Case file · Folklore / legend
Cheoyong and the plague spirit
Cheoyong, a son of the East Sea Dragon King, found the spirit of smallpox with his wife and only sang and danced; the shamed spirit vowed never to enter a house showing his face.
879 CE · 35.50, 129.38 · status: legend
The account
Silla families pasted Cheoyong's image on gates, and the Cheoyong dance (Cheoyongmu) survived as court ritual. It is on UNESCO's intangible heritage list. Some scholars think Cheoyong recalls a foreign, possibly Arab, visitor at Ulsan port.