New goddesses at Paektu Mountain: two contemporary Korean myths

Winstanley-Chesters, R and Ten, V (2016) 'New goddesses at Paektu Mountain: two contemporary Korean myths.' S/N Korean Humanities, 2 (1). pp. 151-179. ISSN 2384-0668

Official URL: https://www.snkh.org/Journal/Article/22

Abstract

Mountain worship and sanshin (mountain gods) legends are intrinsic to Korean culture. Central for narratives of anti-colonial struggle and contemporary policy of North Korea, Mt. Paektu also became a symbol of Korean national identity in South Korean popular culture. This paper engages two legends sited there, suggesting that their main protagonists represent contemporary sanshin. Firstly we consider the image of Kim Chŏng-suk of North Korea, and those narratives addressing her husband, Kim Il-sŏng’s guerrilla resistance in terrains surrounding Paektu. As a bodyguard of Kim Il-sŏng and a champion of revolutionary struggle, Kim Chŏng-suk transcends her human nature, and embodies female presence on Mt. Paektu. Secondly the paper investigates narrative from contemporary South Korean practice GiCheon (氣天 Kich’ŏn), intended for physical and moral cultivation of a person, reinvented in modernity on the basis of ancient East-Asian traditions. It recounts a mythic meeting of Bodhidharma with the Immortal Woman of Heaven (天仙女 Ch’ŏnsŏnyŏ) dwelling at Mt. Paektu. The Woman of Heaven overpowers Bodhidharma in battle, challenging patriarchal gender conceptions and contesting Chinese cultural superiority. Examined together, these two narratives demonstrate common cultural background. Ancient tradition, passed down from past to present, continuously accumulates and transforms, acquiring new forms in South and North Korean contexts.

Item Type:	Article
Keywords:	Korean mythology, GiCheon, Kim Chŏng-suk, Mt Paektu, Sanshin and mountain and worship
Subjects:	G Geography. Anthropology. Recreation > G Geography (General)
Divisions:	School of Sciences
Identification Number:	https://doi.org/10.17783/IHU.2016.2.1.151
Date Deposited:	03 Mar 2020 17:33
Last Modified:	15 Aug 2021 09:53
URI / Page ID:	https://researchspace.bathspa.ac.uk/id/eprint/12958

	Request a change to this item or report an issue
	Update item (repository staff only)

Tools