Oh, I’ve read some books on Korean folk lore and mythology in the past. I’m delving into this creature in part because I couldn’t find a lot of stories… yet the Korean sources claim there are many many stories. I figure I’ll have to find the Korean sources and do some translating. The one’s posted right now are the ones I recall reading before. I really hope I can keep up a one-a-week pace. >.<
Its amazing how each of them are different. A much harder task than just making them all the same. It would be really interesting to find out of there are actually 500, and what all the differences mean! Thank you for sharing!
The island was calm and very rural. I enjoyed the roads climbing up and around the hills of the island, but I can’t recommend it as particularly special. But I also didn’t fully explore the island or study the offerings it had before going there, so I won’t discourage it either! However, if you go to Ganghwado, I would recommend the short hop to Seongmodo, even if only for the temple.
I’m getting them from various sources, some I’ve heard word of mouth, but mostly books (in English and Korean). I am rewriting them in my own voice, but in the future I’ll be adding sources for where I originally found the stories, not to mention I’ll include a full bibliography of source material for those who are interested.
Do you happen to have any full pictures of your Dokkaebi drawings? I’ve been trying to get a good layout for a tattoo I’ve been wanting to get, but have been unsuccessful in finding the exact match. The orange-ish one you had posted was the style I’m aiming for. Thank you.
Sean, could you please clarify? Are you talking about the drawing on this page, another page or one of the ones on my tumblr blog? I’ll also need to know what you mean by full picture. Do you mean a full head and body, fully head, or do you mean a larger size/more pixels for clarity? Let me know!
Could it be the dokkaebi pretending to be a broom? Just wondering if they have those kind of powers. Never mind, I’m just thinking like the drunkard. Maybe I had one of those nights myself long ago and still feel the need to justify wrestling with a broom that I thought was a demon.
In most stories dokkaebi don’t seem to have shape shifting capabilities, with the exception of Meet Dokkaebi #3, but that story is more about changing lights than shapes. Even so, it has a similar theme to this story.
Usually dokkaebi are described as the spirits of inanimate objects somehow come to life. Often fire and light is involved in their appearance, and I think, many of the stories actually do involve stumbling home late at night. Reminds me a bit of alien abduction stories sometimes!
Please read, and “like” the stories if you enjoyed them! 😀
Jealous! Would you recommend the jeongol? It makes me happy that there’s mandu inside… I’m also jealous you got the kimchimariguksu, that’s what I wanted when we went there but they didn’t have it for some strange reason!
Thanks for the reply. Shin has multiple meanings, and in context it does not mean for a god or gods, but rather the spirit(s) of the deceased. At least as far as my understanding goes. But you make a valid point, the terminology of what counts as a spirit or god can be quite different between cultures.
Hello, I found your blog through reddit. I also recently went to Jeonju, so it was interesting seeing it again through someone else’s perspective. Thanks for the interesting read!
I actually asked the waitstaff and she told me it was made from rice and teff. Which at the time I didn’t know about, but lead to some fun Wikipedia rabbit holes!
I guess the rice is a way they cut it to make it more affordable. Apparantly there’s lots more teff growing in Ethiopia these days because of a growing international market. You have reminded me just how much I love this cuisine and must learn to make a few dishes to satisfy a craving. Plus, it’s just so fun to eat around communal plates. Must give my children that experience.
Hey there! thanks for putting up these stories here. I am writing an article for my uni about Dokkaebi. Is there any chance I could get the information where you took these stories from? like, the author and the name of the book?
I’ll dig up some of them. These come from various sources, and either these are my own retellings (I read a story a few times and wait a week and then write in my own words) or my own translations from the Korean. The latter takes me much longer as my Korean is still beginner level and I have to ask for help a lot.
I recently moved, so I can’t find all my original sources, but I can give you three. Two in English, one in Korean.
English:
Folk Tales from Korea
Collected and Translated by In-seop Jeong
ISBN-13: 978-0930878269
(Note: Dokkaebi are translated as ‘goblin’ in this and many other early translations)
Korean Folktales (Korean Studies Series no5)
Hee-woong Cho
ISBN-13: 978-0970548146
Korean:
도깨비 본색, 뿔 난 한국인
author: 김열규
If you don’t speak Korean, the last one will be hard to use. I hope this helps!
