Dokkaebi
Also called Tokkaebi.
In Korean folklore, the Dokkaebi is a mischievous goblin-like spirit associated with abandoned objects, known for its love of wrestling contests, wordplay, and granting wishes through a magic cudgel.
At a glance
- Tradition
- Korean mythology
- Region
- Korea (place of origin)
- Trait family
- The Waking Things
- Symbols
- Hair
Near this figure
Symbols
Judged against the description by a model. Meanings are our own paraphrase.
- Hair bears image-domain Hair denotes vitality and the state of the head it grows from, ordered or wild, shorn in renunciation, and red for ardour and suspicion alike.
why
In illustrations and folk depictions the Dokkaebi is typically shown as a stocky, horned, goblin-like figure, often with a fierce or comical grimace and unruly hair, though written accounts vary considerably and some describe it as formless or invisible, detectable only by the sounds it makes or the mischief it leaves behind.
Traits
Read from the figure's description, which a model wrote. Open "why" for the sentence a trait came from.
Form
- Animated household object
why
Dokkaebi are traditionally said to arise from discarded household objects, such as old brooms, bloodied rags, or worn-out tools, that have absorbed enough human energy or blood over long years to awaken as spirits.
- Born from inanimate object
why
Dokkaebi are traditionally said to arise from discarded household objects, such as old brooms, bloodied rags, or worn-out tools, that have absorbed enough human energy or blood over long years to awaken as spirits.
Behaviour
- Spirit born from neglected objects over time
why
Dokkaebi are traditionally said to arise from discarded household objects, such as old brooms, bloodied rags, or worn-out tools, that have absorbed enough human energy or blood over long years to awaken as spirits.
- Outwitted by a clever trickster rather than force
why
In some tellings, a Dokkaebi can be tricked into revealing its weakness or driven off by a show of superior cunning rather than force, and it is said to fear or dislike horse blood and certain colors such as red.
- Weakness to specific animal or object
why
In some tellings, a Dokkaebi can be tricked into revealing its weakness or driven off by a show of superior cunning rather than force, and it is said to fear or dislike horse blood and certain colors such as red.
- Wrestling or game challenge with travelers
why
Dokkaebi are also famous in folklore for challenging travelers to a game or a wrestling match, particularly ssireum-style leg-wrestling, on lonely roads at night, and for their fondness for riddles and clever wordplay, which a quick-witted human can use to outsmart them.
Roles
Judged from the works' own entries, not from the description. Carries: the figure holds the role. Meets: the role is in its stories, held by something it meets.