Day of the Dead, Halloween Festival in the West.

▲ Haechi / Source : 'TopStarNews'

 Do you know about Halloween, October 31st every year? On Halloween, it is a traditional event in which pumpkins are cut out, candles are made inside, and children turn from house to house in disguise of ghosts, witches, monsters, and then receive candy after saying Trick or Treat! The reason why these events appeared is that on October 31 every year, the dead soul is revived and spirits and witches appear, and people dress up as ghosts, vampires, skulls, witches, and monsters to avoid losing their bodies to them. The existence of such a folktale also exists in Korea, and in this article, I would like to introduce the goblins that exist in Korean folk tales.

 The first is the nine tailed fox. The nine-tailed fox in Korea is an imaginary animal that is believed to have a novel ability. Legend has it that every time a fox performs for 500 years, its tail splits into two, and it does not die when it has nine tails. In Korean legend, nine tailed foxes are portrayed as scary beings who transform into women and eat people, but they are also portrayed as beings who strive to become humans. If you eat 100 human livers, you can become human.It is also said that if you marry a human man and stay unidentified for 100 days, you will become a human being.

 The second is the haechi. Haechi is an imaginary animal that you know by judging the poetry and good and evil of ancient East Asian legends. haechi, which is similar to a lion but has horns on its head like a giraffe, is known to have a bell around its neck, and its entire body is covered with scales. In Korea, it is a symbol of protecting the private constitution, which inspects officials of the Joseon Dynasty and enforces the law, and a haechi is engraved on the chest of the official uniform worn by Daesaheon, the head of the private constitution. In addition, even today, a haechi statue is erected in front of the National Assembly building and the Supreme Prosecutors' Office in Korea. This means to calm down, be wary at all times, and handle the law fairly on the side of justice like a haechi.

 In this way, we recognized Korea's representative goblins. In the old folktale, goblins remain beings that people avoid and fear, but nine tailed fox tried to become human, and haechi became a criterion for judging good and evil. Every year on October 31st, a festival called Halloween is held in the West. Even in Korea, people dress up as vampires or skeletons on Halloween. Why don't you dress up as a goblin of Korea instead of a goblin of another country? It will be an opportunity for Korean people to think about Korean goblins once.