A clatter of horse hoofs herald the coming of the year 2014, the Year of the Horse. One of the twelve animals representing the Chinese zodiac signs, the horse symbolizes power and speed.

(Woman 1) At the end of the year there are always more unfulfilled wishes than fulfilled ones. I had some unfortunate incidents at the start of the year, but hope that I can find the energy to run like a horse until the year’s end.
(Woman 2) I was born in the year of the horse. Perhaps that’s why I’m so outgoing. Looking back, my extroverted nature made me happy. Because this year is the Year of the Horse, I wanted to be more unrestrained and sociable, but now I think I’m going to look deeper into myself and become a better person so that I can eventually race into the future like a horse.

This year is not just any ordinary Year of the Horse. It’s the Year of the Blue Horse. Of course, there is no physical blue horse. It exists only in our imagination, but it has been looked up to as a symbol of good luck and success. In Korea and other Chinese-derived cultures, twelve animals – the rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, rooster, dog, and pig - each represent a year. The year 2014 happens to be the year represented by the horse. The horse is also a guardian animal for the hours between 11AM and 1PM, as the 24-hour cycle is divided into twelve time slots with each one allocated to the twelve animals of the Chinese zodiac. Horses have been one of the most useful and familiar animals in the traditionally agrarian society of Korea. Here’s Director Cheon Jin-gi천진기 of the National Folk Museum of Korea to tell us more.

The horse has been an indispensable animal for Koreans. It is even known to have the mysterious power of foreseeing the future. However, to ordinary people horses were basically a means of transportation and offered companionship. War horses were known to be so devoted to their owners that some even followed their owners to death. The horse mane was used to make the Korean traditional men’s headgear called “ghat갓” and its hide was turned into shoes or pouches. Even its excrement was used to make paper and dried horse manure was provided as fuel. Even after its death a horse remains loyal and giving, leaving all his parts to be used by humans.

Horses were like family to Koreans. In celebrating the Year of the Horse, major museums around the country are planning special exhibitions on horses and horse-related relics. Art galleries also have special events featuring horse drawings or photos to mark the Year of the Horse.



The National Folk Museum of Korea currently has a special exhibit underway, called “Horse, a Vigorous Gallop.” The exhibit features 63 separate pieces of paintings, photos, and relics pertaining to the roles and symbolism of horses demonstrated throughout history. Here’s Ms. Lim Se-kyung임세경 of the Exhibition Division of the National Folk Museum of Korea to tell us more about the horse-themed exhibition.

Each year we host an exhibition celebrating the year’s symbolic animal. Since 2014 happens to be the Year of the Horse, we designed a special event where people can find out more about Korean folk customs pertaining to horses. The first part of the exhibition shows how humans came to stop hunting wild horses for food and instead tamed them to become a means of transportation. In the second part the exhibits feature the evolution of horses, from a mere transportation mode to a symbol of authority and social class.

As you enter the exhibit, you can see a video of horses running at full gallop. Next to the video is an array of ancient records illustrating how long horses have accompanied humans. Here’s Ms. Lim Se-kyung임세경 of the Exhibition Division of the National Folk Museum of Korea to tell us more.

We have collected a wide array of old books and records dealing with horses. In one ancient book on veterinary medicine written during the reign of King Injo of the Joseon Dynasty, there are passages detailing treatments for equine diseases. In a book about notable figures with middle-class background, there are records about Baek Gwang-hyeon백광현, a renowned acupuncturist and veterinarian, whose life was dramatized recently in a TV show entitled “The Horse Healer.”

Among the displays there is a book on veterinary medicine written by Yi Seo이서 during King Injo’s reign. It’s a veterinary encyclopedia based on old veterinary medicine books from the Ming Dynasty and the late Goryeo period. The encyclopedia describes each part of the equine anatomy, how to take care of horses, and how to treat ailing horses. Other ancient books on display include Jamulbo재물보, which classifies horses according to their breed and color, and Gosachalyo고사찰요, listing treatments and cures for horse diseases. Judging from the variety and number of horse-related documents, horses have been an important asset and companion for ancient Koreans. Here’s Direction Cheon Jin-gi천진기 of the National Folk Museum of Korea.

As automobiles constitute a key industry in modern times, horses were an important industry for a nation in the old days. Today there are many modes of communication, like phones, the internet, and cars, but in the past the fastest way to deliver a message was by horse. So raising and caring for horses was an important challenge for a nation. The existence of so many records on horses suggests how vital the animal was to the nation as well as individual households.

Once you pass the old record section of the exhibit, you come to an area showing how the horse’s status has evolved over time. It also features the horse’s characteristics and ways to communicate with the horses. A more interesting exhibit is about mateuri마테우리, or the horse ranchers of Jeju Island. On display are, among others, the hats made out of dog hide worn by the ancient Jeju horsemen and the reins and horseshoes used centuries ago. These relics demonstrate how much care went into raising horses in old times.

