Korean Folklore Atlas
Cultural details · 14 entries

Korean context,
closer looked at.

Explore the objects, food, places, and practices that help readers picture a tale. Entries link to stories only when the source makes that connection.

An illustrated rural Korean house with a thatched roof.Home · Architecture

Choga-jip (Thatched-roof House)

A traditional house type identified by its thatched roof; details varied with place and time.

Discover the detail →A broad cast-iron cooking pot with its domed lid partly open sits in an earthen hearth above a wood fire.Kitchen · Household object

Gamasot (Cast-iron Cooking Pot)

A traditional cooking vessel used to cook rice or boil soup and water.

Discover the detail →A black gat with a wide translucent brim and tall cylindrical crown rests on a wooden stand.Clothing · Personal object

Gat (Traditional Hat)

A formal hat worn by men in historical Korea, with styles, materials, and use shaped by period and status.

Discover the detail →Close view of curved dark roof tiles and sweeping eaves on a traditional Korean timber house.Home · Architecture

Giwa-jip (Tile-roofed House)

A house with a tiled roof; building layout and tile forms reflected different periods, regions, and household circumstances.

Discover the detail →A persimmon shown in a modern illustration of the folktale.Food · Story object

Gotgam (Dried Persimmon)

A dried persimmon, the ordinary food at the center of a tiger’s comic misunderstanding.

Discover the detail →Earthenware storage jars of varied shapes sit on a low outdoor platform in a walled courtyard.Home · Food storage

Jangdokdae (Jar Platform)

An outdoor household area where earthenware jars were arranged to store and ferment foods and sauces.

Discover the detail →A wooden A-frame jige back carrier, shown upright.Tool · Work

Jige (Back Carrier)

A traditional Korean frame carrier worn on the back to transport loads.

Discover the detail →A pair of woven straw shoes rests on a plain mat, showing braided plant-fibre construction.Clothing · Footwear

Jipsin (Straw Shoes)

Woven footwear made from plant fibres such as straw, with construction and use shaped by local materials and needs.

Discover the detail →A modest timber roadside inn with a covered entry and lantern stands at dusk beside a traveler's bundle.Food · Travel · Place

Jumak (Roadside Inn)

An inn or tavern that could serve food and drink and offer lodging or a stopping place, depending on its setting and period.

Discover the detail →A bear and tiger wait at a mountain cave beside mugwort and a dish of garlic cloves.Plants · Textual detail

Mugwort and Garlic in the Dangun Account

The two foods named in the bear-and-tiger episode of the Samguk Yusa account; this note stays with that passage rather than assigning them a universal ritual meaning.

Discover the detail →Three brown earthenware vessels show varied sizes, glazed surfaces, lids, and openings.Household object · Pottery

Onggi (Korean Earthenware)

A broad category of Korean earthenware vessels associated with food storage and everyday use, with forms and finishes that vary.

Discover the detail →A tiger approaches a family in an illustration of The Sun and Moon Siblings.Food · Story detail

Patjuk (Red-Bean Porridge)

A thick porridge made with red beans; one recorded version of The Sun and Moon Siblings uses it as the food carried home to the children.

Discover the detail →A village-path stone cairn stands beside a large tree hung with white, red, and blue cloth strips.Belief · Community · Place

Seonangdang (Village Shrine)

A local shrine or sacred place associated with village protection and communal ritual in some Korean traditions.

Discover the detail →Several weathered round cash coins with square holes lie on a plain cord.Money · Trade

Yeopjeon (Cash Coin)

A broad term for historic East Asian-style cash coins, commonly round with a square central hole; Korean issues and circulation changed over time.

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