Gongsim

Sea CreatureKorea · East AsiaLegendFear 5/10

Description

한국 설화에 등장하는 Sea Creature. Gongsim (Korean: 공심) is a legendary Korean princess of the Goryeo dynasty said to have been struck w

Origin & Background

Gongsim (공심) is a legendary princess from the Goryeo Dynasty, said to have been afflicted by a disease known as sinbyeong (신병). This disease can only be cured through initiation into shamanism. According to legend, she was initiated into shamanism on Namsan in Seoul and spread shamanistic beliefs throughout Korea or parts of Korea.

The Legend

Gongsim is remembered as a princess of the Goryeo Dynasty who, after contracting sinbyeong, was initiated into shamanism on Namsan and spread shamanistic beliefs. Her story has been passed down in the southwestern regions such as Chungcheong-do, Jeolla-do, and Gyeongsangnam-do, and it appears that oral transmission has now ceased. In various versions of the story, Gongsim is depicted in different ways, such as going mad after the death of her beloved or teaching shamanism to her captors after being imprisoned by her father, thereby spreading the faith.

Variants

Legends about Gongsim are primarily transmitted in southwestern Korea, with six versions recorded by researchers. There are three detailed versions collected from Okgwa, Jeonju, and Tongyeong, each presenting different aspects of Gongsim's role and the manner of spreading shamanism. In the Okgwa version, Gongsim loses her beloved and goes mad, then initiates into shamanism on Namsan to spread it to the local residents, while in Jeonju, the story includes her teaching shamanism to her captors after being imprisoned by her father, leading to the spread of the faith.

In Popular Culture

Gongsim is considered an important figure in southwestern Korean shamanism, and her name is invoked at the beginning of various rituals. In Seoul's shamanism, prayers to Gongsim are used at the beginning of the epic narrative of the princess Bari myth, and in Jeju Island, she is mentioned in rituals related to Mengdu Samsin. Prayers to Gongsim serve to affirm the historical legitimacy of shamanism and honor her as a symbolic queen of shamanism.

This article is based on the Wikipedia article "Gongsim" (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Wikipedia