Why Korea’s Monsters Aren’t Meant to Scare You | Monstrum

Take the PBS audience survey: https://to.pbs.org/2025SurveyMONS Why isn’t Korea’s most famous monster really all that scary? From mischievous tricksters to modern movie demons, dokkaebi evolved through centuries of folklore, Confucian values, and pop culture—culminating in KPop Demon Hunters. For audio descriptions, go to Settings - Audio Track - English Descriptive. ***** PBS Member Stations rely on viewers like you. To support your local station, go to: http://to.pbs.org/DonateStoried ***** Written and Hosted by: Dr. Emily Zarka Creative Director: David Schulte Executive Producer: Amanda Fox Executive Producer: Dr. Emily Zarka Producer: Thomas Fernandes Editor/Animator: P.W, Shelton Illustrator: Samuel Allan Consultant: Youjeong Oh, Ph.D. Executive in Charge (PBS): Maribel Lopez Director of Programming (PBS): Gabrielle Ewing Additional Footage: Shutterstock Music: APM Music Descriptive Audio & Captions provided by The Described and Captioned Media Program Produced by Spotzen for PBS Digital Studios. Follow us on Instagram:   / monstrumpbs   ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bibliography Bak, Mikyung. “Chronological Changes of the Visual Representation of Dokkaebi in Children’s Publications Since 1990 - Focusing on the Similarity of Japanese Oni and the Process of Overcoming It and Diversification.” RESEARCH ON BANGJUNGHWAN, vol. 10, 2023, pp. 271–93. Bak, Mikyung. "The Originality of the Visualization of the Korean Dokkaebi." Design, Chiba University (2013). Bak, Mikyung. “The Visual Origins and Global Spread of the Korean Dokkaebi.” Consuming Korean Tradition in Early and Late Modernity: Commodification, Tourism, and Performance. Edited by Laurel Kendall. University of Hawai'i Press, 2011. Encyclopedia of Korean Folk Literature. National Folk Museum of Korea, 2014. Fabrizi, Mark A. Historical Dictionary of Horror Literature. Bloomsbury Publishing, 2023. Fenkl, Heinz Insu, and Dalton-Fenkl, Bella Myong-wol. The Korean Myths: A Guide to the Gods, Heroes and Legends. United Kingdom, Thames & Hudson, 2024. Han, Suzanne Crowder. Korean Folk & Fairy Tales. Hollym, 2021. Klepeis, Alicia. Goblins. Cavendish Square Publishing, 2015. Krensky, Stephen. The Book of Mythical Beasts and Magical Creatures. United States, DK Publishing, 2020. Lee, Sung-Ae. “Supernatural Serials as Social Critique in Recent South Korean Television.” International Journal of TV Serial Narratives, vol. 5, number 2, 2019, pp. 59-70. Seo, Jinseok. "The haunted culture—Shamanic heroes in the cultural content industry of South Korea." Acta Orientalia Vilnensia 12.1 (2011): 79-104. Tarasova, Aleksandra. “Deities and Demons on the Streets of Seoul: Constructing Space in the South Korean Fantast Genre TV Series.” Nauka Televideniâ, vol. 16, no. 2, 2020, pp. 70–98.