Rain, dragons and Gogu

Korean farmers plant rice in the early 20th century. Robert Neff Collection

By Robert Neff

• Published Apr 26, 2025 2:41 PM KST

For many residents in Korea’s large cities, rain is mainly an inconvenience — traffic jams, umbrellas and damp clothes. But for farmers, rain is a blessing. It’s vital for a good harvest.

In the past — perhaps more so than now — a lack of rain often led to devastating famines that killed hundreds, even tens of thousands. Rain was so crucial to survival that many people turned to superstition in an effort to explain or summon it. These beliefs could sometimes be wildly contradictory.

In the summer of 1901, rain was scarce and the country was gripped with drought. Desperate for relief, people looked to the supernatural. One foreign resident in Seoul wrote:

“Great threatening clouds counted as nothing, and morning skies, red as painted thunder, would fade away amid the hot fierce sun come out and blaze till the rice fields were caked hard and the gasping panting earth at last, with the seeds and hopes of harvest in its bosom, lay down to die. All means were resorted to capture, cajole, or win the willful heavens.”

The same writer described “sacrifices of raw meat and half-cooked grain” offered at Sajik Altar just west of downtown Seoul. “Sheep, cattle and goats were slaughtered and heaped up to please the rain god and the spirit of the Earth.”

Others believed that rain came from great dragons that dwelt within deep lakes and wells across the peninsula. According to this belief, rain would fall when these great serpents left their underwater lairs briefly. If the dragons wouldn’t leave by their own volition, the desperate people tried to force them out.

The writer noted that many of these dragon pools were defiled with blood and refuse in an effort to drive the dragons out and bring the rains. Unfortunately, in the summer of 1901, these supernatural monarchs stayed hidden. No rain came.

In Seoul, many people believed a great dragon slept beneath the city, serving as its “patron and guardian.” The drought, they claimed, was caused by the newly built trolley lines, which pressed down upon the dragon’s tail and disturbed its sleep. Because of this “sacrilege done to the body of this deity,” the rains were withheld.

This wasn’t the first time Seoul’s dragon withheld due to perceived sacrilege. In 1882, a severe drought gripped the land and many people believed it was “caused by the Japanese having hoisted on tall flagstaffs their national standard, the device on which is the Sun.”

According to one writer, “The case here was plain enough. The music played at the Japanese Legation, too, had effectually dispersed the wind and driven away the rain. The God of Drought had been invoked by Japanese to blight the country of the [Koreans].”

When an angry Korean mob attacked the Japanese Legation, it began to rain. The dragon’s ire, it seemed, had been appeased.

Surprisingly in the late 19th century, few — if any — Westerners mentioned Gogu, or “the grain rain,” a light spring shower that graces the land around April 20. Gogu was an important indication as to how the year’s harvest would fare. But as mentioned earlier, these beliefs could vary wildly depending on the region.

According to the National Folk Museum of Korea, it was believed in the South Sea area of South Gyeongsang Province that a windy and rainy Gogu would bring a bad season. On the islands of Incheon’s remote Onjin County, a rainy Gogu would block spring wells, which would then lead to drought. In Pocheon, Gyeonggi Province, it was believed that a rainy Gogu would bring a good harvest, and that a dry Gogu would bring a bad harvest. In Sunchang, North Gyeongsang Province, a rainy Gogu was considered a sign of a bad year for farming.

Gogu wasn’t just about the rain. People were urged to avoid negativity and to drive away any wickedness they encountered. Even married couples were discouraged from sleeping together for fear of making the gods jealous.

“[If] anyone went to a funeral or saw evil portents, they had to place a fire in front of their house and cross over the fire to ward off evil spirits before entering it. And, upon entering the house, they had to refrain from looking at the rice seeds for it was believed that if anyone accompanying an evil spirit saw or touched them, then they would not sprout properly, spoiling that year's harvest.”

This year, Gogu came with rain. Only time will reveal whether it was a blessing or a curse.

My sincere appreciation to Diane Nars for her invaluable assistance and allowing me to use one of her images.