A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.

Overview

In Hong Nai-pom’s reported return from apparent death, a golden-faced Buddha corrects an underworld arrest made in error and allows him to see places of punishment. In the prison of deceivers, ogres cut flesh from corrupt officials and feed it to hungry demons; after an infernal wind restores the victims’ flesh, metal snakes and copper dogs bite them and suck their blood.

The guides explain the scene as a response to officials who exploited the people while advertising their own virtue. Im Bang closes with explicit reservations about the account’s truth and its use to deceive, but also says its moral lesson deserves attention. The animals are beings within this narrated vision, not natural species or independently verified Buddhist doctrine. No horns, extra heads or personal names are specified.

Infernal animal tormentors in a morally framed visionTale-specific identity
01

Origins & earliest records

Korea; tale-specific historical narrative

02

Records & interpretation

Complete story and attribution read in the 1913 English witness; no independent confirmation of supernatural events.

In the literature

“metal snakes and copper dogs”
Im Bang · Korean Folk Tales: Imps, Ghosts and Fairies
Tale35, Hong’s Experiences in Hades, printed p.174 (Gutenberg marker186) · James S. Gale

The creatures torment the regenerated bodies in the deceivers’ punishment chamber.

Selected bibliography

Documented works and useful reading. This is not a list of every appearance.

  1. 01

    Korean Folk Tales: Imps, Ghosts and Fairies

    Im Bang; translated by James S. Gale · 1913

    Tale 35, “Hong’s Experiences in Hades”, printed pp. 171–176 (Gutenberg page labels 183–188). English translation date, not the date of the narrated event.

  2. 02

    Korean Folk Tales: Imps, Ghosts and Fairies — Hong’s Experiences in Hades

    Im Bang · 1913

    London:J.M.Dent/NewYork:E.P.Dutton1913, actual title page. Gale preface distinguishes Im Bang old manuscript, thirteen Yi Ryuk stories from1911 reprint, and three anonymous selections. Complete selected chapter/signature read; no Korean manuscript collation. Printed pagination checked in retained1913 PDF OCR; Gutenberg body markers are printed+12, physical PDFpages printed+16. No new page-pixel claim. Gale death1937 confirmed by UniversityToronto archival finding aid.

Family & connections

A source-supported family tree or inspiration record has not yet been compiled for this profile. Related reading below indicates a connection in subject matter, not a proven lineage or creative influence.

Primary records and illustrations

Direct primary record

Korean Folk Tales: Imps, Ghosts and Fairies

Im Bang; James S. Gale translation, London Dent/New York Dutton, 1913. Tale 35, “Hong’s Experiences in Hades”, pp. 183–188

Complete story and author signature read from cached Gutenberg51002 HTML. Translator’s bracketed introductions and author notes distinguished from narrative. No illustration claimed.

Inspect the digitized plate · Source collection manifest

Located primary passages

Specific passages supporting details in this entry, grouped by their published witness.

Korean Folk Tales: Imps, Ghosts and Fairies

London:J.M.Dent/NewYork:E.P.Dutton1913, actual title page. Gale preface distinguishes Im Bang old manuscript, thirteen Yi Ryuk stories from1911 reprint, and three anonymous selections. Complete selected chapter/signature read; no Korean manuscript collation. Printed pagination checked in retained1913 PDF OCR; Gutenberg body markers are printed+12, physical PDFpages printed+16. No new page-pixel claim. Gale death1937 confirmed by UniversityToronto archival finding aid.

  1. After apparent death from fever, Hong reports an underworld arrest corrected by a golden-faced Buddha because another Hong was intended. Guides show differentiated punishment chambers and a blessed abode. In the deceivers’ chamber flesh is removed and fed to starving demons, then restored by winds; metal snakes and copper dogs bite and suck blood. The guides connect this suffering to officials’ secret bribery and public hypocrisy.

    Tale35, Hong’s Experiences in Hades, printed pp.171–175, complete attributed vision

  2. Hong wakes after four days and boasts that later rank and age fulfilled the prediction. Im Bang calls the use of this experience deceptive and cites a learned-man maxim, yet also presents the account as capable of prompting right conduct.

    Tale35, Hong’s Experiences in Hades, printed pp.175–176, return and writer’s interpretive ending

This is Hong’s narrated dream, not verified afterlife testimony. Punishment creatures are not assigned independent names, creators or genealogy; doctrinal labels stay within this rendering. Writer’s simultaneous doubt and moral-use argument both retained; the ending does not simply certify factual truth. Prefatory career dates are source framing only.

References

Sources supporting this profile. Linked pages have their own scope and editorial standards.

  1. Historical primary narrative translationTale 35, “Hong’s Experiences in Hades”, printed pp. 171–176 (Gutenberg page labels 183–188) — Im Bang, Gale translationResearch access: 2026-10-05

Image credits

A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.

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