Hello!

This is Nexon PEAKER PEAK Time.

May 22 is the International Day for Biological Diversity.

Established by the UN General Assembly in 1993,

it’s a commemorative day meant to raise awareness of environmental issues

like declining species and habitat destruction.

In Nexon’s MapleStory, there’s a themed dungeon called Korean Folk Town

that brings Korean folktales to life.

You could say it’s a village filled with some of Korea’s most iconic creatures.

So I put together a monster compendium for the creatures that appear in Korean Folk Town.

Korean Folk Town

Monster Compendium

These are all the monsters that appear in Korean Folk Town.

They really capture that unmistakable Korean folk vibe.

Here’s a quick introduction to each one.

The Gold Axe, Silver Axe

Dark Axe Stump

Dark Axe Stump is a monster that also appears in other towns,

so seeing it in Korean Folk Town might feel a little random,

but its backstory is that it has the axe from The Fairy and the Woodcutter stuck in it.

In the game, you give Axe Stump’s axe to the Mountain Spirit,

but unlike the original tale, it’s not a gold axe and a silver axe.

They’re both iron axes—just slightly different—which is a fun touch.

Anyway, trees in Korea are truly precious living things.

Unauthorized logging like the woodcutter’s

is prohibited in modern times, so take that as your reminder.

The one that comes to mind every Chuseok

Rabbit, Moon Bunny

Moon Bunny is also a familiar monster from Party Quests.

True to its name, the moon rabbit is something people naturally think of around Chuseok,

and rabbits also show up in a wide range of folktales, including

Sugungga, The Rabbit and the Tiger, and The Trial of the Rabbit.

A symbol of Korea

Tiger

Hodori and Hogul are monsters modeled after tigers.

The tiger is a creature that symbolizes Korea itself,

and while it carries a fearsome, powerful image,

there are also folktales like The Grateful Tiger.

A bewitching fox

Kumiho

Samiho and Kumiho are monsters inspired by

the nine-tailed fox, a figure found across East Asia.

In Korea, it tends to carry a particularly cunning image,

so you could say it has somewhat negative associations.

Foxes aren’t especially easy to spot in Korea,

but restoration efforts for the Korean fox are reportedly going well.

An imaginary creature

Dokkaebi

Dokkaebi is an imaginary creature.

There’s a folktale that says when objects like

brooms or mortars grow old, they turn into dokkaebi.

They can feel a bit like fearsome spirits,

but there’s also a tradition of seeing them as gods of abundance who bring wealth.

Personally, I still like the cute Moon Bunny best.

Which creature is your favorite?