불개

MonsterKorea · East AsiaMythFear 6/10

Description

가름나라(어둠의 나라)의 불개. 해와 달을 잡아먹으려고 쫓아가지만, 해는 너무 뜨겁고 달은 너무 차가워 매번 뱉어낸다. 일식과 월식의 원인으로 전해진다.

The Legend

Bulgae (불개) is a mythical creature from Korean mythology, described as a being from the kingdom of darkness. They are said to always chase the sun and the moon, and it is believed that solar and lunar eclipses occur when they try to bite these celestial bodies. Bulgae is a strong and fierce dog, resembling the Korean native dog breed, Sapsali (삽살이). According to legend, the king of the dark kingdom, Gamangnara (감앙나라), sent Bulgae to chase the sun, yearning for its light, but the dog could not withstand the sun's heat and returned. Later, the king sent an even fiercer dog to steal the moon, but the coldness of the moon froze the dog's mouth, resulting in failure. In this way, Bulgae attempted several times but ultimately failed and returned to the king. According to Korean beliefs about solar and lunar eclipses, these phenomena are interpreted as Bulgae biting the sun and the moon.

In Popular Culture

In the Daegu-Gyeongbuk region of Korea, there exists an ancient dog breed named Bulgae. This breed reflects similarities to the mythical Bulgae, having completely reddish-brown fur and nails, with amber-colored nose and eyes. Bulgae has a similar appearance to the Jindo (진돗개) and typically stands 50-55 cm tall at the shoulder and weighs around 15-25 kg. In the 1990s, it faced extinction due to the consumption of dog meat in Korea, but in 2012, research and breeding efforts by Dongyang University rescued the last 20 individuals, preventing extinction. On June 30, 2024, Jeongeup Bulgae was registered in the FAO's domestic animal diversity information system.

This article is based on the Wikipedia article "Bulgae" (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Wikipedia