Korean Mythology - Cosmology

Cosmology

In Korean mythology, three realms are strongly mentioned; Iseung, Yongwangguk, and Jeoseung. Two other realms are vaguely mentioned; Okhwang, located in the sky, and Jihaguk, located underground.

Koreans referred to the mortal world as Iseung, meaning this world. It was home to the Gashin, or household gods, many Bonhyangshin (village gods) and Josangshin (ancestral deities), as well as the Sanshin, or mountain gods. Evil spirits (Gwishin), such as Mongdal (spirits of unmarried man) and Songaxi (spirits of unmarried woman), also occupied this realm, as did Dokkaebi, the trickster spirits of old tools. Certain deities regularly crossed over from their abode into Iseung; these were Chasa, the envoy gods. These included Jeoseung Chasa, the reapers of the dead, who features in most death-related myths; Okhwang Chasa, who brought the hero Hwanguyangssi to the Palace of Cheonha in the Seongju Puli; and gods such as Choribdongi of the Gunung Bonpuli., who occasionally crossed over from the sea.

Yongwangguk is the undersea kingdom, occupied by the Yongwang, the five gods of the ocean; their names are Gwangdeok of the east, Gwangli of the south, Gwangtaek of the west, and Gwangyeon of the north These gods could marry Samseung Halmang Bonpuli, the daughter of Gwangtaek married Gwangdeok. However, there is war, too, in Yongwangguk; in the Gunung Bonpuli, Gwangtaek is slain by Gwangdeok's army.

Jeoseung is ruled by the ten Underworld gods, the Yeoldaewnag. The Yeoldaewang offer different punishments; Jingang shreds sinners to pieces, Sogan burns sinners in an iron pot, Songye whips sinners and exiles them, and Ogan offers the blessed fire to withstand the cold and makes sinners pass naked through his icy realm. Yeomyeo rips the tongues of those who earned money through interest, Bingshin hurls sinners in a pit full of lizards, spiders, and snakes, Taesan grinds the flesh of sinners inside a barn, and Paengdeung shreds sinners with a saw. Those who are destroyed in Paengdeung's realm must reincarnate into the twelve beasts. Doshi undresses sinners, hangs them on a tree, and hits them ruthlessly, and Yeolsi sends the blessed into the village of Sang, located in Mt.Seokhyo, and sends sinners into a dark realm where there is no light.

There is also a vague mention of Okhwang, the abode of the sky gods, and Jiha, abode of the earth gods. In Okhwang is a Palace called Cheonha; in Jiha, there are many monsters, female deities, and pine trees.

Finally, there is said to be a dark realm that has no light. The king of that realm sends his gigantic hounds, the Bulgae, to hunt the sun and the moon and bring them to his realm; however, when the Bulgae bite the sun and the moon, they find that they are too hot/cold and run away to their realm. When the Bulgae bites the sun, it is called a solar eclipse; when they bite the moon, it is a lunar eclipse.