#yeongno

In Korean masked stage plays (talchum) there exists a common creature, a dragon-like beast that eats the most vile of the yangban upper class. The yeongno is said to have descended from heaven after being sinful and is told that if it consumes 100 evil humans it will ascend back to its rightful place. Depending on the region it takes on many different looks, however in each its insatiable appetite persists, sometimes destructively eating anything in its path. In some versions the yeongno exhibits Confucian values and will not eat the yangban when told the lie that the yangban is their father or grandfather, and the play will often end in the yeongno having a dance with them. Some believe the yeongno to be an imgui, a lesser dragon, who will ascend into a more heavenly form when its task is complete.

Pantheon: Korean

Domain or Function: Beast who eats evil upperclass people and ascends to heaven after eating 100.

Alternate Names: Bibi (the sound it makes when it approaches), Bibisae, Yeongnosae.

Character Traits: Will eat anything in front of it and is considered sinful, specifically targeting the evil upper class. It exhibits traits of Confucian teachings in some versions.

Visual Traits: Usually depicted with a specific mask that has a long snout and is gold and red with scales, sometimes it appears with a flat lion-like face and hairy body.

Symbolism: None