What is 'Guimunbang' Ep. 04(feat.Tale of the Nine Tailed(2020))

Let's find out the meaning of the word 'guimunbang' briefly mentioned in episode 4 of 'Tale of the Nine Tailed'.

What is 'Guimunbang' ?

'Guimunbang' is a term that means a door through which ghosts enter. In the East, there has been a belief that the geography where people live affects their destiny since ancient times, and a study called 'feng shui' has developed. In this study, the direction where the ghosts enter and bring bad luck is called 'gwimunbang'.

'Guimunbang' was believed to be an unlucky direction where ghosts enter in. In Eastern culture, there is a study called 'feng shui' that believes the geography of where people live has an impact on their destiny. The unlucky direction where ghosts enter was referred to as 'Guimunbang'. It was believed that the northeast and southwest directions were particularly unfavorable since they didn't get much sunlight and had a large temperature difference. Therefore, it was considered bad luck to build a house or place important things in this direction.

How was the concept of 'guimunbang' portrayed in the Korean drama "Tale of the Nine-Tailed"?

In the drama "Tale of the Nine-Tailed," the "guimunbang" is depicted as the path for Imugi's return to life. In episode 3, it is revealed that the village shaman and the villagers were actually worshipping Imugi instead of the true Dragon King. When Imugi awakens from a long slumber, the villagers create a path from the sea to the village to welcome his arrival. This path is a modification of the "Dragon King's path," which symbolizes worship for the Dragon King, but it is made in the direction that ghosts come and go, creating a path for evil entities to enter the village.

I think the interpretation of the path for 'I-mu-gi' in the drama <Tale of the Nine Tailed> seems to be a newly added expression, which is not found in traditional folklore or belief.