A myth is recognized the story of the beginning of the world, but actually that is both a current story and a future story. Because a myth not only tell us a sacred history, but also function a divine model and paradigm of human behavior. The case of ...
A myth is recognized the story of the beginning of the world, but actually that is both a current story and a future story. Because a myth not only tell us a sacred history, but also function a divine model and paradigm of human behavior. The case of the Myth of Dangun also don't cease from the birth myth of nation of Old Joseon, alive as an barometer example of Korean culture in real currency life.
The most representative example are a eating life and a housing life. In the Myth of Dangun, bear and tiger pray to Hwanwoong which would be a human being. That time Hwanwoong say that don't see any sunshine and live in the cave, eating only wormwood and garlic. A wormwood and garlic means a vegetable diet centered eating culture and 100 days cave life means a settlement centered housing culture. Therefore the Myth of Dangun show a peculiar eating culture eat a wormwood and garlic and archetype of a peculiar housing culture use bottom heating system, reflecting settlement agricultural culture.
Actually our eating life carry on a cultural tradition that eat a wormwood and garlic differently a neighborhood country. If we compare our country with other one in the cultural relationship, the identity of our eating culture is remarkable. In our country we eat not only wormwood and garlic but also wild edible greens, but Mongol don't eat both wormwood and garlic and Japanese don't eat garlic, and Chinese don't eat wormwood. A vegetable diet culture tradition of the Myth of Dangun alive as identity of modern eating culture.
A housing life of our people is also peculiar. In the Myth of Dangun a desirable housing life is not nomadic life but settlement life. That is to present a criterion of desirable human life, on relating with a vegetable diet culture. The Ondol culture of korean tradition is caused from settlement housing life. Ondol culture create a bottom seating life, and invent a electronic capet, Ondol boiler, electronic Guduel, Ondol bed.
A eating life and housing life that the Myth of Dangun present as a criterion is not only alive in our modern folk life history, but also continue in the future. We need to seize a cultural creation power of the Myth of Dangun and grope for a load of re-creation. We can look forward to find strategy that develop wormwood and garlic to modern eating culture goods and re-create the Ondol culture to new heating system in the modern housing life.
A vegetable diet centered eating culture and a settlement centered housing culture is a identity of our national culture, and its archetype is found in the myth of Dangun. Therefore the myth of Dangun was made in the temperate regions in the era of a settlement agricultural life. The cultural archetype of Old Joseon is also found in cultural archetype of the myth of Dangun. Consequently If we overcome a prejudice that our culture is originated from a nomadic culture in Siberia or Mongol, we can find the desirable identity of our culture.