전통적 김양식 기술의 전개와 의례의 상관성에 대한 한․일 비교연구

Abstract

In the current study, the development of traditional laver farming and related rituals is discussed from the perspective of “the connection between fishing methods and rituals”. As Korean and Japanese cultures share many common factors such as consuming and farming various types of seaweeds, long history of laver farming, and rituals that reflect farming methods, the need for a comparative study that review relevant cases is warranted. Although the organization of this paper can suggest that the changes of methods induced changes in rituals, it is important to understand this implied causality is due discussing the methods and ritual within the contexts of cultural and historical changes, rather than positioning the methods and rituals as separate variables. Laver farming in both Japanese and Korean culture was well-established by the late 17th and early 18th century. This is a significant coincidence; this paper emphasizes the inevitable factors that enabled the rise of marine agriculture:long history of harvesting and consuming various types of seaweeds for foods and fertilizers, and engagement in primitive aquaculture to increase the production of seaweeds such as Undaria pinnatifida, Sargassum fusiforme, Laminaria japonica, and Gelidium amansii. The laver farming methods have transformed in the past 300 years. In Japan, the method of using seop (ひび) to grow laver has prevailed for a long time, with the technological advancement led by the discovery of transplanting. This method stabilized the germination of laver spores and prevented the contamination of foreign substances or other seaweeds such as Enteromorpha, resulting in an increased production of laver. In Korea, aquaculture with seop was the earliest form of laver farming; later, the introduction of bamboo sticks resulted in an increased production output. Indeed, despite the variable advancements between Korean and Japan, both cultures advanced their laver farming technology by addressing the issue of relying on natural germination of laver spores which was the imperfect farming method. In addition to analyzing the development of laver farming technologies, we also investigated how different stages of farming methods have been reflected on rituals. Instead of emphasizing the direct connection between specific method to a ritual, the paper focuses on the cultural embodiment of imperfect farming methods, embodied by the rituals. Since both countries differ on religious and cultural foundation, direct comparison of rituals related to laver farming can be difficult. However, commonalities were identified while confirming the reflection of imperfect farming methods as a technological stage. Indeed, there are 3 themes in laver farming rituals. First, unlike other fishing rituals that focus on a bounteous catch, the laver farming rituals are scheduled in accordance to the stages of farming, reflecting the deep roots of agriculture. Secondly, while other marine rituals are performed to wish for the abundance of marine products, rituals related to laver farming are performed with the foundational understanding of the ecological system related to the farming, just like wishing for the rain and mild weather in agriculture. Lastly, the rituals were developed to reduce and reflect the uncertainty rooted in the imperfect farming methods.