Pulgasari

From Wikizilla, the kaiju encyclopedia
Revision as of 02:02, 25 January 2023 by Zillaman98 (talk | contribs)
Jump to navigationJump to search

Template:Ktab

Pulgasari
Pulgasari in Pulgasari
Bulgasari in Bulgasari
Alternate names Bulgasari, Purugasari
Subtitle(s) Giant Monster (大怪獣,   Daikaijū)PLG[1]
Legendary Giant Monster
(伝説の大怪獣,   Densetsu no Daikaijū)PLG[2]
Species Giant resurrected humanBLG;
animated rice figurinePLG
Forms Human form, BulgasariBLG;
rice doll, infant, adultPLG
Allies Ami (initially)PLG
Enemies King of the Goryeo dynastyPLG
Played by Kenpachiro SatsumaPLG,
Masao Fukazawa (juvenile)PLG
First appearance Latest appearance
Bulgasari (1962) Pulgasari (1985)
Roar(s)
Pulgasari:

Pulgasari, also spelled Bulgasari (불가사리,   Bulgasali), is a legendary creature from Korean mythology. There have been at least two giant monster interpretations of the character: in the 1962 South Korean film Bulgasari, and the 1985 North Korean film Pulgasari, the former now lost.

Name

Pulgasari is named after the legendary creature of the same name, which is derived from the Sino-Korean word bulgasal, meaning "cannot be killed" ( () () ()), or "can be killed by fire" ( () () ()), depending on which homophonous Chinese characters were used.[3][4] Bulgasali is also the Korean word for "starfish."

The spelling "Pulgasari" is the McCune-Reischauer romanization of the name. A variant of this system is the official romanization scheme of the Korean language used in North Korea. The spellings "Bulgasari" and "Bulgasali" come from the Revised Romanization of Korean system, which is instead used in South Korea. In Japan, the monster from Pulgasari was referred to as プルガサリ (Purugasari), a transliteration of the former spelling.

Design

Bulgasari's appearance, as seen from a few publicity photos, resembles a large humanoid creature with grey and bumpy skin.

In Pulgasari, Pulgasari resembles a bull. He is exceedingly tall, and has a muscular body reminiscent of the Minotaur. He has long horns, and dark fur covering his body. His belly also appears to be protected by plates of gold-colored armor.

Origins

In Pulgasari, Pulgasari was created when a small monster figurine created by a blacksmith came in contact with the blood of the blacksmith's daughter, giving rise to the horned monster.

History

Bulgasari

After being murdered by traitors during the Goryeo dynasty, a skilled martial artist is resurrected as Bulgasari, a fearsome monster who consumes iron.

Pulgasari

In feudal Korea during the Goryeo dynasty, an evil emperor rules the land with an iron fist. He sends the villagers into misery and poverty. All seems hopeless, until an old blacksmith was sent to prison for an unspecified reason. During his time at the jailhouse, he builds a small figure of a monster. When the small figure is splashed by the blood of the blacksmith's daughter Ami, it creates Pulgasari. Pulgasari starts eating metal, becoming bigger and stronger. Eventually, he becomes powerful enough to try to take on the emperor. The emperor's guards attempt to stop Pulgasari, but the creature is unaffected and kills them all. Pulgasari finally kills the emperor and ends his wrath. Pulgasari starts to become a nuisance and turns on his creator. He begins to cause havoc at the villages and continues to feast on whatever iron he can find, but Ami devises a plan. She tricks Pulgasari into eating her, causing Pulgasari to dissolve. The bull-like monster's terror has ended.

Gallery

Main article: Pulgasari/Gallery.

In other languages

Language Name Meaning
Flagicon Japan.png Japanese プルガサリ Purugasari Transcription of English name

Trivia

  • Pulgasari's overall role and backstory in Pulgasari strongly resembles Daimajin:
    • Both kaiju are spirits that can take a physical form.
    • Both Daimajin and Pulgasari appear in a medieval setting, and are prized by the common people.
    • Both Daimajin and Pulgasari attack the bourgeoisie of said medieval setting.
    • After their work is done, both Daimajin and Pulgasari disappear, but not before threatening to cause chaos that affects the people who previously released them.

See also

References

This is a list of references for Pulgasari. These citations are used to identify the reliable sources on which this article is based. These references appear inside articles in the form of superscript numbers, which look like this: [1]

  1. "Giant Monster Pulgasari (大怪獣プルガサリ)". eiga-chirashi.jp. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
  2. "プルガサリ~伝説の大怪獣~ [DVD]". Amazon. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
  3. "Impossible-to-Kill (不可杀伊)". Encyclopedia of Korean Folk Culture. Retrieved 19 August 2021.
  4. "불가사리(不可杀伊)". Encyclopedia of Korean Folk Culture (Korean). Retrieved 24 August 2021.

Comments

Showing 37 comments. When commenting, please remain respectful of other users, stay on topic, and avoid role-playing and excessive punctuation. Comments which violate these guidelines may be removed by administrators.

Loading comments...
Kaiju