Kokdu, whimsical companions for soul's final voyage to afterlife

By Park Han-sol

For centuries in Korea, when the time came for the deceased to embark on their long and precarious journey to the afterlife, the living spared no effort to ensure a peaceful passage ahead.

Tables with bowls of rice, coins and straw shoes — collectively known as “sajasang,” literally meaning table for the dead — were prepared at the gate for the three messengers of death who would guide the spirit into the next world. In grand funeral processions, brilliantly decorated biers were carried through the village by singing pallbearers for a final farewell.

One important companion on the journey of the dead, now practically forgotten in the modern age, was the “kokdu.”

These foot-tall wooden figurines, carved into the shapes of humans, mystical animals or immortals, were traditionally placed on all four sides of the funeral carriage in groups as key decorative ornaments.

Records of kokdu date as far back as the 1400s, but most surviving artifacts originate from the late 19th and early 20th centuries, during the waning years of the 1392-1910 Joseon Kingdom.

It is 250 of these portable dolls that have stepped into the spotlight at the National Folk Museum of Korea’s (NFMK) latest exhibition, “Parade.”

The figurines on display hail from the vast collection of Kim Ock-rang, whose chance encounter with a dust-covered kokdu nearly 50 years ago set her on a path to rescue them from decades of cultural obscurity.

One day, while wandering by Cheonggye Stream in central Seoul, Kim, then in her 20s, spotted a grimy wooden object wrapped in ragged cloth in the corner of an antique shop.

Intrigued, she picked up the small statuette — a woman clad in a green “jeogori” (jacket) and red “chima” (skirt), her left arm raised high. She asked the shop owner what it was used for. He was clueless. He didn’t even bother charging her for it, simply saying, “Just take it.”

To Kim, its neglected state felt like a mirror to her own aimless life at the time. “Saving this kokdu is like saving myself,” she thought. From that moment, she resolved to become a “mother figure” to these forgotten dolls.

Over the following decades, she scoured antiquaries across Korea, eventually amassing more than 20,000 items and founding the Kokdu Museum in 2010. Highlights from her collection have toured internationally, with exhibitions staged in New York, London, Paris, Osaka, Budapest, New Delhi and Brussels. And last year, she donated some 1,100 pieces to the NFMK.

While the Kokdu Museum is currently on hiatus, Kim's decision to donate was not driven by her museum's closure. Instead, she hopes that more people will have the opportunity to learn about and appreciate kokdu, by placing part of her collection in the state-run museum to reach a wider audience.

Each kokdu played a distinct symbolic role. Caregivers — often depicted as messengers, immortals, Buddhist monks or shamans — welcomed the deceased and gently guided them into the unknown.

Entertainers, who were seen performing acrobatics, wrestling or playing instruments, aimed to bring comfort and joy to the departing spirit.

And guardians — stern-faced warriors mounted on horses, tigers or other divine creatures — protected the dead from any dangers on their odyssey.

The styles and features of these figurines often reflected the era of their creation: military officials during the Joseon era, police officers under the 1910-45 Japanese occupation and soldiers carrying guns after liberation, for instance.

Together, kokdu offer a unique window into Koreans’ attitudes toward the meaning of life and death. With their whimsical, almost playful designs, they may seem out of place in mourning, yet their presence in funeral rites embodies the living’s desire to set aside sorrow and bid farewell in a celebratory spirit.

The tradition reflects a profound wish to sublimate grief into a festive parade, offering a heartfelt, uplifting send-off for loved ones as they cross the inevitable river of death.

“Parade” runs through March 3 next year at the NFMK. Admission is free.