Kumiho - The Korean Nine-Tailed Fox - Sage Symbol (2023)

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Kumiho spirits in Korean mythology are fascinating and incredibly dangerous. They are also often confused withJapanese kitsune foxes with nine tailsand the chineseHuli Jing nine-tailed foxes🇧🇷 All three are quite different, and the Kumiho are unique to their cousins ​​in many ways.

So what makes these furry, shape-shifting seductresses so special?

What are kumiho spirits?

kumiho oGumihoThe spirits in Korean mythology are magical nine-tailed foxes that can take the form of beautiful young women. In this form, these shapeshifters can talk and act like humans, but retain some of their fox characteristics, such as paws on their feet or fox ears on their heads. More importantly, their behavior, character, and malicious intent remain the same no matter what form they take.

Unlike their Chinese and Japanese counterparts, kumiho are almost always downright evil. Hypothetically, a kumiho can be morally neutral or even good, but that never seems to be the case, at least according to Korean myths that have survived to this day.

Ghosts, demons or real foxes?

Kumiho in Korean mythology is a type of spirit, albeit an evil one. While Japanese kitsune are often depicted as real foxes who grow longer tails and gain magical abilities as they age, kumiho are nine-tailed spirits through and through: there is no starting moment in the kumiho's life when they have fewer tails or are less inferior. . forces.

However, that's not to say that kumiho don't age or that they can't change over time. According to Korean mythology, if a kumiho doesn't eat human flesh for a thousand years, he can become a human. Still, this doesn't seem to happen often, as most kumiho spirits just can't go that long without seeking out human flesh.

Does the kumiho always attack those it has seduced?

The usual victim of kumiho is actually a young man whom she has seduced and lured into marriage. However, this is not always the case.

for example inEmperor Kumiho's daughter-in-lawA kumiho marries the emperor's son. However, instead of feasting on its flesh and energy, the kumiho took aim at unexpected people in the emperor's court.

Essentially, the kumiho used her marriage to the Emperor's son to gain access to not one, but several gullible men. As more and more people disappeared, the emperor tasked the hero of the story with finding and killing Kumiho, which is exactly what happened.

This video is about a myth related to a kumiho.

Are kumiho always bad?

There are some myths that portray kumiho as not just malevolent. for example there is thefamousGyuwon SahwaText🇧🇷 It was made at the beginning of the 20th century.^aCentury, but is believed to be based on earlier texts from 1675.

It describes many aspects of Korean history and also mentions some myths. In some of them, the kumiho are actually depicted as benevolent forest spirits with books in their mouths. Still, Gyuwon Sahwa is more the exception to the rule than anything else.

Are Kumiho and Kitsune the same?

Really no. They might look the same at first glance, but the Korean and Japanese nine-tailed fox spirits have several key differences.

• Kumiho are almost always evil, while kitsune are morally more ambiguous: they can be both good and evil, or neutral.
• Kitsune's tails are said to be slightly shorter and the claws on their hands longer than those of the kumiho.
• Ears can also be different: kitsune always have fox ears on top of their heads, even when in human form. They never have human ears. Kumiho, on the other hand, always has human ears and may or may not have fox ears.
• Kumiho also tend to have fox paws instead of feet, while kitsune have an odd mix of fox and human feet. In general, kitsune have a wilder appearance than kumiho.
• Kumiho spirits also often contributeyeowoo guseulMarble or pearls on the palate. This pearl is exactly what gives them their magical powers and their intelligence. Some kitsune stories also show them with such an item, but not as often as kumiho spirits.

Some believe that the Korean myth kumiho originated after the kitsune myth.Japanese invasion of Korea in the late 16th century.^acentury, known aswars imjin🇧🇷 This would explain why Koreans consider kumiho spirits to be strictly evil.

but on the 16th^aIn the early 20th century, the invasion only lasted 6 years, so it is more likely that the myth was passed down gradually and even before the war with the many interactions between the two countries over the years. Alternatively, it could come from Chinese influence and their mythical nine-tailed creature, Huli Jing.

Are Kumiho and Huli Jing the same?

Just like kitsune, there are some differences between Korean kumiho and Chinese huli jing.

