Seoul invisible’Idol’… Will to destroy Sejong’s appearance

“It was interesting and surprising that I could not see idols or temples with idols anywhere in this country or in Seoul. People didn’t seem to have affection for idols, and they didn’t seem to build temples for the gods. ”

During Goryeo Dynasty, there were many statues and shrines in Gaegyeong.
Since the middle of the Joseon Dynasty, larvae have carried out a movement to destroy the image.

This is part of a record left by JR Wolf, an Anglican missionary who visited Seoul in 1885. From the eyes of Westerners, it seemed strange that the’idol’, which is a typical characteristic of’the gentile religion’, is seldom seen. However, the record left by Seogung, an envoy from the Song Dynasty during Goryeo, is a little different.

Jirisan Statue of Our Lady [사진 한국학중앙연구원]

“In the evening, men and women usually enjoy singing songs in groups, and they like to have rituals for ghosts, resignations, and spirituality… (Gaekyung) Samcheongsang (Ok Emperor, Laozi, Jangja) is depicted in the restoration hall in Taehwamun. , Lao-tzu’s beard and hair are all dark blue…” (『Koryo Dokyung』)

According to this, the capital city of Gaegyeong was full of large and small Buddhist and Taoist temples, and there was also a shrine dedicated to the wooden statue of Dongshin Seongmo, the mother of the founder of Goguryeo, Jumong. In addition, there was a shrine dedicated to the mountain gods in various places, including Gaegyeong, and in the state, the government gave such titles as Gong, Hu, and Baek (伯), and also served as a rite in the country. Even now, if you visit China or Japan, unlike Korea, you can easily see huge statues of Confucius and shrines and shrines that enshrine various local deities. According to records, it was a landscape that could be seen even in Korea until the beginning of Joseon. Then, why did this change completely differently in the late 19th century?

“The Confrontation Between Shamans and Confucians: The Destruction of the Image and Reformation of Joseon”, published on the 27th of last month, is a liberal arts academic book that traces the background and process of this difference. According to the author Han Seung-hun, a research professor at Wonkwang University’s Northeast Asian Humanities and Social Sciences Research Institute, the reinforcement of the order of Sung Confucianism in the middle of the Joseon Dynasty created a culture that was difficult to find in the present-day’idol’. On the 7th, I heard a professor’s story. The following are questions and answers.

Seung-Hoon Han Research Professor, Institute for Northeast Asian Humanities and Social Sciences, Wonkwang University

Why can’t I see various traditional statues now?: Since the end of Goryeo, the opposite atmosphere has been created, centering on the students studying Sung Confucianism. At the order of King Chungsuk, confucius and other major Confucian saints were made into statues, and the larvae rebelled. Even so, in the early Joseon Dynasty, Hanyang, the capital city, allowed it to be placed in a place like Kaesong even if the statue was not placed. However, the atmosphere has changed since the middle of the Joseon Dynasty, when Sarim took power. In 1566, about 100 larvae burned down the venerable Woljeongdang in Songaksan Mountain or Deokjeongdang, where General Choi Young was enshrined. He also pulled out a wooden statue, broke it, and dropped it under the cliff. I did not listen to the pressure of the local government. Sejong played a big role in creating this atmosphere.

Is it the story that Sejong was the beginning of the movement to destroy the image?: At the beginning of Sejong-do’s enthronement, when her mother, Queen Won-gyeong became haggled, she prayed to the mountain gods and Seonghwang gods such as Songaksan and Baekaksan, and sent people to the Big Dipper before the battle. However, it was a dimension of filial piety, and Sejong himself was willing to destroy the image and deprive the god of the mountain. He called the family of the personified gods “a ghost ghost”, and in 1430 (the 1st year of King Sejong), he established a committee called “Gakdosancheon Danmyosunsimbyulgam” to investigate the gods of Sancheon and Seonghwang and submit reform proposals. For example, in Yeongheung, where the Lee Seong-gye family started, there was a Seonghwang deity called’Seonghwanggye-guk Baekji-shin’ and there were six wooden male and female figures. However, according to this reform proposal, all of the statues were to be demolished and replaced with Confucian rites.

A tablet that enshrines the new lord of Confucius [중앙포토]

In Chinatown, Jung-gu, Incheon, a Confucius statue presented from Qingdao, China, stands facing the sea. [중앙포토]

Is there anything replaced in its place after destroying the statue?: In simple terms, it was viewed as a pseudonym to serve the gods, and instead of the gods, they were replaced by the gods. The standard was also standardized. It is made of chestnut wood, and only the name of the god is written in black letters on a white background. In this process, all previous titles were also deleted. For example, titles such as’Joseon-hoo (朝鮮侯)’ attached to Dangun and reporters were also removed. This process is similar to the Protestant movement against Catholicism in the West. The international environment at the time also affected this. The founding forces of the Ming Dynasty also said that it was a’remnant of Mongolia’, and they removed the statue from the capital Nanjing and replaced it with Hsinchu. However, in the Ming Dynasty, this movement for destruction of the statue was a temporary phenomenon, but in Joseon it was different that it lasted for hundreds of years.

Some say that entering Korea, whether Christianity or Sung Confucianism, becomes more dogmatic and fundamentalist than the mainland.: There is such an aspect. The fundamentalist movement of Christianity also sparkled from the end of the 19th to the early 20th century in the West, but lasted for a long time in Korea. Some find it from the inflexible and radical ethnicity, but it seems to be the dimension of’peripheral consciousness’. It is far from the center, but rather, it is a phenomenon that tries to keep the authenticity the purest.

Kim Geumhwa Shaman Good Scene [중앙포토]

Nevertheless, shamanism did not disappear completely and survived until now.: Local leaders publicly demolished the statue and pressed it against the shaman. However, the fact that various stories of local people being surprised to see ghosts or being punished for oppressing monks in local yasas reflect the confrontation between larvae and shamans, and the process of the survival of shamanism. There is a religious demand in any culture. There is also the ups and downs (祈福禳災) to avoid disasters in hopes of good luck, the composition to become an adult, or the desire to rain. Confucianism absorbed composition and rain rituals, but did not succeed in replacing the reliefs.

Reporter Yoo Seong-woon [email protected]

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During Goryeo Dynasty, there were many statues and shrines in Gaegyeong.Since the middle of the Joseon Dynasty, larvae have carried out a movement to destroy the image.

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During Goryeo Dynasty, there were many statues and shrines in Gaegyeong.
Since the middle of the Joseon Dynasty, larvae have carried out a movement to destroy the image.