The Non-human Character Kdrama Roundup — Folklore Creatures

By now, a number of Eastern culture and Western culture folklore creatures have made their appearances in Korean dramas, with 2017 already being prolific thus far with the rest of the year still to come. In this article, we’ll closely examine the roles of three different types of folklore creatures — mermaids, goblins, and grim reapers — in Kdramas.

Goblin

First off, let’s take a look at the ones from traditional Korean folklore stories. Goblin is known as Dokkaebi in Korean mythology. It’s legendary creature that possesses supernatural powers that are used to interact with humans, at times mischievously playing pranks on them and at times helping them. Dokkaebi are different from ghosts 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 items like brooms, or objects stained with human blood. They are often described to look demonic and awe-inspiring. One can certainly see many similar themes reflected in Kdramas.

My Girlfriend is a Nine-tailed Fox (2010)

Although the drama is largely focused on the mythical beast gumiho, it does include a couple dokkaebi references. In one case, a goblin character played by a child attempts to steal the gumiho’s “fox bead”, which is made of the goblin fire. Similarly, the heroine gumiho is believed to be the reincarnation of a goblin that died by the hand of the gumiho hunter from centuries ago.

Goblin: The Lonely and Great God (2017)

The most recent and direct depiction of dokkaebi is from the hit-drama Goblin: The Lonely and Great God. Our hero is an unbeatable general in the Goryeo era who died an unfair and dishonorable death due to the jealousy and fear of the young king he was serving. But he was eventually resurrected as a goblin set to live an immortal life as his equal part reward and punishment. So he embarks on a quest to finding his bride — the sole person who could end his eternity by removing the sword pierced on his chest, but ends up falling in love with her.

Grim Reaper

Equally important in Korean folktales is the grim reaper (Jeoseung Saja), a personification of death. Though originally from Chinese mythology, the Korean version doesn’t deviate much in description. Grim reaper is depicted as a pale, human-like figure with sunken eyes, and always wears black robe and a hat. They’re the stern and ruthless messengers in Yeomra’s (ruler and spirit judge of the underworld). Jeonseung Saja are dispatched where needed to collect and guide all spirits — good and evil — down the Hwangcheon Road to the afterlife when their time is due. Modern day depictions of the grim reaper have often adapted to be much more benign-looking, sometimes euphonically called the “angel of death”.

49 Days (2011)

In this story about a woman who gets a second chance at life, our heroine seems to have it all with her picture-perfect family and friend circle, but dies unexpectedly before her wedding. A grim reaper, who likes to call himself the “Scheduler”, gives her a chance to set things straight in 49 days, before her soul is collected. She must take over another girl’s body and find three people outside of her family who will cry sincere tears of grief for her. But the real identity of the grim reaper and why he volunteers as a Scheduler is heart-melting.

Arang and the Magistrate (2012)

In this drama embodying many mythical figures, the grim reaper also makes an appearance and plays his role. The heroine who suffered an unjust death returns as a ghost to regain her memories and find out how she died. Yet, she must be on constant watch out and escape from the grim reaper trying to collect her soul on behalf of Yeomra. Unexpectedly, the unfeeling grim reaper got his own touching backstory that really humanized his character.

Goblin: The Lonely and Great God (2017)

The beloved amnesiac grim reaper in this drama guides dead souls to the afterlife from his odd-looking tea house. He’s the same grim reaper meant to fetch the heroine before she was even born, but spares her life years later upon learning her identity as the Goblin’s bride. The contemporary revamp really made grim reaper a cool and interesting character. Nevertheless, behind his goofy exterior there’s a shrouding mystery of oblivion lying underneath. Though his encounter and romance with a chicken restaurant owner brought a turning point to his life.

The Universe’s Star (2017)

One of the “Three Color Fantasy” drama trilogy by MBC and Naver, The Universe’s Star is a love story between a gifted singer-songwriter and a 19-year-old high school girl who becomes the Grim Reaper after dying in an accident.

Mermaid

Last but not least is a breed of folklore creatures primarily featured in the Westerns culture, though there are accounts of mermaids originating in Asian mythology as well. Mermaid is a legendary aquatic creature with the head and upper body of a female human and the tail of a fish. They are often depicted as beautiful, seductive, benevolent, and even falling in love with humans. In some instances, their tears can turn into pearls. Perhaps the most important piece literature advancing the love for mermaid is Hans Christian Andersen’s well-known fairy tale The Little Mermaid that was later turned into a popular Disney film. The ability to obtain and/or grow legs when mermaids came onto dry land came about around the same time. As for Kdrama adaptations, in addition to these depictions, you’ll see even more advanced abilities.

Surplus Princess (2014)

This is a close variant of the classic littler mermaid story with a modern twist. A mermaid princess is completely in love with a human celebrity chef. In order to meet him, she steals a magic potion from a male witch and becomes human. As she begins to live in Surplus House, a home for people who are ready to find their first job, she learns that she only have 100 days to find her true love, otherwise she’ll become bubbles and perish.

The Legend of the Blue Sea (2017)

This drama tells the destined love story between the son of a Joseon noble family and a mermaid that rescued him from drowning. Devastated by the news of a forced marriage upon the nobleman, the mermaid decides to leave him and erased all his memories of her. However, fate brings them back together and they try to escape from humans who want to separate them. Their fated love continue to intertwine in their modern day incarnations and they try to prevent the same tragedy from happening all over again.

This leaves a few other types of folklore creatures commonly seen in the Western world yet to be tackled by mainstream Kdramas, such as werewolves, fairies, and zombies. Although there’s been an announcement of a 2017 drama to come from Signal writer Kim Eun Hee, about a zombie based sageuk drama in collaboration with Netflix. Here’s to hoping that Kdrama will become increasingly imaginative and fantastical to watch.

Which of these folklore creatures would you like to see more Kdramas dedicate to? Share your thoughts with us in the comments section below. And don’t forget to read our insights on Kdrama vampires or check out our gumiho roundup.

What Do You Think?

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.