Gangcheori (Hangul: 강철이, Hanja: 強鐵) is a

dragon A dragon is a reptilian legendary creature that appears in the folklore of many cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but dragons in western cultures since the High Middle Ages have often been depicted as ...

-shaped monster in

Korean mythology Korean mythology ( ) is the group of myths told by historical and modern Koreans. There are two types: the written, literary mythology in traditional histories, mostly about the founding monarchs of various historical kingdoms, and the much l ...

that was introduced in the 17th century. It is a monster that has traditionally been popular throughout the country. It also has been called Gangcheol (Hangul: 강철), Kkangcheol (Hangul: 깡철), and Ggoangcheol (Hangul: 꽝철). One of the earliest records of Gangcheori being mentioned is the ''

Jibong Yuseol ''Jibong yuseol'' ("Topical Discourses of Jibong") is a Korean encyclopedia written by Yi Su-gwang. It was published in 1614 during the reign of King Gwanghaegun. The author was a silhak scholar and a military officer of the mid-Joseon period o ...

'' (1614). In those days, there was an old saying, "Where Gangcheori goes is like spring even it is fall." When author Lee Soo-kwang asked an old man in the countryside about the origin of the word, the old man told him about a monster called Gangcheori that burns down everything in a few miles.

References

Korean legendary creatures Mythological monsters Dragons {{Asia-myth-stub