Tag Archives: Korean

The Origin of the Korean Nation

Nationality: Korean
Age: 49
Occupation: Pastor
Residence: Orange County, CA
Performance Date: 4/20/22
Primary Language: Korean
Language: English

The origin of Korea is shrouded deeply in myth, though there is one widely circulated story that is most popular. This is a version of the story told to me by my father, who grew up in Korea for 30 years before immigrating to the United States.

호랑이와 곰이 사람이 되고 싶어서 환웅이란 사람한테 부탁했는데, 마늘이랑 쑥을 100일 동안 먹으면 사람이 된다고 했다. 그런데 호랑이는 포기하고 곰은 100일 동안 참고 먹어서 진짜 사람이 된다. 사람이 된 곰(여자)은 나중에 환웅이랑 결혼해서 한국이란 나라가 만들어졌다.

Romanization:

ho-rang-ee-wah gom-ee sa-ram-ee dwe-go sheep-uh-suh hwan-oong-ee-ran sa-ram-han-teh boo-tak-het-neun-deh, ma-neur-ee-rang ssook-eur bek-ear dong-an mug-eu-myun sa-ram-ee dwen-da-go het-da. geu-run-deh ho-rang-ee-neun po-gee-ha-go gom-eun bek-ear dong-an cham-go mug-uh-suh jin-jja sa-ram-ee dwen-da. sa-ram-ee dwen gom(yuh-jah)eun na-joong-eh hwan-oong-ee-rang gyur-hon-heh-suh han-gook-ee-ran na-ra-ga man-deur-uh-jyut-dah.

Transliteration:

A tiger and a bear person wanted to become so to Hwanung a person they asked, and garlic and mugwort if they eat for 100 days they will become a human. But the tiger gave up and the bear for 100 days endured and ate so they became a real person. The bear who became a person (female) later married Hwanung and the nation of Korea they created.

Translation:

A tiger and a bear wanted to become a person so they asked a man named Hwanung, and he said that they would become people if they ate garlic and mugwort for 100 days. The tiger gave up but the bear endured and ate for 100 days, and she eventually became a human. The bear who became a person later married Hwanung and they created the nation of Korea.

This myth is very deeply engrained in Korean folklore and history, as it tells the story of the marriage between Hwanung and the bear. It is widely told that the two produced a son named Tangun (sometimes Dangun) who is regarded as the legendary founder and god-king of Gojoseon, the first Korean kingdom. He is said to be the “grandson of heaven” and “son of a bear”, and to have founded the kingdom in 2333 BC.

Personally, I really enjoy this story because it links the heavens with humans and animals, who all play a vital role in the subsequent creation of Korea. Seeing the relationship between the divine member and the animal-turned-human was quite novel to me, as I had never seen animals actively approaching deities before. The inclusion of the vegetarian diet requirement was fitting for the mythological founding of Korea as well, since the people were a mostly agriculture based society. I also found it ironic that the bear becomes the wife of the founding father of Korea, although the tiger is most commonly attributed to the country and serves as its national animal. Perhaps this creation myth was hinting at the future, as Siberian tigers are now extinct in Korea while wild bears still roam the lands.

Korean Red Bean Stew

Nationality: Korean
Age: 49
Occupation: Counselor
Performance Date: 4/21/22
Primary Language: Korean
Language: English

This is a retelling of the tradition of eating red bean porridge on the winter solstice, told to me by my mother.

“한국에서는 동지날(12월 22일) 팥죽을 먹었다. 왜냐하면 빨간색의 팥죽을 먹으면 귀신이 무서워서 도망간다”

Romanization:

han-gook-eh-suh-neun dong-jee-nar (sheeb-ee-wur ee-sheeb-ee-ear) pat-jook-eur mug-ut-dah. whey-nya-ha-myun bbar-gan-sek-eh pat-jook-eur mug-eu-myun gwee-shin-ee moo-suh-wuh-suh do-mang-gan-da

Transliteration:

In Korea, the winter solstice red bean stew we ate. Because the red, red bean porridge if you eat ghosts become scared and run away.

