Samjok-o: The Three-Legged Crow of Ancient Skies

If you find yourself wandering through a historic site in South Korea—perhaps a tomb complex in Gyeongju or an exhibition hall in Seoul—you may eventually encounter an image that gives you pause. It is a bird, coal-black and sharp, soaring against the backdrop of a flaming sun. But upon closer inspection, you notice something distinctly unconventional: the bird has three legs.