• Korean Journal of Hospice Care
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.1-11
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• 2006

There are various understandings how to define death. In the context of medicine, death is defined as the irreversible change of the tissue according to the cessation of circulation and respiration. According to the psychologists, a person need to accept the finiteness as a human being and remain conscious that the death is not avoidable. And they say if a person doesn't regard death as unavoidable reality of life he or she will not confront the humanistic death and after all will die like animals. In philosophy, death is viewed as an unwelcome reality in the end of the journey of life. Sociologists usually understand that the society is the organization composed with living persons and human beings which construct and transmit the culture from generation to generation between the both ends of life and death. In society, the generation is changed, maintained, and developed through the phenomenon of death. Although death of human being is natural event in society, the death of a specific person brings a sense of loss, crisis, and anxiety to the communities like family, regional society, nation, and the world. In this context, death is not confined to personal dimension and it can be regarded as a social problem. It is valuable to summarize the religious perspectives on the meaning of death for the better hospice care. In shamanism, there are basic idea that although the flesh of human being disappears, soul never die. If human dies, the flesh of human being disappears but soul never disappear and come back to the origin of soul as it is called chaos. So in shamanism, it is said that shaman can solve the mortified feeling, restore the broken harmony, send the soul to comfortable space- the origin, and guarantee the blessing of descendents. Buddhists regard the death as an essential component through the cycles of life. Through this cycle, human being exits as an endlessly transmigrating being and the death is just a restoration to the original status. In Confucianism, the view on the death based on the philosophy of the "Yin and Yang" and "Five elements". In Buddhist tradition, many believers said the philosophy of "Death is the same as life". Unlike usual thoughts that a god governs "life and death" and "fortune and misfortune", Confucianists deny the governance of a god and emphasize the natural orders in which every phenomenon in the world moves according to the principle. Confucianists understand the death as a natural order with this principle. In Confucianists' belief, the essence of human being remains in their own descendent's lives after the death of ancestor, so in Confucianism there is no concept of immortality of the soul. In the history of Christianity, death has been defined generally as the separation of the immortal soul from the mortal body. In the earlier days of Old Testament, the death is regarded as a disappearance of just a flesh and human never disappear and always live in the relationship with God. Later days in Old Testament, we can find the growing concern for the life after the death because of the entrance of the theodicy. In the New Testament, the death is not regarded as the normal process of the human life and regarded as the abnormal status in which death come to human because of sin as a decisive factor and it should be conquered. In fact, the most of us afraid death because not of the fear of death itself but of the sense of the emptiness and regrets. so many people often make the monument hoping to live forever. But Christian usually regard this behavior as a sinful act because human being usually think themselves as a master of their life and attempt to become immortal in this kind of trial mortal. But if we live with God, we cannot confront such a condition because we aware limits as a mortal human being and entrust everything on Him and want to live according to His guidance. Therefore, in the Christian tradition, the death is regarded as accomplishment of life, fruits of life, invitation to the eternal life, and the last stage of human growth. For human being, the death is the great step of maturation as a human in the final stage of life.

• Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
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• v.41 no.2
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• pp.5-25
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• 2008

