Korean mythology

Infobox Korean name


caption=Moon goddess of Goguryeo
hangul=한국의 신화
hanja=韓國의 神話
rr=Hangukui sinhwa
mr=Hankukŭi sinhwa|

Korean mythology consists of national legends and folk-tales which come from all over the Korean Peninsula.

The original religion of Korea was a form of the Eurasian shamanism and the totemism of Far East Asia, specifically of the nomadic peoples of present-day Manchuria. These were strongly colored by the later importations of Buddhism, Confucianism and Taoism from China.

During the early ages, when Buddhism was on the rise, Korean shamanism was widely discredited in an attempt to establish Buddhism as the state religion. In later years both Korean Buddhism and shamanism were heavily purged, almost to the point of being lost from the consciousness of the general population.

After the Korean War in 1953, shamans came to be seen less as religious figures and more as charlatans willing to exploit people for money. Recently, however, there has been a substantial revival movement reclaiming this element of Korean culture.

Although the society is suffused with Confucian values and customs, roughly half of South Koreans today identify themselves as non-religious, a quarter as Christians, and another quarter as Buddhists.

Today, those believing in the indigenous Korean myths as a religion form a minority. Among them are the followers of Chondogyo and Daejonggyo, who worship Dangun as a god, in addition to several rural areas where shamanism has managed to survive.

Cosmology

Korean creation-mythology [Author: Park Jesang(박제상), Translator: Kim Eunsu(김은수), Budoji(부도지), Publisher: Hanmunhwa(한문화), ISBN : 8986481782 ] , or cosmology has many variations depending on the source, but can be generally separated into one of the following three categories: the first, totemic/shamanistic creation mythology, the second Taoistic cosmology, and the third, Buddhist-influenced cosmology. These first two are commonly referred to as pre-Buddhist cosmologies)

Totemic/Shamanistic cosmology

The totemic and shamanistic traditions are perhaps the most indigenous (i.e. "Korean") of the pre-literate cosmologies in Korea and involve a great deal of reference to local geography, such as mountains, rivers, etc. Ancient Korean totemic and shamanistic legends constitute a part of the larger unwritten oral literature which focused on the local Mudang (shaman). The Mudang acted both as a story-teller and a shaman, and usually the legends seemed to involve an attempt to justify the powers of the Mudang or to explain the origin of a certain clan.

Also known as the Mago-Mythology 마고신화(麻姑神話), this is actually one of the lesser-known Korean cosmologies due in part to the rising influence of Buddhism and taoism around this period, as well as the imposition of a patriarchal system which desisted the heavily goddess-oriented nature of the legend. The first mention of this cosmology appears to be the Budoji (부도지), written in 1953.

The creation of the World

At the beginning the world did not exist. A deity named Yul-ryeo 율려(律呂) and a goddess named Mago 마고(麻姑) appeared . Yul-ryeo then died. Mago in turn gave birth to two goddesses: Gung-hee 궁희(穹姬) and So-hee 소희(巢姬). They in turn each gave birth to two Men of Heaven 천인(天人) and two Women of Heaven 천녀(天女).

After the appearance of the Heavenly People, Yul-ryeo 율려 is revived and through her re-birth heaven, earth, and the oceans were created, along with Chi (soul) 기(氣), fire 불(火), water 물(水), and earth 흙(土). These four elements in turn mixed and became herbs and plants, birds and animals.

Mago 마고(麻姑) decides to stay with Yul-ryeo, whose body had now become the world, and the Heavenly People ruled all living things from their heavenly fortress named Magoseong 마고성(麻姑城) in honor of the goddess.

The Coming of Humankind

There were four Heavenly Men guarding each cardinal direction of the fortress, and they were Cheong-gung 청궁(靑穹), Hwang-gung 황궁(黃穹) who were children of Gunghwee, and Hukso 흑소(黑巢), Baekso 백소(白巢)who were children of Sohwee. They in turn married the four Heavenly Women, and gave birth to twelve children, who would become the ancestors of the humans.

These ancestors were pure and were have said to drink from Earth's Milk 지유(地乳), which came from a spring inside the castle. They could speak without making sounds, and act without seeing and never died. Thus they lived for ten thousand years undisturbed.

Then there came a time when the number of people became too large. There was not enough of Earth's Milk (or "Jiyu") to go around for everyone. Because of this, a man from the line of Baekso 백소(白巢) by the name of Jiso 지소(支巢) decided to cede his meal of Earth's Milk five times to his neighbours (other versions say that he waited in line but the line was so long he never got his turn). Eventually his hunger grew intolerable, and deciding to kill himself he headed towards a cliff, where he saw a grape vine growing in the edges. Unable to suppress his hunger, he ate the grapes and immediately acquired the five tastes of sourness, bitterness, spiciness, sweetness, and saltiness. This is known as the Incident of the Five Tastes (오미의 변).

