Kkoktu are Korean funerary figures that protect, serve and care for the deceased in the immediate afterlife. They come in a procession that comprises a leading Guardian figure, followed by a Caregiver and an Entertainer. Figures of Dragons and Phoenixes are also common as symbols of freedom and regeneration. The Guardian serves the dead by guiding him in the afterlife, and by driving away evil spirits. Traditionally mounted, fierce-looking and armed with swords or poled weapons, he later took the form of an army officer or policeman in Western-inspired attire, with a sabre. * Guardian * *