earticle

영어

Cheonghak-dong in Jirisan as a Korean Utopia Kim, Agnes Cheonghak-dong in Jirisan has been known as a prototype and model of a utopia that Koreans have yearned for. This paper aims to facilitate the understanding about a utopia by examining the Cheonghak-dong folk tale, its background, and its changes. In Goryeo utopian folk tales, Cheonghak-dong was located in Jirisan and was described as a utopia where hermits who abandoned secular world resided. When military officers took power in Goryeo, intelligent scholars believed that a utopia had existed in Cheonghak-dong in Jirisan. During the politically tumultuous period, historical collective memory on hermit in Jiri Mountain induced Cheonghak-dong folk tales. Since the mid-Joseon, folk tales began to describe that Taoist hermits strolled in Cheonghak-dong and Taoist disciples practiced martial arts in the place. Image of imaginary bird, Cheonghak(Blue Crane) combined with Taoist hermit folk tales made Cheonghak-dong known as Taoist hermit’s world. According the prophecies recorded in late Joseon, Cheonghak-dong was a propitious site under the theory of geomancy. It could protect people from three major disaster; diseases, famine and war. In addition, Cheonghak-dong was an ideal residential area where several different families would prosper and produce talented descendants. Even today it is not uncommon that people are questing for the route to Cheonghak-dong by exploring the prophecies and maps. This movement reflects an effort to continue to search a utopia under geomancy recorded in prophecies since late Joseon.