Choin

Lore

The very first—and almost the only—reference to the Choin (조인) appears in Sun-o-ji, a miscellany of notes and legends compiled in 1678 by the Korean scholar Hong Manjong. One brief passage tells of a “bird-man” a monk once encountered on Mt. Jirisan. Late at night the monk heard strange noises near the temple hearth: a shaggy, man-shaped creature had built a fire in the kitchen. When it fanned the ashes, it rose into the sky and disappeared. The monk later stretched a net across the roof and managed to catch the being. It was covered head to toe in long hair and spoke only in odd, bird-like chirps, not human words. Feeling pity, the monk released it. According to the tale, the bird-man loved nothing more than to warm itself by the flames.

Choin (조인) is not a proper name; it is a descriptive term built from the Chinese characters 鳥 (cho, “bird”) and 人 (in, “person”). Bird comes first, hinting that to the people who coined the word the creature was seen as wild and alien, only distantly related to humankind.

Though roughly human in shape, a Choin is built light and sinewy, like a wild animal made for speed—and for short bursts of flight. Its trademark is a heavy coat of fur. Depending on where it lives, that fur may be brown, white, or gray-white, letting the creature blend into rock or snow and shielding it from the bitter cold of Korea’s high peaks, especially around Jirisan. Instead of powerful flapping wings, it likely has simpler, fur-covered wings that let it glide or make brief hops through the air. Its legs are strong and grasping, perfect for scrambling over cliffs and trees. Every feature of the Choin seems tuned to survival in harsh mountain country.

A defining trait of the Choin is its inability to speak human language. It can only make rapid, bird-like chirps—unlike the Changsangbeom, which can imitate human voices to trick and lure its victims. This muteness hints at a more ancient, primitive nature, one not suited to deception. Like the Changsangbeom, though, the Choin’s eyes are said to glow in the dark, helping it hunt and navigate at night.