Donggyeongi
The Donggyeongi is a small Korean dog from Gyeongju. It is naturally bob-tailed, with a very short tail or none at all. The breed is sometimes called daeng gyeon or Donggyeong gae. About 600 Donggyeongi remain, and it has been protected as a natural heritage breed in South Korea since 2012.
DNA studies show the Donggyeongi and the Korean Jindo share a common ancestor from roughly 900 years ago. The breed’s features appear in old records and in 6th‑century clay dog dolls found near Gyeongju.
In the past, there were many Donggyeongi in Gyeongju. They declined during Japanese rule (1910–1945), when some were killed—possibly because of their similarity to Komainu, dog statues kept in temples and palaces. After Korea’s liberation, tail-less dogs were sometimes thought to be unlucky or deformed, and crossbreeding made the situation worse.
Today, preservation efforts have helped the breed, and it is now recognized as a national heritage of Korea.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 22:34 (CET).