Manifesting as long-haired women, these deities lie in wait in the dark and groom their long tresses in preparation for their cruel misdeeds. In Lee Jung Hyun’s “V” music video, the age-old virgin ghost also gets a K-pop worthy revamp the ratty tatty white dress is cast aside for a glamorous wedding dress, and the ghost herself hangs with a pretty awesome zombie girl-gang!īrutal and hostile, outhouse goddesses are goddesses of Korean traditional outhouses, which were dark and isolated from the main house. The drama “ Oh My Ghostess” connects a lustful virgin ghost with an assistant chef in an ill-fated possession so that the ghost can lose her virginity and successfully move on to the afterlife. Haesindang Park in Samcheok, for instance, plays host to a collection of them.Īs fearsome as their reputation is, virgin ghosts appear in mainstream Korean media in a more palatable form these days (think less revenge and more love!). Some statues have survived until this day. Bitter and resentful, these malevolent spirits were said to terrorize their former villages until the village folk made attempts to appease them with. Of the lot, the most infamous would probably be the virgin girl ghosts who lead a cursed existence for dying before being able to carry out their Confucian duties of serving her elders and future husband. Tied to the land of the living by unfulfilled tasks and untold suffering, ghosts haunt places such as abandoned buildings, forests, and schools. Overflowing long hair and dressed in white all over? Chances are, what you have in mind is a gwisin! In truth, “ gwisin” is a pretty generic word that translates into “ghost,” and they fall under the myth category of Korean supernatural tales. They have even made an appearance on the beloved reality show “ Running Man,” where Song Ji Hyo and the other female guests had to collect nine tails in order to become human. And fun fact, while most nine-tailed foxes are portrayed as women, “ Gu Family Book” interprets their fox spirits as males (who are no less charming than their female counterparts, it seems)! In modern times, however, you are more likely to find nine-tailed foxes (or tamed representations of them) gallivanting around in K-dramas such as “ My Girlfriend Is a Gumiho,” “ Grudge: The Revolt of Gumiho,” and “ Gu Family Book.” The original folklore lends a touch of mysticism to these contemporary dramas through concepts like physical transformations and the fox’s desire for mortality. The night of their return, the oldest son was roused from his sleep by a commotion only to discover that his younger sister was actually a murderous fox spirit who had devoured the rest of the family so as to become a human for real. Both sons were shown the door, and when they later returned, they found that the only one left in their family home was their sister. Investigations by the two sons culminated in accusations that their sister was the one responsible - accusations that their parents firmly rejected. However, the happy and idyllic story soon took a turn for the gory when the family started to probe why their livestock was mysteriously dying off. Praying fervently for a daughter even if she were a fox, the family were indeed blessed with one. The Korean fairy-tale “The Fox Sister” features a couple with two sons who really wanted a daughter. Its most preferred form to take, though, would be that of a beautiful young girl who seduces men and makes a meal out of these unfortunate souls. According to these legends, a fox that lives for a thousand years can turn into a fox spirit and shape-shift freely. Nine-tailed foxes are commonplace in folktales originating from Korea, China, and Japan.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |