What sort of landscape would pop up on the top of your covers if your dreams came to life? The village on the top of this sleeping child’s quilt is the land of dokabi, or Korean trolls. Whimsical and mischievous, they can be identified by the horns on the tops of their heads. Look! The sleeping girl, deep in the dreamland of dokabi, has horns too!
The dokabi are acting out stories of traditional Korean folklore. Artist Jayoung Cho, who made this quilt, is originally from Korea. It reflects both her Korean heritage and her experiences living in America. Look at the dokabi in the river. Because of his greed, he has stolen the wish-giving millstone. He went to the river and asked it to make some salt, which was very valuable at the time. But—oh no—he never learned how to make it stop! He and the millstone sank to the bottom of the river where the millstone continues to make salt to this day. That is why the sea is so salty! There are many more stories like this one illustrated throughout the dokabi village.
