Introduction to Dragon

A dragon is a legendary creature that belongs in a multi-culture myths, its appearance usually show reptilian or serpent like traits. There is 2 types of dragon that shows where the culture or tradition is from, the European dragon first derived from folklore of European countries and also related to some Greek mythologies, the other one is the Chinese dragon mainly well known that it is from most East Asian countries but there are counterparts in Japan which is the Japanese dragon. Over the years both tradition have evolved on their own, but on the way they have influenced each other to a certain point especially with cross-cultural contact of recent time. A dragon’s appearance looks like a reptile, but in some places they look like serpents but since the Middle Ages, dragons are commonly envisaged them with legs, looking like a lizard.

Asian Dragons

There are multiple Asian dragons, that includes Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and others like Indian, Vietnamese, Khmer, Philippine and Indo-Malay. Each of them are born from their local folklore and cultures.

The Chinese Dragon, sometimes called the Oriental Dragon or Eastern Dragon, is born from Chinese mythology and also appears in other Asian cultures. In China, the Chinese Dragon is a representation of power and only the King or Emperor of China can have dragons on his clothings. It is usually confused with other Asian dragons as they all have extremely similar look, it is depicted as a serpent-like creature with four claws, sometimes depicted as a creature constructed with multiple animals's body part for example, fins from certain fish, horns from either a stag or a moose.

The Japanese Dragons, also known as 日本の竜 Nihon no ryū or Ryū for short, are diverse legendary creatures in Japanese folklore and myths. the design is heavily influenced by The Chinese Dragon but with three claws instead of four. Most are water gods or deities associated with rain, sea, river or any form of water. There is also some Japanese Dragons that is influenced by Chinese, Indian, and Hindu myths and legends.

The Korean Dragons, are creatures born from the Korean myth and folklore.

There is Yong, pretty much the same as the Chinese Dragon, is a sky dragon that is usually associated with water or weather. In pure Korean it is known as mireu 미르.

The Gyo (Left picture above), is a mountain dragon. Most Korean dragons are said to reside deep withing mountains, whether is by the river, deep pond, waterfall or lakes. The Gyo is also depicted as deity of water or the weather.

The Imoogi (Right picture above), is usually depicted as a lesser dragons in the Korean myth and folklore and most of the dragons are initially Imugis. It is said to resemble a gigantic sea serpent, usually without horns. Imoogi literally mean "Great Lizard", legend said that a girl would have a dragon-shaped mark on her shoulder, a sign that proves that she is the Imoogi in human form, who will then transformed into Imoogi on her 17th birthday.