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A Study on the Korean Shamanistic Myth "Samgong Bonpoori" from the Perspective of Analytical Psychology (무가 '삼공본풀이'에 대한 분석심리학적 고찰)

  • Myung-sook Hwang
    • Sim-seong Yeon-gu
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    • v.30 no.2
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    • pp.145-186
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    • 2015
  • This thesis discusses and analyzes Jeju island's shamanistic myth "Samgong Bonpoori" from the perspective of analytical psychology. Similar to the "I live on my fortune"-type folktales discovered in the Korean mainland, "Samgong Bonpoori" is such a widespread myth that similar folktales are found not only in East Asian regions, including Korea, Japan, and China, but also in Ireland. The essence of the story is as follows; One day, a father asked his three daughters whose fortune they lived on. The first two daughters claimed that they owe their lives to their parents. However, the youngest daughter, Gameunjang-agi, replied, against his expectation, that "I live on my own fortune," and showed her fortune and virtue were physically embodied in the line drawn from her genitals to navel. Her answer enrages his father so fiercely that she was expelled and forced to embark on a journey with no one but a black cow carrying food to accompany her. In retaliation for telling lies against her, Gameunjang-agi transformed her two sisters into a centipede and a mushroom, while her parents were turned into beggars afflicted with blindness. Afterward, Gameunjang-agi wandered around the country and eventually found love with a Chinese yam digger. Not long after, they got married, and as a couple, they stumbled upon roots of gold in fields, which brought them an incredible amount of wealth. After this miracle has happened, Gameunjang-agi began to wonder about the status of her parents and decided to organize a party for all the beggars and the blinds in the country. She eventually found her parents and got a chance to reconcile with her sisters. The story ends with her parents regaining their eyesight and Gameunjang-agi reestablishing herself as the "Goddess of Providence." "Samgong Bonpoori" is a myth about a God. A God is ontologically a supremely perfect being; however, in this thesis, it will be discussed as a part of a folktale. Gameunjang-agi can be seen as the anima archetype of the father, which reveals the process of a paternal consciousness being transformed over time. At first, her parents deny Gameunjang-agi. However, after years of suffering from blindness, they regain their eyesight and finally recognize their daughter. This signifies that Gameunjang-agi is a being that has come into the world for a certain "purpose." Gameunjang-agi embodies the creative function of "femininity" that can renew the existing collective consciousness embedded in the patriarchal system. Such recognition of femininity matters to men to a great degree as well as to women. Without knowing their true nature (femininity), the two sisters submit themselves to their parents and conventional values. Not until they suffer from being transformed and captured into small and insignificant beings, a centipede and a mushroom, which symbolize their shadow, they fail to develop their self-awareness. Meanwhile, by reconciling with her parents and sisters--playing a significant role in reuniting the family--Gameunjang-agi turns out to be a figure that can reveal what it truly means to have self-awareness and achieve Self-realization. In conclusion, this story illustrates that recognition of femininity matters to men to a great degree as well as to women, and women's Self-realization plays a critical role in revitalizing the collective consciousness embedded in the patriarchal system.