In the comments section of a recent post, Hiram asked what the word Bulgasari meant.
I offered a few possible explanations, but I just happened on another one and it was pretty fascinating. I posted a comment there, but figured it might be missed, so I’m devoting a new post to the information.
I was looking through a book of Korean poems translated into English, and in “On Genesis”, by Kim Kwanshik, there’s a reference to a Bulgasari that lived in “[t]he capital city of Songdo”, which the footnote explains was “a fictitious monster believed to devour metals.”
I wish I could find a book with listings of mythical creatures from Korean legends and lore: a kind of Korean “Monster Manual” or something. That would be quite fascinating. What did people think a Bulgasari looked like? How did it move about? Could it speak?
Ah well… perhaps I’ll stumble on that as well, if I keep reading books of poems.
Two classes to go, and only three altogether until my holiday begins!