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Kumiho | |
Hangul | 구미호 |
---|---|
Hanja | 九尾狐 |
Revised Romanization | gumiho |
McCune–Reischauer | kumiho |
A kumiho or gumiho (Korean: 구미호; Hanja: 九尾狐, literally "nine-tailed fox") is a creature that appears in the folktales of East Asia and legends of Korea. It is similar to the Chinese huli jing, the Japanese kitsune and the Vietnamese hồ ly tinh. It can freely transform into a beautiful woman often set out to seduce men, and eat their liver or heart (depending on the legend). There are numerous tales in which the kumiho appears, several of which can be found in the encyclopedic Compendium of Korean Oral Literature (한국 구비문학 대계/韓國口碑文學).