Hey I’ve just been looking through your blog and I love the life drawing work, especially this style. Recently started going to life painting/drawing more regularly and it’s nice to see some different styles!
Thanks! I’m in the middle of changing the main focus of the blog to my art, though I’ll still probably do the occasional translation, travel or food blog.
As far as styles go, I usually can’t stay on one. I like bouncing around a bit. But I do enjoy the current style. I should probably write about the process in a bit more detail. ^^
As a very big fan of food I hope they don’t stop completely! The style will always change and develop but it would be good to know more about your process – it’s interesting to hear about the different approaches people take.
I look forward to seeing more of your portraits. I’m working now on facial features and how to create different expressions. You’re right, the human face is a challenge to draw. I hope with practice I’ll be able to improve my drawings. Yours are certainly an inspiration.
It has, indeed! I’m amazed at how much I’ve learned in my first year of drawing, and I can’t begin to imagine where I might be in another year. I’m loving my journey and discovering new things every day.
I like it. Where did you learn about such an interesting creature?
Oh, I’ve read some books on Korean folk lore and mythology in the past. I’m delving into this creature in part because I couldn’t find a lot of stories… yet the Korean sources claim there are many many stories. I figure I’ll have to find the Korean sources and do some translating. The one’s posted right now are the ones I recall reading before. I really hope I can keep up a one-a-week pace. >.<
Its amazing how each of them are different. A much harder task than just making them all the same. It would be really interesting to find out of there are actually 500, and what all the differences mean! Thank you for sharing!
I’m glad you enjoyed it! If I find any more information on these guys, I’ll be sure to post something about it!
wow, what a cool temple! Would you recommend this island besides the temple?
The island was calm and very rural. I enjoyed the roads climbing up and around the hills of the island, but I can’t recommend it as particularly special. But I also didn’t fully explore the island or study the offerings it had before going there, so I won’t discourage it either! However, if you go to Ganghwado, I would recommend the short hop to Seongmodo, even if only for the temple.
Where do you get these stories? They are great!
I’m getting them from various sources, some I’ve heard word of mouth, but mostly books (in English and Korean). I am rewriting them in my own voice, but in the future I’ll be adding sources for where I originally found the stories, not to mention I’ll include a full bibliography of source material for those who are interested.
Do you happen to have any full pictures of your Dokkaebi drawings? I’ve been trying to get a good layout for a tattoo I’ve been wanting to get, but have been unsuccessful in finding the exact match. The orange-ish one you had posted was the style I’m aiming for. Thank you.
Sean, could you please clarify? Are you talking about the drawing on this page, another page or one of the ones on my tumblr blog? I’ll also need to know what you mean by full picture. Do you mean a full head and body, fully head, or do you mean a larger size/more pixels for clarity? Let me know!
I love it!
Could it be the dokkaebi pretending to be a broom? Just wondering if they have those kind of powers. Never mind, I’m just thinking like the drunkard. Maybe I had one of those nights myself long ago and still feel the need to justify wrestling with a broom that I thought was a demon.
In most stories dokkaebi don’t seem to have shape shifting capabilities, with the exception of Meet Dokkaebi #3, but that story is more about changing lights than shapes. Even so, it has a similar theme to this story.
Usually dokkaebi are described as the spirits of inanimate objects somehow come to life. Often fire and light is involved in their appearance, and I think, many of the stories actually do involve stumbling home late at night. Reminds me a bit of alien abduction stories sometimes!
Please read, and “like” the stories if you enjoyed them! 😀
A part of the legend of dokaebi is that if light touches them they turn back into the inanimate objects they originally were and die.
I haven’t heard that one before, but I wouldn’t be surprised that variation.
Do you have sources that I could read on for this variation? I’d love to check it out. ^^
Jealous! Would you recommend the jeongol? It makes me happy that there’s mandu inside… I’m also jealous you got the kimchimariguksu, that’s what I wanted when we went there but they didn’t have it for some strange reason!
Yes, I enjoyed the jeongol very much! Many of the dishes, I guess include mandu… which I guess is good considering the name of the place!
I really wanted to go but was unable to attend. Thanks for posting.
Can you call 2 people a gang?
A gang of two! I mean we did try the first time with four so…
Wow. Fascinating pictures and descriptions. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for reading. I hope you have a chance to read other travel stories I’ve posted!
