Dokkaebi

In the folkloric summaries consulted, dokkaebi are not souls of the dead but beings born when inanimate objects or places become spiritually animated (for example, old discarded household tools, brooms, or objects stained with blood). They occupy a between-place in the Korean supernatural imagination: associated with nature, material culture, and objects rather than ancestral/deceased spirit realms (contrasted with gwishin).

There is no single canonical form. Sources note a wide variety of appearances and many named subtypes; dokkaebi have been described in diverse forms and 'with a thousand faces.' Common motifs include stylized monstrous faces (as seen in ancient roof-tile patterns). Named types include Oedari (외다리; one-legged), Oenun (외눈; one-eyed), Kim Seobang dokkaebi (a farmer-like form), Nat dokkaebi (낮도깨비; daytime dokkaebi), and others. They are often described in tales as fearsome and awe-inspiring but without fixed corporeal details.

Folklore describes dokkaebi as possessing notable supernatural abilities: they may bring good harvests, large catches or fortune to humans, act as defenders against evil spirits in some traditions, play tricks, challenge humans to wrestling (ssireum), reward hospitality, or punish wrongdoing. They are associated with magical items such as the dokkaebi gamtu (도깨비 감투; a hat said to grant invisibility) and the dokkaebi bangmangi (도깨비 방망이; a magic club/wand that can summon or produce things). Some tales relate specific combat traits (e.g., extremely skilled at wrestling and vulnerable on the right side; one-legged types can be defeated by hooking their leg). They are also associated with particular foods and offerings.