By Kim Young Shin

Hodori, Chaormi and Soohorang are official mascots for the Seoul 1988 Olympics, the FIFA U-20 World Cup Korea 2017 and for next year's PyeongChang 2018 Olympic and Paralympic Winter games. All of them are tigers.

People in Korea are very fond of the large orange-and-black striped feline. Many people believe that the geographic outline of the entire Korean Peninsula resembles a resting tiger. A recent poll run by the National Institute of Biological Resources, part of the Ministry of Environment, asked people to choose their favorite animal. Survey results also supported this trend.

The ministry announced on Oct. 23 that the tiger was Korean’s favorite large mammal. More than 13,500 visitors to the institute’s website and exhibition hall from Sept. 25 to Oct. 19 voted for their favorite mammal, bird, amphibian/ reptile, fish, insect, herb and tree.

According to the ministry, participants voted for the tiger because they're familiar with it through Korean myths and legends.

The tiger appears in the birth myth of Korea, the Dangun myth (단군신화). The big cat also stars in many other legends, such as “Sister Sun and Brother Moon” (해와 달이 된 오누이), “Red Bean Porridge Granny and the Tiger” (팥죽할멈과 호랑이) and “Tiger Brother” (호랑이 형님). There's even a saying that goes, “The time when tigers smoked” (호랑이 담배 피우던 시절), which refers to a long time ago.



The tiger was also considered a guardian animal that blocked bad spirits. According to the National Folk Museum, tigers were drawn on talismans and tiger skins covered a bride’s palanquin on her wedding day.

The organizing committee of the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic and Paralympic Winter games said that the name of Soohorang symbolizes protection for the athletes, spectators and all participants in the Olympic Games.

ysk1111@korea.kr