Seoul's community beliefs originated from the ritual performed by the shrines affiliated to each government office in the Joseon Dynasty. Lower branches of government officials were assigned to perform these rituals. Generally, these shrines were called Bugundang(府君堂). Records show that Bugundang(府君堂) was generally one to three units and enshrined the portrait of Bugun(府君), the worshipped, inside. According to historical records, the worshipped were mostly General Choi Young(崔瑩將軍) or Madame Song(宋氏夫人). In fact, however, each Bugundang(府君堂) worshipped different persons. Some of the worshipped were historical characters from the Goryeo Dynasty or the founding period of Joseon Dynasty, Guan Yu(關羽) and Zhuge Liang(諸葛孔明) that became gods after the Japanese Invasion of 1952, Wanggun(王建), Dangun(檀君), General Nam Yi(南怡將軍), Kim Yoo Shin(金庾信), Lim Gyeong Up (林慶業), King Gongmin(恭愍王), King Taejo(Lee Sung Gye, 太祖 李成桂), Joban(趙?) who is one of the supporters of the foundation of Joseon Dynasty, Sir Hong(洪氏大監) and his women who appear in the legend of Nanhansanseong(南漢山城) area, and many other historical figures. It is difficult to compare the rituals of these shrines from community Gut(Shaman ritual) performances of Seoul. According to historical records, Gut and ceremony coexisted in rituals. As time passed, these rituals spread as the community Beliefs of commoners and have been transmitted in the context of Seoul's cultural change. This study examined the existence of affiliated shrines of local government offices in the Joseon Dynasty and discussed the cases of Jangchung-dong Gwanseong Shrine(將忠洞 關聖廟), Bangsan-dong Seongje Shrine(方山洞 聖帝廟), and Seobinggo Bugundang(西氷庫 府君堂) to trace the succession of rituals at these shrines as folk customs of commoners. Bangsan-dong Seongje Shrine(方山洞 聖帝廟) spread to the public as Gwanwoo(關羽), who was considered the god of soldiers, transformed into the god of merchants along with historical transition. It clearly shows the process as to how merchants from a certain region developed a community religion. Jangchung-dong Gwanseong Shrine(將忠洞 關聖廟) is Bugundang(府君堂) of the soldiers of Nampyoug(南營). As the ritual was succeeded by a ritual group called Yeoungsinsa(永信社), composed of nearby residents, it was naturally spread and succeeded by the residents in local community. Seobinggo Bugundang(西氷庫 府君堂) was related to the changes in the historical background of ice gathering in the late Joseon Dynasty.

• (The) Research of the performance art and culture
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• no.32
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• pp.465-488
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• 2016

This paper attempts to read in different ways and to interpret newly on Cheoyongrang mhang-hae-sa in "Sam-guk-yu-sa". Ulsan have held Cheoyong Cultural Festival for 47 times according to "Sam-guk-yu-sa". However, there have been a frequent identity crisis about Cheoyong Cultural Festival because of controversial issue about Cheoyong, This paper interpretate Cheoyongrang mhang-hae-sa newly to overcome these crisis, Cheoyong's dancing and retreating was not the resignation and tolerance, but the treat and warning, as the dance of Namsansin god of Posukjeong, Buk-acksin god of Keumkangryung and Jisin god of Dongryejeon was the warning of Silla's ruination. 'The Mhang' of Mhang-he-sa temple should be interpreted not as 'watch' but 'fifteen days'. Mhang-he means the roads buried in darkness and vanished had become a sea. The name of Shin-bhang-sa temple means Gae-un-po province of Ulsan had become 'the newly purified region' because of the inspection of King Heon-ghang. The main keyword of Cheoyongrang mhang-hae-sa is 'Byuk-sa-jin-gyung'. 'Byuk-sa-jin-gyung' means to repel the impious and pray the pleasure. The purpose of the personal Gut and national Gut, Narae, was also 'Byuk-sa-jin-gyung'. The reinvented bridal room with a fresh life was like the world of Byuk-sa-jin-gyung. The dance of God Sa-bhang was, as well the desperate desire to New Silla. Cheoyong was a shaman with a superior authority who set up the power to foresee to the god of smallpox. The image of Cheoyong at is not the resignation and tolerance, but the foresight and authority. Therefore, the slogan of Cheoyong Cultural Festival, the resignation and tolerance, should be reexamined. The new Cheoyong Cultural Festival should adopt the concept of foresight and authority and Byuk-sa-jin-gyung. Cheoyong Cultural Festival, have been held for 49times, often had identity problems. The identity of Cheoyong have been misinterpreted as the resignation and tolerance. The slogan of Cheoyong Cultural Festival should be reexamined. The new Cheoyong Cultural Festival should adopt the concept of foresight and authority and Byuk-sa-jin-gyung.

