이 토정의 ‘청주 홍수 예고’ 전설 고찰

Abstract

Lee, Ji-ham(之菡) (1517-1578, referred to as his penname Tojeong) was a person who showed a dynamic life trajectory. Many of the legends regarding Tojeong, are local in nature, which necessitates local points of view in exploring and studying those legends. This paper examines the legend entitled "Tojeong predicts flood in Cheongju(청주)" from such a viewpoint. That Cheongju is vulnerable to flood is a long-known fact which can be witnessed in many documentary records. The fundamental reason for this can be found in the geographical features of the city : it is located in downstream of Musimcheon(無深川) ; the stream bends where it meets Cheongju, the point where flood originates, the upstream of Musimcheon is high in a mountainous area, and consequently the stream's regime coefficient is large overall. Tojeong must have been aware of these geographical characteristics. The legend could not have come into existence without Tojeong visiting Cheongju. The possibility that he visited the city can be inferred from the relationship between Cheongju and Lee, Saek(穡), and Tojeong's relationship with Park, Chun-mu(春茂), one of his students. The study also shed light on the distinction between the legend's original version and its variations. In particular, despite the extremely simple plot, the variations show differences in expressional details. This paper attempted to draw attention to those differences as important characteristics, given the content of the motifs of the original version. It is suggested that the different expressions are variations of two basic phrases: ① "Buy Yongsoo(용수)" and ② "Buy Yongsoo to scoop up(=depart from) Cheongju". As such, it can be concluded that the prediction of flood in Cheongju turns out to be a local legend based on the actual relationship between Tojeong and Cheongju. It is shown that the unique legend was created by the rendezvous of the geographical name, Cheongju and Tojeong's ingenious imagination. The legend is meaningful in that it is based on the thoughts and deeds of Tojeong who always cared about ordinary people's livelihood, and it exemplifies his close relationship with water.