternatively called kumiho, are often portrayed in ancient myths as a nine-tailed fox that has lived for over hundreds of years. They gain a tail for every hundred years they live and can shape-shift their form.

Pretty Faces, Bloody Kisses

Gumiho can take the appearance of a young, beautiful maiden or man to disarm and lure people so that they can kill and consume their heart or their liver as it’s believed that is where the soul is stored or kiss them to steal their lifeforce after placing a marble in the recipient’s mouth. A gumiho’s reason for luring people can vary. In some myths, a gumiho needs to kiss 100 men or consume their liver to become human. She can also simply want to sate her hunger.

Night Walks

There are stories of travelers encountering a woman with a lantern at the dead of night. She offers to help guide them, but something about the woman is uncanny. It could be the appearance of fox ears at the top of her head, her nose too sharp that it’s almost a snout or even fur of her tails sticking out from under the hem of her clothes. These inconsistencies are a result of the gumiho not being used to maintaining the illusion of a human form.

Fox Doubles

When a gumiho can hold their disguise well, they can easily replace their initial victim. It happened to parents that wanted a daughter badly after having son after son. They finally got their daughter and years later, their livestock were being killed. The father tasked his sons to keep watch, one by one. They all reported the same thing, their sister came out at night, oiling her hands before taking the cow’s heart, but their father was in denial and banished his sons.

A Marvel of a Marble

The ‘yeowoo guseul’ or their fox marble where their knowledge and power are stored. The gumiho charms their victims so they can put the marble into their mouth and absorb their energy, but if someone manages to swallow this marble before the gumiho can take it back, they can attain the gumiho’s knowledge.

In numerous versions of this myth, a young man often encounters the gumiho before consulting his teacher who advise him if the gumiho appears again, swallow their ‘yeowoo guseul’ and look to the sky to gain the knowledge of the heavens. But throughout different versions, the young man always fails to attain the knowledge of the heavens, almost giving the impression that man is not meant to have the knowledge of the heavens.

The Evil Image

The gumiho’s negative reputation persists in modern South Korea’s consciousness, but it is slowly changing into a more neutral and nuanced image. It’s interesting that the sentiment has persisted in modern times, and even modern media and popular culture still portray the gumiho negatively. One person suggested the reason for the negative image of the gumiho in Korean society was due to the Japanese occupation and the effect it left on people, though the situation is likely to be more nuanced than that.

Regardless, the gumiho, hated or loved, still has its place in the South Korean landscape. Still milling among the common folk in the streets like they always have.



 

Sources:

Kim, Tae-Woo, et al. “Fox Marble.” Encyclopedia of Korean Folklore and Traditional Culture, vol. 3, The National Folk Museum of Korea, Samcheong-Ro, Jongno-Gu, 2014, pp. 292–294.

Kim, Tae-Woo, et al. “Three-Legged Dog.” Encyclopedia of Korean Folklore and Traditional Culture, vol. 3, The National Folk Museum of Korea, Samcheong-Ro, Jongno-Gu, 2014, pp. 212–213.

“Nine Tails.” Tales of Korea, koreanmythtales.weebly.com/nine-tails.html. Accessed 13 Oct. 2024.

Phanich, Pallavi. “Asian Folklore: The Tails of the Kumiho.” Asian Youth Act, Asian Youth Act, 2 Feb. 2021, asianyouthact.org/2021/02/02/asian-folklore-the-tails-of-the-kumiho/.  

Won-Oh Choi. An Illustrated Guide to Korean Mythology. Brill, 2008. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=e000xna&AN=389372&site=ehost-live&scope=sit

Note: one of the online references has formatting issues, I recommend to open in read view.

Rica Equibal, a Philippine-born writer and artist, started Algonquin college with the goal to find her way into publishing. She went into her Algonquin journey with from her literature degree and proofreading experience supporting her, but she’s always up to learn more to add to her knowledge and repertoire. Aside from that, she also writes fiction—with hope to turn those little scenes and moments into a full story or novel—and draws.

She writes as inspiration strikes and primarily draws digital—that is, if she's not distracted by whatever video game she has in reach.