Korean folklore

These tales derive from a variety of origins, including Korean Shamanism, Confucianism, Buddhism, and more recently Christianity.

While many traditions have become less practiced or modernized, folklore remains deeply embedded in Korean society, continuing to influence fields such as religion, stories, art, and customs.

There are many types of folklore in Korean culture, including Imuldam (이물담), focused on supernatural beings such as monsters, goblins and ghosts.

The most common beings are the Gwisin (귀신), which are similar to deities, divinities, spirits or ghosts, and the Dokkaebi (도깨비), which are legendary creatures sometimes considered "Korean goblins".

[1] Today stories are derived from a variety of origins, including Shamanism, Confucianism, Buddhism and more recently Christianity.

[4] Korean folk religions are not individual beliefs, but are expressed through a community, having developed within local villages and homes.

Korean shamans are involved in both the worship of household deities and rituals dedicated to village patron gods.

[5] In Korean folklore, houses are sacred places filled with the traditions of family members and ancestors.

Korean shamanism includes rituals used to release rancor from bitter souls and expel bad luck from houses.

Most versions recount of a Korean princess abandoned by her parents for being the seventh daughter of a son-less king.

She usually returns at her parents’ funeral, revives them with flowers of resurrection she has picked from the afterlife, and cures them with the water.

In East Asia, these four rituals were grouped together as the Four Ceremonial Occasions, emphasizing the significance of changes in life and minimizing the confusion it brings.

[15] Following Confucian protocol, the ancestral rites—performed to commemorate the deceased on death anniversaries and on major holidays—were held for the great-great-grandparents, who were the oldest generation of ancestors that someone could plausibly have known personally.

In the 1960s, as industrialization and urbanization were promoted, professional businesses such as wedding halls and funeral parlors were developed, and rituals were held outside the home.

Along with the economic development, weddings, sixtieth birthdays, and funerals in particular became very luxurious and costly, which many Koreans consider a societal issue.

[17] A once dominant Confucian culture that emphasizes respect for ancestors, age and seniority has affected South Korea's home and workplace practices, and its social life.

[18] Folk customs related to family or farming have changed into other forms or disappeared little by little as industrialization proceeds.

Korean folk art is characterized by many works satirizing the upper class and high society.

Traditional Korean paintings depict stories or events of historical and cultural significance, conveying popular metaphors and symbols.

Over time the stories told through this form have diversified, leading to the format expanding in popularity to high class social groups.

Audience participation is so important that it is sometimes deliberately added to pansori performances that had been recorded in studios after the fact.

The origins of individual pansori stories is unknown, although it is suspected that they adapted existing tales into song.

Satire is a common form of storytelling, and is used to criticise the nobility, flawed religious individuals, and the patriarchy.

Her eventual death at the hand of a three-legged dog represents heaven's rejection of the kingdom she had taken over, and was likely created to justify the overthrowing of a king at some point in history.

[33] The following are a collection of folk tales with female protagonists, highlighting the importance of women in Korean culture and shamanistic rituals.

(Dae, N.D.)[34][35] This is the tale of a daughter from a noble family who was impregnated by a monk and gives birth to triplets who go on to become the Three Gods of Jeseok.

[34][36] A Heroine tale of the creation of the earth goddess, Jimosin, showcases the origins of farming (Jwa, N.D), the conflict of the sexes, and how the combining of male and female leads to prosperity and fertility.

Tells the story of Princess of Yowanghwangjeguk, who was tasked with being the goddess of fertility to atone for her behavior.

Unlike Animentary Korean Folklore, it added explanatory characters to help the animation process.

Since the original cartoon of the film was a huge success, many creators in Korea have shown interest in Korean folklore.