I have some interesting trivia to share with the history beanies. 
So this Haechi apparently is the mysterious “Guardian Dog” mentioned in Ms. Underwood’s 15 Years among the TopKnots ? The book was a gem I found thanks to @bbstl during the Mr. Sunshine era!
Ms. Underwood who later became the trusted physician of Empress Myeongseong, freshly arrived at the Royal gates, states;
These entrances are approached by broad, stone steps and a platform with handsome, carved stone balustrade, which is surmounted as well as the lofty gates by crudely chiseled stone images of various mythological animals. Some ten or more paces in front of these steps, and on either side, are the great stone dogs, so called for want of a better name, for they no more resemble dogs than lions. The story of their origin is as follows: The fire god, it was said, had a special enmity against this palace, and repeatedly burned it down; various efforts had been made to propitiate or intimidate him with little success; at length an expensive dragon was brought from China and placed in a moat in the grounds. While he lived all was well, but one ill-fated day an enemy poisoned this faithful guardian, and that night the palace was again burned. Finally some fertile brain devised these animals, no poison could affect their stony digestion, no fear or cajoling could impress their hard hearts; so there they stand on their tall pedestals—fierce and uncompromising, facing the quarter whence the fire god comes, always on guard, never sleeping in their faithful watch, and, as might be expected, he has never been able to burn the buildings thus protected.

At the time, I thought it might’ve been a Quilin because I hadn’t heard of a Haechi, nonetheless I felt so very sad at the state the Joseon Korea has put herself into, that a foreigner would not be impressed nor would she even bother try understanding the relics of the once-been-mighty kingdom. Of course it’s not her fault, because when the whole country is in shambles…
If Joseon was in half the glory it used to be, the foreigner would at least be slightly interested with the architecture and stuff and care to ask a native; “Hey man, which animal does that statue represent? It’s sort of cool.”
Now(then) a bypasser would only spare a glance at the guardian Haechi and think; “Ah, that’s just a dog!”
😪
Now reading that a whole cool drama is made about the importance of Haechi during the Yeongjo-Joseon….I suddenly recalled how its status fell very low during Gojong-Joseon; only a FEW kings later.
Fall of dynasties is always a sad thing..☹️☹️