The Bird That Drinks Tears
The Bird That Drinks Tears is a series of epic high fantasy novels by the South Korean author Lee Youngdo first published in 2003. The series is set in a world inhabited by four major races: humans, the powerful bird-like Rekon, the flame-wielding Tokkebi, and the reptilian Nhaga, who relinquish their hearts for immortality, allowing them to dominate the southern half of the world.
When a Nhaga envoy is dispatched to North, a trio—each member representing one of the remaining three races—is assembled to escort the envoy. However, the original envoy is brutally murdered, and his replacement is an anomaly: a Nhaga who still has a heart, making him much more vulnerable. As the rescue party navigates hostile terrain and centuries of animosity, they must confront their own prejudices and uncover the hidden purpose of their journey, which may determine the fate of the entire world.
The Bird That Drinks Tears is renowned for its original worldbuilding featuring languages, belief systems, and sociopolitical structures for each race. The novel is highly acclaimed in Korea for its innovative integration of traditional Korean culture into epic fantasy. It departs from earlier fantasy works by embedding elements of Korean folklore and history, as well as Old Korean languages.
Most notably, the Tokkebi race resembles Korean folklore creatures known for their love of Korean wrestling, mischief, and aversion to blood. The narrative incorporates historical titles, employs archaic Korean languages for myths and ancient kingdoms, and features character names like Duoksini and Marunare that are coined from Korean vocabulary.
Publishing
Lee serialized The Bird That Drinks Tears from March to August 2002 on a text-only online service 's Serial forum, which is a dial-up Internet access, similar to his previous works such as Dragon Raja. After the conclusion of the story, the novel was published in 2003 by Golden Bough, an imprint of Minumsa Publishing Group, in 4 hardcover volumes themed after 4 major races:- Book 1: Nhaga Who Extract Their Hearts
- Book 2: Rekon Who Pursue Their Desire
- Book 3: Tokkebi Who Play Their Fire
- Book 4: Humans Who Seek Their King
In 2023, the publisher Golden Bough published a special 20th anniversary illustrated edition, featuring 34 artworks by Seongmin Baek known for his Korean painting style graphic novels, along with 6 new short stories, and a limited set including a special Yunnori set themed after the 4 major races and the geography of the world.
In the same year, the translation rights to The Bird That Drinks Tears were sold to publishers in 12 countries. With a reported total advance of 600 million won, it was widely covered in Korean media as the highest overseas sale for a single Korean novel at the time.
According to the publisher Golden Bough, the novel has been translated into 6 languages as of Feb. 2025.
Sequel
In 2005, Lee published a sequel titled The Bird That Drinks Blood, set 50 years after the events of The Bird That Drinks Tears. The story takes place in the newly established Arajit Empire, ruled from the airborne capital Hanulnuri, and explores themes of absolute power and free will.Plot
The world is divided between North and the vast southern forest known as Kiboren. 1,500 years before the main events of the novel, the cold-blooded, raptian race of Nhaga initiated a campaign of territorial expansion, leading to prolonged conflict with three other major races: humans, Rekons, and Tokkebis. The human Kingdom of Arajit eventually fell after centuries of war. The Nhaga, unable to survive in colder climates due to their physiology, ceased their advance at a boundary later known as the Line of Limit. Within the warmer southern lands, they planted dense forests, giving rise to the labyrinthine region of Koboren. Over time, the Nhaga and the northern races became entirely isolated from one another.Seven centuries later, a message from Hainsha Temple summons three individuals—Bihyung Seurabeul, a Tokkebi; Tinahan, a Rekon; and Kaygon Draka, a human—requesting they enter Kiboren to rescue and escort a Nhaga to the temple. The mission references an ancient prophecy: "Three handles one."
Meanwhile, in the Nhaga city of Hattengraj, a young Nhaga named Ryun Paye prepares for the Heart Extraction Ceremony, the coming-of-age ritual that grants immportality by removing and storing one's heart in the city's Heart Tower. Traumatized by memories of his father's death, Ryun flees the ritual. During his escape, he witnesses the murder of his friend Farit Makerow, who was to serve as the envoy to Hainsha Temple. Honroing Farit's dying wish, Ryun escapes the city to seek out the rescue party, in his friend's place.
Main characters
Rescue Party
; Kaygan Draka; Bihyung Seurabeul
; Tynahan
Nhaga
; Ryun Paye; Samo Paye
; Hwarit Makerowe
; Vias Makerowe
; Karindol Makerowe
; Galotek
; Serisma
People of the North
; Gwalhaide Gyuriha; Lasu Gyuriha
; Kitata Zaboro
; Orenol
; Jutagi
; Boni
; Kei
; Deoni Dalbi
; Bau Moridol
Races
The fictional world of The Bird That Drinks Tears is inhabited by four major intelligent races - Human, Nhaga, Rekon and Tokkebi. Other than the Humans, the races that appear in The Bird That Drinks Tears are in most respects Lee Youngdo's original creations, even though the race of Nhaga and Tokkebi originates from Indian and Korean legends, respectively.; Human
; Nhaga
; Tokkebi
; Rekon
Deities
Each race has an individual deity, who have their own element that they command. They also gave their respective races a unique gift.; God of Nowhere
; Goddess Without Footprints
; God Who Kills Himself
; Goddess Beneath All
Creatures
; Skyray; Beetle
; Dragon
; Great Tiger
; Black Lion
; Dueoksini
Factions and Organizations
; Kingdom of Arajit; Kitalze Hunters
; Nhaga Houses
; Council of Houses
; Guardians
; Toll Road Guild
Adaptations
Video Games
The game development rights for The Bird That Drinks Tears have been held by Krafton since at least 2019, when the company first announced a mobile game based on the novel. However, the project faced criticism from both fans of the original work and the broader gaming community for being "a rebranded version of an existing game using the novel's intellectual property."In May 2021, Krafton announced that the development would restart from the visual concept stage.
Beginning in August 2022, Krafton launched "Project Windless," unveiling concept art and trailers for a new adaptation. A curated selection of artworks by 17 artists, including renowned film designer Iain McCaig, was published in November 2022 as a 300-page hardcover art book and e-book Crossing the Latitude.
In 2003, Krafton announced a new Montreal-based development studio for the project, led by former Ubisoft developers.