Sanshin, the Mountain Spirit, is one of the most widely recognised figures in Korean folk religion, depicted with striking consistency across paintings and shrine icons as an elderly, white-bearded sage in scholarly robes, seated or standing beside a large tiger that functions simultaneously as his companion, his mount and a visual shorthand for the mountain's own untamed power.
Every significant mountain in Korea is traditionally understood to have its own Sanshin, a specific local spirit rather than one interchangeable national deity, so that devotion to Sanshin is always in practice devotion to the spirit of a particular named peak, closely tying the cult to Korea's mountainous geography and to specific village and regional identities built around a local mountain's presence. Worshippers petition Sanshin for a wide range of practical concerns, including safe travel through mountain terrain, protection from tigers and other wild dangers historically present in Korea's forests, success in study or examinations, and general blessing and long life, reflecting Sanshin's standing as an approachable, practically useful spirit rather than a remote cosmic power.