今西龍의 단군신화 연구와 神話素

Abstract

Imanisi Ryu tried to assert the following facts in 『Study on Dangun』 . First, the Dangun myth is a myth of the Tungus culture related to Goguryeo, Buyeo, and has nothing to do with Joseon and Han people. Second, the Dangun myth is a myth created by under Taoist and quasi-scientific influence not far from the era of Ilyeon. And while performing these tasks, almost all records related to Dangun were reviewed. However, he did not pay attention to the key elements that make up the Dangun myth. Although he himself said that myths have essential elements and additional elements, he did not fully grasp what the core elements of Dangun myth are and their meaning. He also did not hesitate to argue that Dangun myth was not related to the Korean people at the time because it was a myth of the northern Asia based on the existence of marriage between human and animal, which is common in Japanese mythology. The Dangun myth is based on a deep understanding of the ecology of bears and contains the perception that bears are mysterious beings that conceive life. Both bear garlic(wild garlic) and mugwort are plants that are deeply related to bears. Because bears giving birth and leaving the cave during hibernation have baby bears, both bears and caves are living being and space which new lives are conceived. This knowledge is by no means easy to obtain, and the idea that bears can become humans is not an idea that demythologized people can do while dealing with bears in nature. Dangun myth contains totemism, knowledge of the stage of the Korean Peninsula's transition from Neolithic to Bronze Age, worship of bears, and perception that bears and humans are symmetrical beings. Therefore, Imanisi Ryu's judgment that monks and Taoists in the Goryeo Dynasty fabricated the Dangun myth came from ignorance of the myth.