The Character “患” on the Face, and the Chicken That Died in His Place
A strange tale said to have been experienced by an official in the late Korean Empire has recently resurfaced online.
The core of the story goes like this.
One night, an official has a peculiar dream.
He sees a sheet of paper stuck to his own face.
On the paper is a single character:
患.
A character meaning worry, illness, misfortune.
In the dream, he tries to pull the paper off, but his hands will not move.
Before him sits a chicken.
Moments later, the chicken’s head falls off—
yet it cries once more.
This scene may seem like pure grotesque imagination, but the idea of a chicken serving as a substitute victim for misfortune is well‑documented in Korean folklore.
The Encyclopedia of Korean Folk Culture explains that chickens were used in the shamanic ritual Daesu Daemyeong, where an animal dies in place of a human.
In other words, the chicken in this tale is not just an animal.
A calamity meant for the official
has been diverted to the chicken.
However, the line often quoted online—“Joseon Musokgo records that if a chicken does not stop crying, the misfortune has not yet left”—cannot be verified.
That sentence should not be repeated as fact.
What is confirmed is that chickens played an important role in Kor