[472 Culture] Dokkaebi and Jeoseung Saja Reimagined

   Dokkaebi and Jeoseung Saja, two familiar figures from Korean folklore, have evolved far beyond the realm of simple folktale characters. They have emerged as symbolic icons of modern Korean culture, carrying both their traditional meanings and newly reimagined roles. From television series and K-pop to webtoons, they are continually reimagined in new ways, reaching global audiences and offering a glimpse of Korea’s distinctive emotions and worldview. This article explores how Dokkaebi and Jeoseung Saja have transformed over time, tracing their journey from traditional lore to modern reinterpretations, and considers what their enduring presence reveals about the originality and expanding influence of Korean culture.

Traditional meanings of Dokkaebi and Jeoseung Saja in folklore

   Dokkaebi, often translated as Korean goblins, and Jeoseung Saja, commonly understood as Korea’s grim reapers, have long appeared as symbolic figures in Korean folklore. The Dokkaebi is often portrayed as mischievous, yet a friendly Dokkaebi who interacts with humans brings fortune, while the Jeoseung Saja is portrayed as a guide for the dead, yet also as a mediator with human-like emotions. What makes these beings distinctive is that they are not seen solely as objects of fear. The Dokkaebi communicates and interacts with people, and the Jeoseung Saja is not an unyielding harbinger of death but a negotiator who can be spoken to.

   In traditional tales, the Dokkaebi were believed to arise from old, discarded household objects such as brooms, hoes, or mortars. They engaged in playful tricks with humans, sometimes bestowing blessings and at other times causing mischief. Crucially, Dokkaebi was never considered embodiments of pure evil. Their actions depended on human character, rewarding kindness and punishing greed, and this closeness made them figures that existed within the human world rather than beyond it. They also symbolized abundance and prosperity. These qualities provided the foundation for the Dokkaebi’s modern reinvention as not merely frightening beings but as attractive, multifaceted characters in Korean popular culture.

   The Jeoseung Saja, meanwhile, is a figure who guides the dead to the afterlife, carrying out the orders of King Yeomla. Their original attire was not black robes and wide-brimmed hats familiar in modern media, but garments in yellow or red, colors tied to the underworld. Over time, their image gradually evolved, and the black-clad version widely recognized today traces back to creative adaptations in the 1970s Korean television series Hometown Legends. Traditionally, however, the Jeoseung Saja was not an absolute symbol of terror. While they carried out predetermined fates, they were also shown listening to human stories or exercising flexibility in their duties, leaving room for compassion and empathy.

Common misconceptions and truths about Dokkaebi and Jeoseung Saja

   At first glance, Korea’s Dokkaebi and Japan’s oni may appear similar, yet their fundamental natures differ sharply. The oni is typically portrayed as a purely malevolent being, red-skinned, horned, and known for harming humans. The Dokkaebi, by contrast, exists on the boundary between good and evil, helping the kind-hearted while punishing the corrupt. Similarly, cultural traditions shape how death itself is personified. In the anglophone world, the grim reaper symbolizes death in its absolute and merciless form, a skeletal figure wielding a scythe, embodying fear and finality, and utterly detached from human connection. Korea’s Jeoseung Saja, however, is depicted as a “conversable being” who embodies far more human qualities.

   This contrast became especially vivid in the Korean series Guardian: The Lonely and Great God (Dokkaebi), where both the Dokkaebi and the Jeoseung Saja were reimagined in strikingly human ways. The Dokkaebi was portrayed not simply as a supernatural creature but as a character filled with loneliness, love, and longing for redemption, while the Jeoseung Saja appeared not as a cold emissary of death but as a humorous and warm companion. Together, they illustrated how Korean folklore figures can embody empathy and human ties, standing in sharp contrast to the purely malevolent oni of Japan or the merciless grim reaper of the West.

Modern reinterpretations of contemporary content

   One of the most notable works to gain global attention recently is KPop Demon Hunters, a Netflix original animated film produced by Sony Pictures Animation and released in 2025. The story follows Huntrix, a K-pop girl group who live double lives: idols by day and demon hunters by night. They face off against their rivals, a male idol group known as the Saja Boys.

   What stands out in particular is the naming of the antagonists. The word “Saja” derives from “Jeoseung Saja,” the Korean term for the grim reaper, a supernatural figure who guides the souls of the dead to the afterlife. In the film, the Saja Boys appear on stage wearing the traditional wide-brimmed gat, a Korean hat historically worn by men during the Joseon Dynasty, and they perform songs and dances in full idol style. This blending of the folkloric reaper’s attire with the aesthetics of modern K-pop performance marks an inventive reinterpretation of Korean tradition. Within the same supernatural world, audiences also encounter beings that can be understood as Dokkaebi, who form part of the broader mythological backdrop that drives the demon-hunting storyline.

   Dokkaebi and Jeoseung Saja have thus stepped beyond their roles in traditional folklore to become central figures in modern storytelling. KPop Demon Hunters demonstrate how traditional meanings can be creatively reimagined, reinterpreted, and reappropriated. Their success underscores that these figures are more than characters; they are cultural assets at the heart of Korea’s storytelling. With their human emotions, capacity for interaction, and fluidity between good and evil, Dokkaebi and Jeoseung Saja serve as bridges between tradition and modernity, Korea and the world, carrying the imagination and sentiment of Korean culture to a global stage.