• A huli jing is more morally ambiguous, like a kitsune, while a kumiho is almost always evil.
• A Huli Jing is also often depicted with human feet, while Kumihos have fox paws instead of feet.
• Huli Jing's tails tend to be shorter than Kumiho's, but not as strong as Kitsune's.
• Huli jing is also described as having thicker, denser fur, while kumiho and kitsune have fur that is soft and comfortable to the touch.
• Huli jing also often has fox paws instead of hands, while kumiho has human hands. Essentially, the features of his hands and feet are reversed in most depictions.

Does Kumiho always turn into young women?

The traditional humanoid form of kumiho is that of a girl. That's because that's how they can be most effective: they make it as easy as possible to seduce their victims.

However, a kumiho can also take on other forms. for example inThe hunter and the kumihoMyth, a hunter finds a fox with nine tails that gnaws a human skull. Before he could attack the fox, the animal changed into an old woman, the same old woman whose skull he had been eating, and fled. The hunter chased after him only to catch up with him in the nearby town.

There, the Kumiho went to her victim's house and posed as an old woman in front of her children. The hunter then warned the children that this was not their mother and chased the kumiho away.

Can a kumiho be a man?

It is not explicitly stated that a kumiho cannot be a male, but it doesn't seem to happen often. The only myth we know of where a kumiho turned into a man is locatedThe Girl Who Discovered a Kumiho Through a Chinese Poem.

There, a kumiho transforms into a young man and tricks a girl into marrying him. However, we did not find any other similar stories; everywhere, the genders of the kumiho and its prey are reversed.

What powers does Kumiho have?

The most famous ability of this nine-tailed fox is the ability to transform into a beautiful young woman. In this form, the kumiho tend to seduce and trick men into doing their bidding or trying to kill them.

Kumiho loves to eat human flesh, especially human hearts and livers. It is said that Kumiho spirits even roam cemeteries to unearth fresh corpses when they fail to seduce and kill a living person.

Kumiho can also use magic skill.yeowoo guseulMarble in the mouth to absorb people's vital energy through a kind of "deep kiss".

However, if one is able to catch and swallow the kumihosyeowoo guseulMarble during this kiss, not only will the person not die, but he will gain incredible knowledge about "heaven, earth and people."

Kumiho symbols and symbolism

Kumiho spirits represent both the dangers that lurk in nature and people's fear of pretty girls who maliciously seduce them. The latter might seem a little silly in today's terms, but most ancient cultures have myths about the "evil" of beautiful women that can break up families or cause problems for young men.

Essentially, the Kumiho myth combines people's distrust of beautiful young women and their anger at the wild foxes that constantly raid their chicken coops and properties.

If the kumiho myth really came to Korea from Japan, it might explain why kumiho are always evil. In Japanese mythology, nine-tailed kitsune are often morally neutral or even benevolent.

As Koreans probably harbored great disdain for the Japanese at certain points in history, they may have twisted this Japanese myth into an evil version of it.

Importance of kumiho in modern culture

Nine-tailed foxes can be found throughout modern pop culture. Oriental manga and anime are full of these characters, as are many video games and television series. The West is also increasingly using this unique mythical creature as inspiration for various fictional characters.

However, due to the similarities between Kumiho, Kitsune, and Huli Jing, it is often difficult to determine which mythological creature a given character is based on.

Take Ahri, for example - a famous charactervideogame MOBALeague of Legends🇧🇷 She is a beautiful, magical seductress with fox ears and nine long fox tails. However, she does not appear to have fox paws on her feet or hands. Furthermore, he is often portrayed as a positive or morally ambiguous figure. This suggests that she is based on kitsune myths rather than kumiho myths. At the same time, many people in Korea insist that it is based on the kumiho spirit. So is it fair to say she's based on both?

Still, there are many other examples of characters based on Kumiho, Kitsune or Huli Jing. One of the best known is the 1994 horror film.The Nine Tails Fox, a 2020 episode of the HBO television seriesterra do lovecraft, the 2010 SBS dramamy girlfriend is a gumiho, and many others.

Finally

The nine-tailed fox spirits of Korean kumiho are as intriguing as they are complex and perplexing. They are very similar to the Japanese Kitsune and Chinese Huli Jing spirits, so much so that it is not 100% clear which myth came first.

Regardless, the kumiho are unique from their Asian counterparts in their unparalleled cruelty and seemingly never-ending hunger for human flesh. Their most famous trick is to transform themselves into beautiful women and lure innocent men to their deaths, but these magical foxes can do much more than that.