• 기호학연구
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• no.54
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• pp.119-145
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• 2018

This paper attempts to divide the narrative into three levels and review the approach methodology to understand Princess Bari as a narrative. If the stratification of the narrative, the analysis of each levels, and the integrated approach to them are made, this can contribute to suggesting new directions and ways to understand and study Princess Bari. The story level of Princess Bari, the surface structure, is shaped by the space movement and the chronological sequential structure of the life task that started from the birth of the main character. This story shows how a woman who was denied her existence by her father as soon as she was born finds an ontological transformation and identities through a process. Especially, the journey of finding identity is mainly formed through the events that occur through the relationship with family members. This structure, which can be found in the narrative level, forms a deep structure with the oppositional paradigm of family members' conflict and reconciliation, life and death. The thought structure revealed in this story is the problem of life is the problem of family composition, and the problem of death is also the same. In response to how to look at the unified world of coexistence of life and death, this tradition group of myths makes a relationship with man and God. This story is mainly communicated in the Korean shamanistic ritual(Gut) that sent the dead to the afterlife. Although the shaman is the sender and the participants in the ritual are the receivers, the story is well known a message that does not have new information repeated in certain situations. In gut, the patrons and participants do not simply accept the narrative as a message, but accept themselves as codes for reconstructing their lives and behavior through autocommunication. By accepting the characters and events of as a homeomorphism relationship with their lives, people accept the everyday life as an integrated view of life and death, disjunction and communication, conflict and reconciliation, and the present viewpoint. It can not change the real world, but it changes the attitude of 'I' about life. And it is a change and transformation that can be achieved through personal communication like the transformation of Princess Bari into god in myth. Thus, Princess Bari shows that each meaning and function in the story level, composition level, and communication level is related to each other. In addition, the structure revealed by this narrative on three levels is also effective in revealing the collective consciousness and cultural system of the transmission group.

• (The) Research of the performance art and culture
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• no.39
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• pp.669-700
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• 2019

Farmers' band music is a religious ritual in Korea. It is a solemn ritual to exhibit the auspicious holiness of the people to the God. Most of the ritual is accomplished by music. The music of the farmers 'band, in this sense, has its meaning as the expression of holiness by sound. In this paper, I will explore the principle to make various rhythms of farmers' band music, especially focusing on the chaegut (lit. "stroke music"). It is very symbolic because the name of the music shows the strokes of the gong, called jing, in a rhythmic phrase. In this sense, the chaegut is man-made music based on the specific principles in accordance with the strokes of the gong. Among many chaegut rhythms, samchae (lit. "three strokes") to chilchae (lit. "seven strokes") are the main rhythms. They were made after the principle of 'forward with drums, backward with gongs' in Five way procession. It the basic principle of military procession from the early Joseon Dynasty. The procession follows with the sound of the drums and gongs. There was always a principle of "five strokes" to control the procession. The "five strokes" became the basis of the making of chaegut rhythms. The rhythms of the samchae to chilchae are based on the rhythm of samchae. The samchae has three gong strokes in a cycle, which exhibits the chaotic moment with the rhythmic noise. The name of the rhythm exhibits the correspondence of the signifiant, that is the name "three strokes" and the signifié, that is the real three strokes of gongs in music. Other four rhythms has made up from the samchae with half cycles are added in accordance with the strokes of the gongs. In this way, the chaegut shows the principle of "five strokes" in the military procession. The rhythm of ochae jilgut is a mixture of ochae (lit. "five strokes") and jilgut (lit. "road music") which is usually performed on the road to a mountain shrine. The musical structure of ochae jilgut corresponds to the colotomic structure of Southeast Asian music and the 15th-century music of old musical scores. The rhythm of gilgunak chilchae is a mixture of gilgunak (lit. "road military music") and chilchae (lit. "seven strokes"). The rhythmic structure is similar to other regional music, sijo ("short song") of the literati music and norae garak (lit. "some melody") of the shaman music. In sum, the chaegut is very artistic music made from the military procession of the Joseon Dynasty. The name of the rhythm corresponds with the strokes of the gong in a cycle. In this way, the chaegut shows the principle of music-making to exhibit the ritual characteristics of the Korean people.

