Comments on: Halloween in South Korea http://blogs.saintanselmcollege.net/bethsalerno/2007/11/01/halloween-in-south-korea/ My South Korea Blog Sat, 11 Sep 2010 01:07:42 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.2.1 By: Paul Calzada http://blogs.saintanselmcollege.net/bethsalerno/2007/11/01/halloween-in-south-korea/#comment-27 Paul Calzada Sat, 03 Nov 2007 03:25:02 +0000 http://blogs.saintanselmcollege.net/bethsalerno/2007/11/01/halloween-in-south-korea/#comment-27 Your picture of your little yellow friend with a club and single horn would be called an "oni" or "demon" in Japan. The demonic iconography is essentially identical in this instance. It's interesting to think about what key characteristics there are to mark certain icons. For example, in the US, a broom and black cat immediately conjure up a witch. In Japan it's a woman wearing long white robes with two horns on her head. For us, ghosts are white and translucent. In Japan, ghosts can look like people, but they have long tongues, and can become faceless. There's another type of Japanese demon who has a long nose and may be all red or green. They have magic powers, and are more mischievous than evil. Is there a Korean demon like that? There's also a water demon in Japan, a "kappa." They look something like man-sized turtles, though with humanoid heads and legs. They live in ponds and lakes, and were said to pull people in and drown them. The crown of the head is saucer-shaped. They can leave their pond, but there must always be water in the saucer on their head or they will die. Cross-cultural scary things are interesting, no? It looks like your students had a great time! Your picture of your little yellow friend with a club and single horn would be called an “oni” or “demon” in Japan. The demonic iconography is essentially identical in this instance. It’s interesting to think about what key characteristics there are to mark certain icons. For example, in the US, a broom and black cat immediately conjure up a witch. In Japan it’s a woman wearing long white robes with two horns on her head. For us, ghosts are white and translucent. In Japan, ghosts can look like people, but they have long tongues, and can become faceless.

There’s another type of Japanese demon who has a long nose and may be all red or green. They have magic powers, and are more mischievous than evil. Is there a Korean demon like that? There’s also a water demon in Japan, a “kappa.” They look something like man-sized turtles, though with humanoid heads and legs. They live in ponds and lakes, and were said to pull people in and drown them. The crown of the head is saucer-shaped. They can leave their pond, but there must always be water in the saucer on their head or they will die. Cross-cultural scary things are interesting, no? It looks like your students had a great time!

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