The Korean Dragon Tradition

Yong

Korean dragons are probably less well known in the Western world than their Chinese and Japanese counterparts however they are just as important.

Korean dragons are generically known as Yong. There are three main sub-types:

Yong
The powerful sky dragon
Yo
The hornless ocean dragon
Kyo
The mountain dragon

When comparing oriental dragons, the first place to look is the feet. Korean dragons usually have four toes or claws on each foot, as compared with Chinese dragons that have five toes and Japanese dragons that have three.

To the Koreans "four toed" is the natural state for a dragon. Having three or five toes is a result of Korean dragons travelling too far from their homeland.

Aside from the toes, the Korean dragon is usually described as having a camel's head with rabbit eyes, a serpentine neck, the belly of a frog and tiger feet.

As with Chinese dragons, the number nine is significant with Korean dragons and they are said to have 81 (=9x9) scales on their backs.

All original material copyright © Trevor Mendham 2003-2006.
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