''Gwisin'' () are a type of

deity A deity or god is a supernatural being considered to be sacred and worthy of worship due to having authority over some aspect of the universe and/or life. The ''Oxford Dictionary of English'' defines ''deity'' as a God (male deity), god or god ...

divinity Divinity (from Latin ) refers to the quality, presence, or nature of that which is divine—a term that, before the rise of monotheism, evoked a broad and dynamic field of sacred power. In the ancient world, divinity was not limited to a single ...

, spirit or

ghost In folklore, a ghost is the soul or Spirit (supernatural entity), spirit of a dead Human, person or non-human animal that is believed by some people to be able to appear to the living. In ghostlore, descriptions of ghosts vary widely, from a ...

Korean folklore Stories and practices that are considered part of Korean folklore go back several thousand years. These tales derive from a variety of origins, including Korean Shamanism, Confucianism, Buddhism, and more recently Christianity. Many folklore, fo ...

. They are considered similar to a ''yogoe'' () or ''mamul'' (). Unlike

dokkaebi () are legendary creatures from Korean mythology and folklore. , also known as "Korean goblins", are nature deities or spirits possessing extraordinary powers and abilities that are used to interact with humans, at times playing tricks on them ...

, ''gwisin'' are humans who have died. According to folklore, ''gwisin'' may be found in many places. It is claimed that when an individual dies but still has ties to the world of the living, such as in the case of revenge or caring for a loved one, their spirit remains on earth to complete the task before going on to the underworld.

Legends

There are a lot of legends about ''gwisin''. Because they are a common form of ghost, children often make them up to scare others or parents tell stories to their children to teach them a lesson. The most common plot of a legend about ''gwisin'' is revenge, for example revenge for the family of the ghost. Another popular tropes include men who cheat on their wives, and murder someone. Appearances of ''gwisin'' often occur in

high schools A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., b ...

, a concept popularized with the release of ''

Whispering Corridors ''Whispering Corridors'' () is a 1998 South Korean supernatural horror film directed and co-written by Park Ki-hyung. It was part of the explosion in South Korean cinema following the liberalization of censorship in the aftermath of the end of t ...

'', a Korean horror movie released in 1998.

Physical characteristics

Folklore says that the ''gwisin'' ghosts are usually transparent, legless and float in mid-air. Female ''gwisin'' or known as ''Cheonyeogwisin'' usually have white

Hanbok The hanbok () is the traditional clothing of the Koreans, Korean people. The term ''hanbok'' is primarily used by South Koreans; North Koreans refer to the clothes as (). The clothes are also worn in the Korean diaspora. Koryo-saram—ethnic Ko ...

(한복) which are worn for funerals. They have long, drooping black hair and sometimes they are faceless, depending on their personality. Male ''gwisin'' are somewhat rare, and may appear different.

References

Sources

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External links

World of Human and ''Gwisin''
Korea Creative Content Agency {{Ghosts Korean legendary creatures Female legendary creatures Korean folklore Korean ghosts

Legends

Physical characteristics

See also

References

Sources

External links