An Illustrated Guide To Korean Mythology

00 Prelims KM:Master Testpages KM 10/12/07 16:17 Page i AN ILLUSTRATED GUIDE TO KOREAN MYTHOLOGY 00 Prelims KM:Master Testpages KM 10/12/07 16:17 Page ii RUSSIA KOREA JAPAN CHINA CHEJU TAIWAN 00 Prelims KM:Master Testpages KM 10/12/07 16:17 Page iii An Illustrated Guide to Korean Mythology  Choi Won-Oh GLOBAL ORIENTAL 00 Prelims KM:Master Testpages KM 10/12/07 16:17 Page iv AN ILLUSTRATED GUIDE TO KOREAN MYTHOLOGY Choi Won-Oh First published in 2008 by GLOBAL ORIENTAL LTD PO Box 219 Folkestone Kent CT20 2WP UK www.globaloriental.co.uk © Global Oriental Ltd 2008 ISBN 978-1-905246-60-1 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the publishers. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A CIP catalogue entry for this book is available from the British Library This book is published with the support of the Korea Literature Translation Institute (KLTI) for the project ‘Books from Korea, 2005’ Set in Plantin 10.5 on 12 point by Mark Heslington, Scarborough, North Yorkshire Printed and Bound by Stallion Press (Singapore) Pte Ltd 00 Prelims KM:Master Testpages KM 10/12/07 16:17 Page v Contents  Preface Introduction: Understanding Korean Myths The Korean gods vii 1 11 Myths about Cosmology and Flood 1. The Formation of Heaven and Earth 2. Shoot for a Sun, Shoot for a Moon 3. A Man and a Woman Who Became the Gods of the Sun and the Moon 4. Origin of the Seven Stars of the Great Bear 5. The Great Flood 19 21 28 38 42 51 Myths about Birth and Agriculture 6. The Grandmother Goddess of Birth 7. Chach’o(ngbi, Agriculture Goddess 8. Ch’ilso(ng, Grain Protection Goddess 9. Tanggu(m-aegi and the Three Cheso(k Gods 55 57 62 83 90 Myths about the Messengers of the Underworld 10. Samani Lived Three Thousand Years 11. Sama Changja and His Scapegoat Horse 12. Kangim Went down to the Underworld to Capture the King of Hades 129 131 137 145 Myths about Shamans 13. Paridegi, Goddess Who Guides Dead Souls to the Underworld 14. The Three Brothers Who Became Shamans to Save Their Mother 15. If You Are a Big Shaman, Do You Have a Miraculous Virtue? 167 189 205 Myths about Disease 16. Kaksi Sonnim, the Smallfox Goddess 17. A Benefit for All Sick Children 209 211 227 169 00 Prelims KM:Master Testpages KM vi 10/12/07 16:17 Page vi CONTENTS Myths about Good Fortune 18. Kamu(njang-agi, the Goddess of Good Fortune 19. Onu(li, the Goddess of Fortune-telling 233 235 243 Myths about Love and Family 20. Bride Ch’o(ngjo(ng; Her Sacrificial Death for Love 21. Hallakkungi, the Flower Warden God in the So(ch’o(n Flower Garden 22. The House God and the House-s