한국 설화에 나타난 곰의 문학적 형상화와 여성 - <곰나루>와 <곰과 함께 산 인제현 백성>을 중심으로

Abstract

This research explores the cultural significance of bears in premodern Korea by examining the literary representations of bears focusing on “Story of Bear Ferry” and “A man from Inje Who Lived with a Bear.” Considering the appearances of bears in the Tan’gun myth and as the official mascots of international sports games, one can presume that bears have held positive cultural meanings since ancient times. An analysis of premodern stories, however, tells a different side regarding Korea’s recognition of bears. The “Story of Bear Ferry” and “A man from Inje Who Lived with a Bear” are stories about a man who was caught by a bear and lived with the bear in a deep mountainous area. The stories describe bears as sacred, barbaric, lustful, and frightful female figures that people should avoid. The “Story of Bear Ferry” suggests the moral superiority of humanity and proper female conduct in premodern Korean society. The story of “A man from Inje Who Lived with a Bear” focuses on people’s curiosity of bestiality and the accumulation of wealth. The bear in the story of “A man from Inje Who Lived with a Bear” does not share the same sexual morality as people—exposing its genitals that looked similar to a woman’s; it leads to the man’s curiosity. The story also described in detail how the man enjoyed a wealthy life with the bear and how he gained wealth after the bear died. Sacred features of bear-human relations disappeared entirely. The relationship between human beings and animals was perceived as unnatural and unreliable. The bears in two stories possessed “negative” female characteristics of the premodern Korea, including physical strength that made them capable of overpowering men, strong sexual desire, and a lack of maternal instincts. This research reveals that bear has a unique cultural significance in Korea representing diverse images of women including sacred mother, brutal women, and lustful women. The analysis of the descriptions of bears questions the validity of the contemporary image of the bear symbolizing wisdom, patience, and courage. The bears that appeared in Korean historical and literary works were mostly Asiatic black bears. There is segregation between people’s residences and bear habitats, and Asiatic black bears usually avoid encounters with people and run away. The frequency of bears’a attack on people was also much less than that of tigers attacking people. These points affected people’s relative low recognition of bears. These points partially devoted to the trivial and marginalized image of bears in premodern Korean stories.