In the West, it's used as a symbol of a strong wild animal, but in Eastern folktales, it also appears as a slightly slow but wise character.

In the financial market, it symbolizes a 'bear market,' meaning a decline in stock prices, and it's also used to refer to a specific gay male community. In Korea's Dangun myth, the bear is a familiar animal, with a story of it becoming human after eating mugwort and garlic.