Yongwang
용왕
The Dragon King associated with water in Korean traditions, appearing in stories and practices whose details vary.
Research note · see sources and scope belowQuick Summary
Yongwang (용왕), often translated as Dragon King, is a water-associated deity or ruler in Korean narrative and ritual traditions. The stories do not all give the figure one fixed character or appearance.
Water, Rain, and Otherworlds
The Academy of Korean Studies’ entry on dragons describes water- and rain-related beliefs and names several forms of a dragon deity, including yongwang and yongwang halmeoni. The names and practices vary by region and community. A translation such as “Dragon King” is useful, but it can hide the different titles and local forms recorded in Korean sources.
Stories also place a dragon court or palace beneath the water. In a literary tale, that court lets the plot move between land and an underwater realm; it is not a literal map of ritual belief. Keeping the narrative setting separate from local worship helps avoid treating every water deity as the same monarch.
In The Rabbit’s Liver
The Yongwang in this retelling is the ruler whose illness sets the plot in motion. The rabbit, turtle, and liver episode belong to the selected narrative. Other dragon-king stories may have different concerns and outcomes.
Sources
- Academy of Korean Studies, Encyclopedia of Korean Culture: Dragon (dragon and dragon-deity traditions).
- Academy of Korean Studies, Encyclopedia of Korean Culture: Dragon Palace Tales (the literary underwater-court motif).