Haetae
Mythological Narrative
A lion-like guardian beast that can tell right from wrong, whose stone statues guard Gyeongbokgung Palace in Seoul and were believed to protect it from fire.
Scholarly Commentary & Evolution
## A beast of justice
The haetae (also *haechi*) is a mythical beast, often shown with a lion-like body, scales, and sometimes a single horn, that was believed able to distinguish right from wrong and to butt the guilty. It derives from the Chinese *xiezhi*, a unicorned beast of judgment associated with law courts, and in Joseon-dynasty Korea it became an emblem of justice worn on the rank badges of officials of the Office of the Inspector-General.
## Guardians of Gwanghwamun
A pair of stone haetae stands before Gwanghwamun, the main gate of Gyeongbokgung Palace in Seoul, carved when the palace was rebuilt in the 1860s under the regent Heungseon Daewongun. According to a widely told tradition, they were placed to guard the palace against fire, facing Mount Gwanak to the south, whose fiery energy geomancers feared.
## Seoul's symbol
The city of Seoul adopted the haechi as its official symbol in 2009, and it appears throughout the city on signs and souvenirs.
Academic Discussion & Critique
Exchange peer-reviewed hypotheses, comparative Indo-European etymologies, and archaeological field interpretations regarding Haetae.
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