[Korean] Kumiho means, literally, "nine-tailed fox." The following description appears (word for word) in both the Donga Color World Encyclopedia (Tonga wonsaek segye paekhwasajeon) and the Dusan Great World Encyclopedia (Tusan segye taebaekhwasajeon): "A fox with nine tails that commonly appears in the oral tales of our country. It can freely transform into, among other things, a bewitching girl that seduces men. A fox that lives a thousand years is said to turn into a kumiho. There are a number of legendary tales in which the kumiho appears." A half dozen or so of those legendary tales can be found in the encyclopedic Compendium of Korean Oral Literature (Hanguk kubimunhak taegye). A quick look at them will help supplement the brief description given above. In "Transformation of the Kumiho" ("Kumihoui pyeonshin"), a kumiho transforms into an identical likeness of a bride at a wedding, and not even the bride's mother can tell them apart. The kumiho is finally discovered when her clothes ar...
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