"Kokdu," foot-tall wooden figurines carved into shapes of humans, mystical animals or immortals, were traditionally placed on biers in Korea to accompany the deceased on their journey to the afterlife. Courtesy of NFMK 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.” In funeral processions, brilliantly decorated biers were carried through the village by singing pallbearers for a final farewell.
Courtesy of NFMK 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 h.