Jiso 지소(支巢) returned to his people and told them of his discovery. Soon however, those who ate from these grapes began to grow teeth. From the teeth spewed a saliva that turned into venom. This was because they had eaten another living thing in order to stay alive.

Soon they were able to see, but were no longer able to hear the heavens. Their skin became coarse, their feet heavy, and they were no longer pure. They gave birth to many animal-resembling children and their lifespans began to shrink.

There eventually came a point when the people of Magosung 마고성(麻姑城) began blaming Jiso (지소) for the transformation, and he along with his family and all those who had eaten the grapes were forced to leave Magosung 마고성(麻姑城).

As the line of Jiso was leaving, however, Hwang-gung (황궁:黃穹, one of the four guardians and a direct ancestor of the Korean people) tried to encourage them by saying that if they could recover their pure nature, they would be free of their misery.

Upon hearing this, the people became convinced that the only way to become pure once more was to drink from Earth's Milk again. They then stormed the castle and overwhelmed it, razing the fortress to its foundations in order to reveal the source of the spring that had given them Earth's Milk. The spring, however, began to flow in all directions and thereafter the milk turned into inedible earth, leaving not only the original perpetrators but all the former inhabitants of the now destroyed castle to starve.

Soon thereafter there ensued a massive famine, and everyone was reduced to devouring not only grapes, but all sorts of plants and even animals in an attempt to satiate their hunger. Of them only Hwang-gung 황궁(黃穹) came forth to Mago 마고(麻姑) and begged her for forgiveness. He swore he would not rest until mankind could recover its pure nature. From her he obtained the Three Heavenly Heirlooms, and great knowledge. He then called together all the people of the earth, taught them agriculture, and gave each clan leader a Heavenly Heirloom and then sent them off in different directions to people the earth.

The Settling of the World

Cheong-gung 청궁(靑穹) went to the East, where he established China.

Baekso 백소(白巢) and his people moved to the West and became the people of Europe and the Middle East.

Hukso 흑소(黑巢) moved to the South, into the region that is now India and Southeast Asia.

The Establishment of Korea

Hwang-gung 황궁(黃穹) took three thousand followers and they alone went to the harsh North, to a place called Chonsanju 천산주(天山洲), meaning "land of the heavenly mountain" where the land was cold and dangerous. He had done this on purpose, because he wanted to be purified once more. Upon arrival, Hwang-gung 황궁(黃穹) signed an oath swearing that he would recover his purity.

Hwang-gung 황궁(黃穹) ruled for a thousand years, using the Heavenly Heirloom, which granted him power over fire and the sun. Hwang-gung eventually achieved his goal of self-purification. To his oldest son Yuin 유인(有因) he gave the Heavenly Heirloom as a sign of his right to govern the kingdom, whereas to his two younger sons he gave the responsibility of governing over a province each. He then departed to the Heavenly Mountain 천산(天山) where he became a stone that could speak Yul-ryeo's message, constantly reminding men of their path to innocence.

Yuin 유인(有因) ruled for another thousand years. Using the Heavenly Heirloom, he taught his people how to tame fire and cook food. He later left for the Heavenly Mountain as well and gave the heirloom to his a son by the name of Han-in 한인(桓因) [sometimes pronounced "Hwanin" 환인] . Han-in 한인(桓因) was the last of the heavenly rulers, who used the power of the Heirloom to bring abundant sunlight and good weather. Under the three thousand years of peaceful reign since Hwang-gung 황궁(黃穹), the people eventually lost their animal-like appearance and slowly began recovering their image.

Demystifying the Myth

Han-in 한인(桓因) later established a kingdom in Lake Baikal which he named Hwan-guk 환국(桓國), a proto-Joseon nation, from which the later Emperors of Ancient Joseon were said to have emerged. It seems that some of the similarities between the Dangun legend and the Mago legend (including the Three Heavenly Heirlooms, or the three thousand servants) might be because the Dangun legend borrows from the earlier Mago legend.

It seems that the original pronunciation of Hwan-guk 환국(桓國) was closer to "Han-guk" 한국 (as in "Han-in" 한인:桓因), which is the name South Koreans use today to refer to their country. Han-in also goes by different names, including Ahn Pa-kyeon 안파견(安巴堅), and Chonjae Han-in 천제한인(天帝桓因), meaning "Han-in Emperor of Heaven."

The Silla scholar Park Che-sang (박제상), mentions this myth as being much older than the better-known Dangun mythology. It is claimed that Hwanguk collapsed sometime around 3,898 BCE (Ancient Joseon's legendary founding date is 2,333 BCE), whereas it is said to have been established somewhere near the 1st century BCE.

Collection of pre-Buddhist mythologies

Very little survives of the Pre-Buddhist mythologies, the vast majority of them having been oral literature and a substantial amount of them now forgotten from folklore.

