ACROSS ALL CULTURES, THERE ARE mythological creatures that are solely entertaining because of how incomprehensible they are. Their impact stems from the sense of mystery that surrounds them; they are like uncharted waters for us in that they are dark, deep, and hard to fathom. And that, I reiterate, is what makes these creatures so intriguing, much like the fabled ‘gumiho’ from Korean folklore: an absolute flight of fancy, like a character from a pipe dream.
As in China’s ‘huli jing’ and Japan’s ‘kitsune,’ gumiho is the Korean equivalent of these legendary creatures. Gumiho, in layman’s terms, is a shape-shifting, nine-tailed fox spirit that has been around for thousands of years, usually taking on a female form. Unlike huli jing and kitsune, which are depicted as kind, evil, or objective, gumiho is typically portrayed as a vicious, flesh-eating monster. The bloodthirsty half-fox, half-human gumiho, on the other hand, prowled cemeteries at night, digging human hearts from graves, as opposed to the benevolent gumiho, who helped people.
This story is from the May 2023 edition of RollingStone India.
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This story is from the May 2023 edition of RollingStone India.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
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