Even though it looks raccoon-ish, scientists have shown it really is a member of the dog family. Its closest cousins are foxes and wolves. The 'raccoon look' is just because it lives in a similar way and has similar fur markings - what scientists call 'convergent' evolution.
Raccoon dogs are very gentle. When they are scared, instead of barking or fighting, they often just flop on the ground and pretend to be dead until the danger goes away. They are also one of the only kinds of dogs that climb trees - they can scramble up to find fruit or get away from something bigger.
In winter, raccoon dogs slow right down. They store a lot of fat in their bodies in autumn (by eating berries, nuts, frogs, insects and basically anything they find), and then they sleep through most of the cold weather in a den. This is unusual - very few members of the dog family hibernate.
In Korea, the neoguri is a favourite character in cartoons and food packets. There is even a famous noodle soup named after it. Spotting one in the wild is rare, but they sometimes come into the edges of cities looking for food, especially at night.