In the second part of the exhibition, visitors get to see the different saddles and stirrups used by people of different social status, and a sculpture of a bridegroom on horseback. There are also comprehensive descriptions about how well-trained horses were used for varying purposes. Here’s Ms. Lim Se-kyung임세경 of the Exhibition Division of the National Folk Museum of Korea again.



The mapae마패 system was established in 1274, during the Goryeo Dynasty. Mapae, meaning a horse medallion, denoted rank and status of the bearer by the number of horses engraved on the medallion. And then the pony express system was introduced in 1597, during the Joseon Dynasty. It was a military message delivery service in which soldiers rode on horseback between stations to bring news from the frontline. A mapae was issued to a government official assigned to a local post. Just as we drop by a gas station to fuel up our cars, an official would stop at a horse-changing station get meals and lodging and change horses. The mapae was a kind of identification indicating the rider’s rank.

Horses were mainly used for riding, but one horse was valuable enough to be traded for two or three slaves. Among the displayed relics is a pair of stirrups fashioned in gold and silver. Obviously these fancy stirrups were fitted on a horse for a king or nobleman, but other harnesses were expensive enough to be out of reach for ordinary people. So owning a horse was a lifelong wish of commoners. Here’s Ms. Lim Se-kyung임세경 of the Exhibition Division of the National Folk Museum of Korea again.

There weren’t that many horses in the old days. Horse ownership implied a person’s social status and authority, but only an unattainable dream for common people. Their fervent wish to own a horse was transferred to the talismans and charms featuring horses, which were known to be powerful enough to fight off evil spirits and diseases. Villages would also follow a folk custom of burning a horse-shaped straw doll to drive away bad fortune.

The museum has a horse talisman supposedly drawn in the late Joseon period in which the word “horse god” is written above an orange-colored horse. Historians believe that common people, unable to own their own horses, hung up these horse paintings to ward off evil and satisfy their longings.

Horses occupy a prominent place in Korea’s folk beliefs, but also in the founding myths of many ancient kingdoms of Korea. The presence of horses in those stories illustrates how sacred the animal was to ancient Koreans. This is Director Cheon Jin-gi of the National Folk Museum of Korea.

Historical accounts say that the founder of Shilla was born in an egg and it was a white horse that heralded the coming of the king. Jumong주몽, the founding king of Goguryeo, was also inside an egg, but sensing the unusual aura of the egg, horses walked around it so they wouldn’t break it. There is also an ancient record about a childless Buyeo부여 king. One day he was praying for a child and saw a horse bow to a big rock. He removed the rock to find a baby in the form of a golden toad, who became King Geumwa금와 of Buyeo. So we can tell from these founding myths that horses were inseparable from Korea’s history.

Ancient people worshipped horses, as evidenced by Cheonmado천마도, or the Painting of a Heavenly Horse, discovered in an old royal tomb in Gyeongju경주. It appears the painting was buried with the king’s remains in the hope that the dead king would ride the white horse to Heaven. Old paintings show that horses are the symbol of prosperity, fertility, and loyalty. A painting called Paljundo팔준도 features eight horses ridden by the founding king of Joseon, and a late-Joseon painting called Gonmado shows a pair of horses, one male and another female, frolicking in a grassy field, suggestive of their conjugal harmony and fertility. Koreans have always preferred two horses over just one, believing that a pair of horses was luckier and more powerful. Although in the same cultural hemisphere as Korea, Japan and China have different preferences in horses. Here’s Director Cheon Jin-gi of the National Folk Museum of Korea to explain more.

China was vast, so the Chinese put more value on horses that could run fast. On the other hand, we Koreans preferred smaller horses, short enough to pass under low branches, yet sturdy enough to climb mountains and travel for a long time. Koreans liked strong, tenacious horses over fast ones. In Japan horses were worshipped as gods of the road.



The third part of the exhibition features horses carrying godly beings. Since horses were valuable state and military properties, old Koreans used to hold services to pray for the health of horses and even came to idolize horses as gods. The exhibition showcases assorted horse sculptures made of iron, wood, and clay, illustrating how much Korean ancestors valued horses. But for some reason girls born in the Year of the Horse were considered too wild and some men even avoided marrying them. Director Cheon Jin-gi of the National Folk Museum explains why.

The Japanese believe that women born in the Year of the Horse are destined to suffer unfortunate or tumultuous fates. Many Japanese folktales have ladies born in the Year of the White or Red Horse getting into all sorts of trouble. That belief was passed to the Korean people during the Japanese occupation era and remained in Korean culture. Some Korean movies in the 1960s and 70s had titles belittling ladies born in the Year of the Horse.

But in this age of speedy information, many want to be like the horse. It takes a horse’s stamina and speed to survive in the world fraught with tough competition. Here’s Director Cheon Jin-gi again.

In traditional society demure ladies were idealized. But in today’s rapidly changing society people with the speed and energy of a horse are admired. Such characteristics as muscular legs, a powerful body, and tireless energy are glorified in modern society. Although those born in the Year of the Horse are mistakenly thought of as tough and stubborn, they are just the kind of people favored in today’s world.