The purpose of this study is to newly interpret the meaning of family by focusing on domestic animals appeared in Korean oral folktales. Family is a human group. Family can be regarded as the very basic unit of human community. However, defining famil...
The purpose of this study is to newly interpret the meaning of family by focusing on domestic animals appeared in Korean oral folktales. Family is a human group. Family can be regarded as the very basic unit of human community. However, defining family just as a particular group community is like limiting the meaning of family. In Korea's traditional society, domestic animals were treated like a family, even though they are not same in species as human. In the traditional society, farming was the main business of people. In this sense, cows were perceived as something more than just an animal Also, dogs were not perceived just as an animal. Therefore, it's not sensible to exclude such domestic animals from discussing the meanings, categories and attributes of family and family relations. In this study, this researcher reviewed Korean oral folktales in which domestic animals appear as characters in order to determine the boundariesthat exist between domestic animals and family. As a result, the researcher found that in the oral folktales, domestic animals have certain relationships with people and are treated like a family. Cows are absolutely essentials in a number of places where people labor to get products necessary for their survival and life maintenance. People and dogs share a same house as the space of living. In this sense, it can be said that people and dogs form a family that work together to protect the shared space, or a space community. In some oral folk tales, it's described that people solve their sexual desire by means of domestic animals. This suggests that people and domestic animals may form a desire community. Thus, domestic animals appeared in oral folk tales are something more than just animals. They have the position of a family who form various types of communities together with people. Also, this writing attached importance reveals the educational value which applies oral folktales. The anthropocentrism which leads the pursuit of variety exuviated and the fact that converts a new recognition with Korean educational application about the animal.(Dong-A University)