It seems that out of an initial chaos the world was formed and a race of giants set up the stars in the heavens, and separated them from a deepness of water. When their job was finished they fell into an eternal slumber and their bodies became the islands and mountains etc.

The Sun and the Moon

In the world before the sun and the moon, only the stars existed.

It was in these early days that there lived siblings: Haesik (해식) the older brother and Dalsoon (달순) the younger sister. Their mother was a poor peasant woman who sold rice-cakes for a living.

The mother was returning from the village one day when she was encountered by a tiger perched on a hill demanding a rice-cake in exchange for sparing her life. She gave it to him and the tiger went away, only to appear before her at the next hill; this time demanding two rice cakes. She gave him the cakes, only to find him again on the third hill, this time asking for four rice cakes. When the mother finally ran out of rice cakes to feed him, the tiger threatened to devour her.

The mother pleaded, saying she was the sole mother of two children. Upon hearing this the tiger's hunger grew even more vicious. He devoured the mother and then took on her clothing as a disguise. He then made his way to the house where he knew the children awaited.

At the house the children were worried that their mother was not returning. Haesik suggested they lock the door, when he heard a voice calling them from outside. Dalsoon, the younger, thought it was her mother, but Haesik knew the voice was different and sensed that something was not right. The tiger urged them to open the door, but Haesik staunchly refused.

Not giving in, the tiger used some of the powder left from the rice cakes and applied it on the back of his hand, making them look white. When he inserted his fingers through a space in the door, Dalsoon became convinced that it was their mother and immediately opened the door. The tiger chased them until the children climbed up to the safety of a tree.

When the tiger found an axe in the house and began chopping down on the tree, Dalsoon made a prayer asking the heavens to send down a strong rope if they should be saved and a rotten rope if they were to be damned. A strong rope was sent down, and both siblings climbed up until they reached the heavens.

Seeing this, the tiger made a similar request, but the rope he got was rotten and he fell in a millet field. His blood stained the millet and this is why millet stalk is said to be red.

In heaven, Haesik became the sun (햇님) and Dalsoon became the moon (달님), but later Dalsoon complained that she was afraid of the dark. Thus Haesik decided to stand in for her so that Dalsoon could become the sun.

Founding of the nations

Founding Myth of Ancient Joseon

In the heavens lived a god 천제(天帝) by the name of Hwanin 환인(桓因). Hwanin 환인(桓因) is an alias of Indra. [三國遺事 卷第一 紀異 第一, 昔有桓因 謂帝釋也] Hwanin 환인(桓因) is the name on Buddhism of Indra, this name is widely used in east Asia.Hwanin had a son by the name of Hwanung 환웅(桓雄). Everyday, Hwanung would peer over the edge of heaven down into the earth and shed tears. When asked why by his father, Hwanung answered that he worried for the fate of the mortals and that he wished to rule them in order to bring peace and justice into their kind. Moved by his devotion, Hwanin allowed him to descend into the world and rule. He gave his son Three Heavenly Heirlooms 천부삼인(天符三印), along with a group of three thousand servants, and ordered the Three Lords of wind 풍백(風伯), rain 우사(雨師), and clouds 운사(雲師) to follow him.

Hwanung thus descended onto the world. He first arrived at the mountain-top of Mt. Taebaek and there established a city he called Shinshi 신시(神市), meaning City of the Gods. Hwanung took care of 360 human affairs, including agriculture, life, illness, justice, good and evil, etc. It was during this time that two beasts approached him, wishing to become human.

One of them, a tiger, is now thought to symbolize a tiger-totem clan that vied for power along with the bear, representing the gentler and more civilized bear-clan.

Hwanung gave both of them a handful of mugwort and twenty cloves or garlic, with which they had to stave off their hunger while remaining inside a dark cave without seeing the sunlight for 100 days. The tiger in his temper, ran away before the ordeal was through, but the bear remained patient and on the twenty-first day turned into a beautiful woman. The woman was given the name Ungnyeo 웅녀(熊女).

Not long after her transformation, Ungnyeo began to crave a child, but since she has been a beast before she became a woman, no one was willing to wed her. In her sadness she sat beneath a holy tree and prayed for a child everyday. Hwanung, moved by her prayers, took human form for a brief moment and through him she gave birth to a son.

This son is Dangun, forefather of the Korean people.

Dangun established a kingdom he called Asadal 아사달(阿斯達), meaning "place where the morning sun shines." This name was later changed to Joseon 조선(朝鮮) (Now called Ancient Joseon to distinguish it from the later Joseon kingdom). Legend has it that Dangun ruled undisturbed for one thousand five hundred years before his kingdom was invaded by the Ju Empire. He is said to have lived until he was 1,908 years of age-- at which point he decided to leave the mortal lands and headed for the quiet of the mountains where he became a divine spirit of the mountain, or Sanshinlyong (산신령).

