Moon Rabbit of Korea

entity · Korea · Asia

The Moon Rabbit (daltokki) is the celestial rabbit of Korean folklore, seen in the dark markings of the full Moon pounding rice cakes (tteok) beneath a gyesu cinnamon tree. In the Korean retelling of the Buddhist self-sacrifice tale, a rabbit offered itself as food to a heavenly visitor disguised as a beggar, and the moved visitor preserved its image on the Moon. The legend anchors Chuseok moon-viewing and is shared across East Asia, with the Korean version documented in modern retellings and in National Folk Museum of Korea rabbit-themed exhibits.

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