Translation:

In Korea, we ate red bean stew on the Winter Solstice. We ate it because ghosts became scared of the redness of the red bean porridge and fled.

For as long as I could remember, eating red bean porridge on the Winter Solstice has been a family tradition. Our ancestors ate red bean porridge on the Winter Solstice because they believed the red beans had the power to chase away evil spirits. The color of the red bean was believed to symbolize positive energy or ‘yang’ and thus was effective in thwarting dark energy or ‘yin.’ This was especially important during the Winter Solstice since the long night and scarce daylight was thought to contribute to lots of dark energy. Eating the porridge by itself is tasty, but knowing the folklore and traditions behind the meal make it even more delicious.

Why do frogs croak when it rains?

Text Transcript:

“and it was that like, ummm, that so the son was very arrogant sort of thing, and he did the opposite of whatever his mom told him, and then, when the mom was going to die, how did it go again, like each time he disobeyed her she would get weaker and sicker, and then when she was about to die, she went ok well he always does the opposite of what I say, so let me say I want to get buried by the river, so um where she actually wanted to be buried was by the hills, so he’ll do the opposite and bury me where I want to be. But the sun was really sad and wanted to do the thing his mom said for once, so he buried her by the river. But then the rain came in and essentially swept her away, so the frogs croaking is like he’s crying because… frogs croak, it’s normally when it rains, but like, so it’s like they’re crying”

[for clarification, the mother and son were both frogs]

Context:

Collected from an in-person conversation, the informant said that she was told this legend by a Korean girl in one of her classes. The myth is of Korean origin.

Personal Thoughts:

I know that the scientific reason why frogs croak after it rains is because male frogs are looking for a mate, but explaining that to a child can definitely be very daunting. In addition, this short myth hides many moral stories as well. For example, the son didn’t obey the mother, but when he did, his mother had assumed he wouldn’t obey and her body was washed away. In this series of events, we can see society’s desire for a son to obey his mother. In addition, we can see how a mother could lose trust in their child, as seen with the mom frog assuming that her son wouldn’t listen and saying she wanted to be buried where she didn’t want to be.

Don’t sit at the corner of a table

Nationality: Korean
Age: 20
Occupation: Student
Performance Date: 4/23/2022
Primary Language: English
Language: korean

Background: The informant (A) is the son of two Korean immigrants. He moved to a city on the west coast when he was two years old and grew up there, but he was born in Korea and spent many summers there with his family. 

J: When you eat dinner or eat anything I guess, you’re not supposed to sit in the corner. I don’t know exactly why but it’s like bad luck and they say you’ll die earlier. it’s along the lines of it being pointy and sharp and you’ll die

Me: of the table?

J: Yeah, we have like…a circle table I guess at home but when we went out for big group dinners with friends and stuff my parents would tell me not to sit in the corner of a table. And no one else would sit in the corner either.

Context: This was told to me during an in person interview.

Korean Chopstick Etiquette

Nationality: Korean
Age: 20
Occupation: Student
Performance Date: 4/23/2022
Primary Language: English
Language: Korean

The informant (J) is the son of two Korean immigrants. He moved to a city on the west coast when he was two years old and grew up there, but he was born in Korea and spent many summers there with his family.

J: When you eat rice or something you’re not supposed to stab your fork or chopsticks into the rice because it’s the symbol of like…you’re killing someone.

Me: Like it resembles the motion of stabbing someone?

J: Or no like, it’s…an incense funeral thing. Cause at a funeral you have an incense candle thing that you stick into this bowl and it sticks out and you light it

Me: Why do you do that at funerals?

J: I think it’s just to like…honor the dead I guess.

Me: Where’d you learn about the chopstick thing and the incense?

J: Um… I think my parents probably just told me not to like…stick my chopsticks into my food like when I was younger. I went to Korean school when I was a kid too and I’m pretty sure they told us about funerals

Context: This was told to me while we were in the living room of the informant’s apartment.