Anybody ever watch the Korean drama "My Girlfriend is a Gumiho?" Well if not, I definitely recommend it. But bear with me a little longer and I'll clear up this Gumiho business.
What is it?
Like it's Japanese and Chinese counterparts, a fox that has lived for a thousand years turns into a Kumiho. It has the ability to transform into humans, but its preferred shape is that of a beautiful girl who sets out to seduce men in order to eat their hearts and livers (gruesome.....).
Unlike its Japanese and Chinese counterparts, the Gumiho is seen as purely evil. Some tales say that if a Kumiho abstains from killing and eating humans for a thousand days, it can become human. Others, like the drama Gumiho: Tale of the Fox’s Child (this one is a bit scary guise), say that a Kumiho can become human if the man who sees her true nature keeps it a secret for ten years.
Stories on this malignant figure can be found in the encyclopedic Compendium of Korean Oral Literature (한국 구비문학 대계). (
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