kkoktu

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Korean 꼭두 (kkokdu).

Noun

kkoktu (plural kkoktu)

1. A Korean funerary figure believed to protect, serve and care for the deceased in the immediate afterlife.
   • 2007 August 17, Martha Schwendener, “Korea’s Extraordinary Send-Offs for Ordinary People”, in New York Times‎^[1]:

     The brightly colored replica also gives an idea of how the kkoktu would have looked when they were new and makes clear how much effort went into constructing a bier.