Encyclopedia of Korean Folklore and Traditional Culture Vol.

II
II
Encyclopedia
of Korean
Folk Beliefs
Foreword
Today more than ever we are seeing an increasing interest in the intangible cultural properties of humanity from around the
world. UNESCOhas been compiling its Lists of Intangible Cultural Heritage aiming at preserving and protecting the invaluable
legacies of each traditional ethnic culture. It was within this exciting environment of renewed awareness of humanitys cultural
treasures that the National Folk Museum of Korea completed 2011, the publication of its six-volume Korean-language edition
of the Encyclopedia of Korean Folk Beliefs in a vast compilation of the legacy that makes upthe roots of the Korean spirit.
The museum had embarked on a comprehensive project to compile a massive Encyclopedia of Korean Folk Culture,
beginning in 2004, with the rst volume of the Encyclopedia of Korean Seasonal Customs dedicated to the rst lunar month of
the year. The inaugural publication was soon followed by ve additional volumes, on spring, summer, fall and winter customs,
and index, respectively. The publication project for the Encyclopedia of Korean Folk Beliefs began in 2009, divided into three
individual sets, on shamanism (2009), village gods worship (2010) and household gods worship (2011), respectively. The Korean-
language publications were followed by ambitious English-language editions, of the Encyclopedia of Korean Seasonal Customs
in 2010 and now of the Encyclopedia of Korean Folk Beliefs.
The museum will continue its efforts toward compiling the Encyclopedia of Korean Folk Culture with the scheduled
publications: the Encyclopedia of Korean Folk Literature; the Encyclopedia of Korean Rites of Passage; the Encyclopedia of
Korean Folk Arts; the Encyclopedia of Food, Clothing and Housing in Korea; the Encyclopedia of Occupations and Skills in
Korea; and the Encyclopedia of Korean Folk Society. The English editions will continue as well with the completion of each
publication in the series. We anticipate that the project will culminate in a complete and far-reaching survey of Koreas folk
heritage, a rich legacy that has been passed down over thousands of years.
Lastly, I would like to extend my warmest thanks to the editorial staff at the museum and many others who
contributed to the publication of this English-language edition of the Encyclopedia of Korean Folk Beliefs, for their dedication
and insight, including the writers, advisors, editors, the reviewers, and the translation team at Ewha Womans University
Graduate School of Translation and Interpretation.
October 2013
Cheon Jin-gi
Director, National Folk Museum of Korea
Executive Editor Chung Myung-sub (Director, Folk Research Division)
CompiledandEditedby Te Encydopedia Planning Team
KimTae-woo (Research Fellow)
Ahn Hye-kyeong (Research Fellow)
Cho Hyun-sook (Researcher)
KimSeung-yu (Researcher)

EnglishTranslation Jung Ha-yun(Professor, Ewha Womans Univ.)
Editorial Assistants Cho Youn-kyung
Hwang Eun-hee
Koh Hyo-jin
Reviewers (Korean) Lee Yong-beom(Professor, Andong Univ.)
(English) Charles Montgomery (Professor, Dongguk Univ.)
PublishingDate November 9, 2013
Publisher Cheon Jin-gi (Director, Te National Folk Museumof Korea)
Publishedby Te National Folk Museumof Korea
37, Samcheong-ro, Jongno-gu, Seoul, Korea
http://www.nfm.go.kr/
Tel +82-2-3704-3230
Fax +82-2-3704-3239

Production Minsokwon
Designer Jeong Choon-kyong
Encyclopedia of KoreanFolk Beliefs
Copyright 2013 by the National Folk Museumof Korea. All rights reserved.
Printed in the Republic of Korea
No part of the text or images in this publication may be reproduced without the written permission of the publisher.
For information address Te National Folk Museumof Korea, 37, Samcheong-ro, Jongno-gu, Seoul, Korea.
An on-line version of this encyclopedia is available at http://folkency.nfm.go.kr/eng/
Government Publication
Registration Number: 11-1371036-000143-14
ISBN: 978-89-289-0057-2 91380
You can use the Cataloging In Publication(CIP) of the Natioanl Library of Korea for this book at the homepage of e-CIP(http://seoji.nl.go.kr/) or
Korean Library Information SystemNetwork (http://www.nl.go.kr/kolisnet). (CIP Number: CIP2013021865)
Contents
Foreword

3
Concepts

7
Rites and Officiants

17
Divinities and Sacred Entities

141
Ritual Venues

193
Ritual Props

209
Ritual Offerings

249
References

267
List of Photographs

275
Index

321
GUIDE
1. Entries are presented in the Romanized formof the Korean terminology, accompanied by the original Hangeul version and its English
translation.
2. Entries are categorized into seven sections, and arranged in alphabetical order within each section.
Entries that appear with in the text or under other entries are marked in bold.
3. Te transliteration of Korean terms and names in this book follows the Revised Romanization of Korean system, with the exception of some
administrative units, geographical features and artifcial structures, which in some cases have been transliterated in alternate forms to enhance
the readability of the text. For example, the province has been rendered as Southern Gyeongsang Province within the main text and
as Gyeongsangnam-do in photo credits.
Te transliteration of Chinese and Japanese terms and names follows the pinyin systemand the Revised Hepburn system, respectively.
4. Te following is a chronology of Korean dynasties as referred to in the encyclopedia:
Gojoseon(2333 108 BCE); Buyeo (18 BCE 660); Goguryeo (37 BCE 668); Baekje (18 BCE 660);
Silla (57 BCE 935); Balhae (698 926); Goryeo (918 1392); Joseon(1392 1910)
5. Credits have been given to all photographs copyrighted by institutions and individuals other than the National Folk Museumof Korea.
6. Te index includes terminologies both in their transliterated formand in English translation.