The Dokkebi: Why These Mythical Creatures are Not Just ‘Goblins’

If you have spent any time immersed in Korean stories, you have likely encountered a figure that is often translated as a “goblin.” You might see them depicted as horned, muscle-bound, club-wielding creatures in an old woodblock print, or perhaps as a tragic, centuries-old soul in a high-budget television drama. But if you look for them in Western folklore, you will hit a wall. To call a Dokkebi (도깨비) a goblin is to miss the entire point of what they represent in the Korean cultural consciousness.