Road of God is an accurate translation of “Shindo.” “Shin” means god or gods, not spirits in the Western sense.
Thanks for the reply. Shin has multiple meanings, and in context it does not mean for a god or gods, but rather the spirit(s) of the deceased. At least as far as my understanding goes. But you make a valid point, the terminology of what counts as a spirit or god can be quite different between cultures.
Hello, I found your blog through reddit. I also recently went to Jeonju, so it was interesting seeing it again through someone else’s perspective. Thanks for the interesting read!
Thanks for reading! Come back any time and check out the other journeys!
I made Plum Kimchi yesterday. Gotta say it would be pretty amazing with these Pheasant Dumplings. Would be Local Food for Wales too!
Sounds scrumptious!
I love your blog. I love your photos and descriptions. Lots of food fantasy! Thank you.
Thank you for your kind words! I’ll endeavor to write more!
Reblogged this on B Confidential Club and commented:
Nice post
looks like the injera is made from proper teff (which you can’t necessarily assume, as in a restaurant we went to in Amsterdam).
I actually asked the waitstaff and she told me it was made from rice and teff. Which at the time I didn’t know about, but lead to some fun Wikipedia rabbit holes!
I guess the rice is a way they cut it to make it more affordable. Apparantly there’s lots more teff growing in Ethiopia these days because of a growing international market. You have reminded me just how much I love this cuisine and must learn to make a few dishes to satisfy a craving. Plus, it’s just so fun to eat around communal plates. Must give my children that experience.
I know Chong Ok KI and NaNa. 1989-90. Kindred spirits. B. Fox.
Woooooow
Nice insightful commentary on this painting!
Thank you!
Hey there! thanks for putting up these stories here. I am writing an article for my uni about Dokkaebi. Is there any chance I could get the information where you took these stories from? like, the author and the name of the book?
I’ll dig up some of them. These come from various sources, and either these are my own retellings (I read a story a few times and wait a week and then write in my own words) or my own translations from the Korean. The latter takes me much longer as my Korean is still beginner level and I have to ask for help a lot.
Hey Mon!
I recently moved, so I can’t find all my original sources, but I can give you three. Two in English, one in Korean.
English:
Folk Tales from Korea
Collected and Translated by In-seop Jeong
ISBN-13: 978-0930878269
(Note: Dokkaebi are translated as ‘goblin’ in this and many other early translations)
Korean Folktales (Korean Studies Series no5)
Hee-woong Cho
ISBN-13: 978-0970548146
Korean:
도깨비 본색, 뿔 난 한국인
author: 김열규
If you don’t speak Korean, the last one will be hard to use. I hope this helps!
Thanks! ^-^
The picture is beautiful!
Haha
Hey I’ve just been looking through your blog and I love the life drawing work, especially this style. Recently started going to life painting/drawing more regularly and it’s nice to see some different styles!
Thanks! I’m in the middle of changing the main focus of the blog to my art, though I’ll still probably do the occasional translation, travel or food blog.
As far as styles go, I usually can’t stay on one. I like bouncing around a bit. But I do enjoy the current style. I should probably write about the process in a bit more detail. ^^
As a very big fan of food I hope they don’t stop completely! The style will always change and develop but it would be good to know more about your process – it’s interesting to hear about the different approaches people take.
I look forward to seeing more of your portraits. I’m working now on facial features and how to create different expressions. You’re right, the human face is a challenge to draw. I hope with practice I’ll be able to improve my drawings. Yours are certainly an inspiration.
I’m glad I can be of some inspiration. ^-^ I hope your own artist’s journey sends you places you never expected!
It has, indeed! I’m amazed at how much I’ve learned in my first year of drawing, and I can’t begin to imagine where I might be in another year. I’m loving my journey and discovering new things every day.
Well done for so many portraits done! They are lovely – great work!!
Thanks! I’m about 1/10 of the way through my goal. >.<
Great colors! I love the frames.
Thanks! It was my first go at conté pencils other than white. ^^
First! LOL
Yay!
Hi Jon, I never put myself out in the world, so I’ve never been trolled. Silence is the price I pay.
Well, silence in the online community. Have you ever felt the need to put yourself out there, or does that feel superfluous to you?
This is a comment.