Folklore

*"The Beast's Cave" [http://www.mountain.org/education/resources/korea-cave.cfm]
*"The Boy's Sacrifice" [http://www.mountain.org/education/resources/korea-boy.cfm]
*"Three Sons Under the Stars" [http://www.mountain.org/education/resources/korea-sons.cfm]
*"The Story Spirits" [http://www.aaronshep.com/stories/060.html]
*"The White Tiger" [http://www.storiestogrowby.com/stories/white_tiger_body.html]

Korea has a rich folklore tradition with deep links to Korean shamanism.

Modern treatments

Recent achievements in keeping Korean folklore alive have been the 150 part animated TV series, "Animentary Korean Folklore", telling old tales anew but with traditional 2-D Korean styled animation.

Korean mythology has also given birth to several online role-playing games, most notably NexusTK.

Legendary Figures

* Haneul-nim -The Heavenly Emperor, Ruler of Heaven and Earth. "Contemporary adaptation "God"
* Okhwang Sangje - the King of Heaven (of Taoism)
* Dal(soon)-nim -The moon, sister of the sun.
* Hae(sik)-nim -The sun, brother of the moon.
* SeOhNyuh - A woman who was routinely harvesting mussels by the sea but was accidentally swept away to the ocean and eventually to Japan on a magically moving rock. The people made her a queen. Before her transport, she had a husband named YeonOrang, who would follow her later.
* YeonOrang - Husband of SeOhNyuh. He too was swept away to Japan on a magical rock. He met his wife there and the two lived happy lives.
* Cheonha Daejanggun -Village Guardian & General under Heaven, husband of Jiha yeojanggun He is represented as a totem pole with a scary face, constructed in front of a village entrance.
* Jiha yeojanggun - Village Guardian & General under Earth, wife of Cheonha Daejanggun. She is represented as a totem pole with also scary but more feminine face, constructed in front of a village entrance with her husband. She protects the village with her husband.
* Sanshilyeong/Sanshin -The God of The Mountains
* Yongwang - The benevolent Dragon King of the seas, but not necessarily a dragon (usually an old human).
* Hwanin - The Heavenly initiator a title of 7 rulers on earth.
* Hwanung - The son of Heaven & dynasty of rulers in Greater Mongolia.
* Ungnyeo - The Bear who became a woman & conceived Dangun with Hwanin.
* Dangun - "son of Hwanung" - The first Korean king of Gojoseon.
* Seon-nyeo - Female Angel in Heaven
* GyuhnU & JigNyuh - They meet on July the 7th at every year by lunar calendar, and their weeping is raining on July the 7th.
* Juhseung Saja - "Emissaries of the Juhseung (meaning 'Other/That World')." Angels of Death. They reap souls and guide them through the dark misty forests into the netherworld. There is no heaven or hell, just a place where the dead go, named "JuhSeung," (means: That World) which is opposite of YiSeung, or Earth. (means: This World)
* Chi Woo - A semi-legendary king who defeated the Yellow Emperor in a ten-year war.
* Pear Blossom - the Korean Cinderella

upernatural beings

* Chollima

Yokwe

* Kumiho - A many-tailed fox who can use powerful illusions and curses.
* Bulyeowoo - A fox that is more than 100 years old, and can be disguised as a woman.
* Dokkaebi (goblins) - spirits who keep bats and enjoy mischievous tricks. Most are believed to possess horns and magical powers.

Gwisin

(ghost)
* a departed soul in water (물귀신)
* a departed soul of a virgin (처녀귀신)
* a departed soul of an unmarried man (몽달귀신)
* a soul of eggs (달걀귀신)

Guardians

* Three-Legged-Bird

The following are synonymous with the Chinese polar guardians:
* Blue Dragon - Tomb guardian of one of the East (right)
* White Tiger - Tomb guardian of one of the West (left)
* Black Turtle - Tomb guardian of one of the North
* Red Phoenix - Tomb guardian of one of the South
* Bonghwang - Firebird, shared with Chinese mythology

ee also

* Korean culture
* Korean literature
* List of Korea-related topics
*Cheonyeo gwisin
*Jeoseungsaja
*Gumiho
*Mongdal gwisin
*Dokkaebi
*Hwajangsil gwisin

References

External links

* [http://english.kbs.co.kr/explore/what/1334186_11794.html Animated KBS TV Series]
* http://www.clickasia.co.kr/about/m1.htm
* http://www.clickasia.co.kr/about/m2.htm
* http://www.clickasia.co.kr/about/m3.htm
* http://www.koreatips.net/english/culture/tale.html
* http://www.clickasia.co.kr/about/0707love.htm
*
* [http://www.cau.ac.kr/english/research/institutes.html?seq=18 Chung-Ang University Folklore Research Centre]