• (The) Research of the performance art and culture
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• no.22
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• pp.93-121
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• 2011

This article is concerned with the withdrawal of the compositional principle of Jinogigut which has been performed in Seoul and the identification of its meaning based on the withdrawal. Jinogigut is a world where a god is connected to humans in complicated manners, this world and the world of the dead coexist, and it is a process of demonstrating that the dead, who have stayed in the world of humans, enter the world of a god. Jinogigut shows the process of leading the dead to the world of the dead one after another. First, the god-centered street is continued, and the gut displays through which process a god will guide the dead to the world of the dead. Next, is a human-centered street, which exhibits the appearance of the dead heading to the world of the dead following the death angel, more in detail. Finally, a human-centered structure shows how humans enter the world of the dead. Through this repetition, it reveals that the dead take a seat in the world of the dead, at last. The organization of the later part of the world of the dead-oriented gut in Jinogigut, which is god-centered, continues to a human-centered gut through the meeting between a god and humans. and , which are continued, followed by , are ceremonial rituals that confirm the dead entering the world of the dead without any problem. Begareugi shows that the entering of the dead into the world of the dead was completed with perfection by cutting hemp cloth, and informs the living that the dead expressed gratitude for holding the ritual for him/her by appearing at the venue of the gut once again and that the dead settled into the world of death. , which finally holds ancestral rites to the god of ancestors who is seated in the world of the dead, reveals that the dead, who had been a human, has been transformed into the god of ancestors through Jinogigut. Jinogigut also performs the function of comforting a client (who is the family of the dead) of the gut, who has faced a sudden death in his/her family. What is the most important for consoling the client is to display that the dead has entered the world of the dead without any problem. Jinogigut shows this process through a three-layered structure. It exhibits how the dead would be moved to the world of gods, as well as the safe entering of the dead who followed Jeoseung-saja(envoy from the world of the dead) and who had appeared to this world from the world of the dead. Then, it demonstrates again the appearance of the dead entering the world of the dead following Barigongu; thus, it placates the heart of the client's family.

• Journal of Korean Historical Folklife
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• no.33
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• pp.31-72
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• 2010

At first, I extract materials on folk religion from four encyclopedic literatures of late Chosun dynasty-Lee, Ji-Bong-Ryu-Seol(『芝峯類說』) by Soo-Kwang(李晬光), San-Lim-Kyung-Jae(『山林經濟』) by Hong, Man-Sun(洪萬選), Sung-Ho-Sa-Seol(『星湖僿說』) by Lee-Ik(李瀷), O-Ju-Yeon-Moon-Jang-Jun-San-Go(『五洲衍文長箋散稿』) by Lee, Kyu-Kyung(李圭景), and present these materials by tables. Second, I examined the contents and characters of these materials on folk religion. The conclusions from this research are as follows. ① There are common features and points of difference between these four encyclopedic literatures. One of common features are that all these four are encyclopedic works, but San-Lim-Kyung-Jae is more practical than another three. ② These encyclopedic literatures regard folk religion as a negative culture, because these literatures based on Confucianism. But they did not deny miraculous virtues of folk religion. ③ These encyclopedic literatures give us many informations on gods and spirits of Korean folk religion, i.e. city gods(城隍神)·Yup-Sin(업신)·spirits of disease, god Kim-Bu(金傅大王神)·god Jung-Duk-Yang(鄭得揚)·god of King Kuan-u(關王神)·god Bu-keun(付根神) etc. So I review these gods and spirits referenced in encyclopedic literatures. ④ These encyclopedic literatures show much interest in ghost in common. The reason of interest is that authors of these encyclopedic literatures are all scholars of Sung Confucianism and Sung Confucian was concern about ghost. The Sung Confucianism denied the ghost as personal being whom Korean folk religion regards to a kind of spirits. Instead of beliefs in ghost of folk religion, they insist on the ghost as Ki(氣), a kind of cosmic principle. But these encyclopedic literatures acknowledge some parts of folk religion's beliefs in ghost, because they admit the miraculous virtues of these parts. ⑤ There are many items on divination in these encyclopedic literatures. But they show dual attitude on divinations. The one is negative attitude to divinations on individual destiny and the other one is positive attitude to divinations on agriculture. ⑥ There are also many items on witchcrafts in these encyclopedic literatures. Through these items, I assumed pervasiveness of beliefs on witchcraft at that time. ⑦ Shamans, as religious specialist, are stand on a central position of Korean folk religion. So it is a matter of course that these encyclopedic literatures concerned on Korean shaman. As Confucians, authors of these encyclopedic literatures did not regards shamans as positive one. But they did not deny miraculous virtues of shamans. In spite of these encyclopedic literatures have negative view points to, and include false informations Korean folk religion, I would like to emphasis on importance of these encyclopedic literatures to understand Korean folk religions, especially Korean folk religions of late Yi Dynasty.

• Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
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• v.38
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• pp.5-42
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• 2005

Based on a field investigation of intangible cultural asset # 2, author Sir Shin Seok-bong of Daejeon Metropolitan Cityinvestigated the music of Antaek-gut, which is the base and core of Anjoon-gut, and found the following musical features: A Jang-gu(drum) and Kkoaengkwari(gong) were used to recitethe Sutra(kyungmoon) of Anjoon-gut. The Jang-gu, located on the right side, played an accompaniment role with regular beats when the Sutra was recited. The Kkoaengkwari, located on the left side, played the role of covering the caesura of the Sutra passages, so it is played with various rhythmic variations in accordance with Kojang(鼓杖). This is one way of playing Korean national classical music that has temporary caesuras, depending on the rector's bre! ath or the contents of a Sutra during the Sutra chanting, with the Jang-gu covering the pause with its variation. In other words, when being played in concert, the instruments that play the main melody are at rest while another instrument takes its turn to play the main melody as a form of prolonged sound. The rhythmic cycles of the sutras of Antaek-gut recited with this instrumental accompaniment consist of five types; a) Woemarch-jangdan (a single beat) of 4 meter by 3 bit, b) Dumarch-jangdan (two beats) of 8 meter by 3 bit, c) Saemarch-jangdan (three beats) of 4 meter by 3 bit with a fast tempo, d) Mak-gojang, uniform beats with a standardized rhythm, and e) incomplete beats deviated from the regular beats. Sir Shin Seok-bong chanted Chang (唱), a traditional native song which he called 'Cheong (淸)' with a cycle of 'Dumarch-jangdan' throughout the places of Antaek-gut. Only 'Toesonggyung' a chant for the gate that was the last location of the Antaek, was chanted with a cycle of 'Woemarch-jan! gdan'. In addition, 'Saemarch-jangdan' and 'Mak-gojang' that had comparatively faster tempos than the former two jangdans, were played without a chant when a female shaman was dancing and catching her spirit-invoking wand. The 'Saemarch-jangdan', particularly, was played while dancing began at a relatively slow tempo, then proceeded at a violent tempo and then back again to the slow tempo. This shows one of the representative tempos of our music with a slow-fast-slow tempo. The organizational tones were 'mi-la-do'-re'', and its key tones of 'mi-la-do'' were performed with perfect fourth and minor third, which was the same as those of Menari-tori. However, it did not show a typical Sigimse, an ornamental tone, of Menari-tory, whose first tone, 'mi', is vibrated and its Sigimse is gliding down from the tone 're' to 'do'. That is because the regional tone-tori of Chungcheong-do have a relatively weaker musical expression than that of Gyeongsang-do. In addition, the rhythmic types in accordance with the words of a song for the Antaek-gut music had a comparatively faster tempo than the other sutras. Also, it was only with 'Toesonggyeong' that the tone 'la' continuously appeared throughout the melody and showed 'a syllabic rhythm', while other places consisted of either a 'syncopation' or 'melismatic' rhythm. Finally, according to a brief investigation of the tone organization in accordance with each sutra, the tone 'la' was given more weight. The tone procedure showed a mainly ascending 'la-do'' and the descending 'la-mi' with minor third and perfect fourth. Also, the overall tempo proceeded with M.M.♩.=116-184, while the tempo for the Gut proceeded with M.M.♩.=120-140, which was suitable for reciting a Sutra.