Dokkaebi Gam

goblin · South Korea · East Asia and Pacific

Korean folklore knows the dokkaebi, a horned goblin of ambiguous character, and its bangmangi (magic club) is central to a famous tale cycle: a kind woodcutter who aids a dokkaebi receives a club that yields gold, while his greedy rival is beaten or left poor. The 'Dokkaebi Gam' entry garbles this motif: the club rewards virtue and punishes greed, it does not spawn goblins.

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