Making Myth, History, and an Ancient Religion in Korea
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Making Myth, History, and an Ancient Religion in Korea The Harvard community has made this article openly available. Please share how this access benefits you. Your story matters Citation Kim, Nuri. 2017. Making Myth, History, and an Ancient Religion in Korea. Doctoral dissertation, Harvard University, Graduate School of Arts & Sciences. Citable link http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:41140212 Terms of Use This article was downloaded from Harvard University’s DASH repository, and is made available under the terms and conditions applicable to Other Posted Material, as set forth at http:// nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:dash.current.terms-of- use#LAA Making Myth, History, and an Ancient Religion in Korea A dissertation presented by Nuri Kim to The Department of East Asian Languages and Civilizations in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the subject of History and East Asian Languages Harvard University Cambridge, Massachusetts May 2017 © 2017 Nuri Kim All rights reserved. Advisor: Carter Eckert Nuri Kim Making Myth, History, and an Ancient Religion in Korea Abstract This dissertation traces the history of the myth of Tan’gun, Korea’s founding father, from its first known appearance in the thirteenth century to the modern era. It examines how the myth developed along numerous trajectories, how these intersected in the early twentieth century, and how this confluence resulted in new religious movements and historiographical practices that significantly reimagined Korea’s spiritual and historical past. The study shows that far from being a domestic affair, the process was transnational in nature as the myth was appropriated and reinvented by Japanese (since the late sixteenth century) and Westerners (since the late nineteenth century) before Koreans turned Tan’gun into the premier symbol of the Korean nation. The religion that emerged out of this (called Taejonggyo, “Religion of the Great Ancestral Divinity”) presented itself as an ancient indigenous tradition and sought to endow the Korean nation with a grand history as well as a noble spiritual heritage. As such, the religion played an important role in shaping the contours of Korean self-understandings and historiographical practices. In particular, this dissertation demonstrates that the religion’s historical writings gave birth to the genre of “fringe history” or “pseudo-history” whose impact far exceeded the bounds of the religion, even challenging mainstream academic scholarship. In doing so, the study illustrates the persisting importance of mythology and religious symbolisms in the Korean nationalist imaginary as well as the frictions and contests they cause. iii Contents Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................................ vi Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 1 1. Tan’gun in Traditional Korea and the Emergence of Multiple Images ................................... 26 2. Early Japanese Appropriations of Tan’gun.............................................................................. 73 3. Tan’gun in the Modern Era and the Confluence of Transnational Currents .......................... 108 4. Constructing an Ancient, Indigenous Religion ...................................................................... 158 5. From Myth to History: The Techniques of Writing History.................................................. 204 6. The Proliferation of Fringe History and New Discourses ..................................................... 245 Conclusion: A Rich, Complicated Legacy.................................................................................. 291 Glossary ...................................................................................................................................... 321 Bibliography ............................................................................................................................... 338 iv Figures Figure 1. Map of Korea .................................................................................................................. ix Figure 2. The Ch’amsŏngdan Heaven Worship Altar on Mount Mani ........................................ 45 Figure 3. Tan’gun’s Territory According to the Taejonggyo ..................................................... 194 Figure 4. The Taejonggyo’s Portrait of Tan’gun ........................................................................ 262 Figure 5. Competing Portraits of Tan’gun .................................................................................. 296 Figure 6. Tan’gun’s Alleged Grave in Kangdong in the 1930s .................................................. 301 Figure 7. Tan’gun’s Mausuleum Erected in North Korea in 1993 ............................................. 302 Figure 8. Ancient Korean Territory According to High School Textbook of 1996 ................... 312 Figure 9. Tan'gun Statue Erected in the Wake of the IMF Crisis ............................................... 315 v Acknowledgements This is a work of many shortcomings, yet none of them can be attributed to the many people who have given me much inspiration and support over the years. I am particularly grateful to my committee members who have endowed me with much nourishment on both the academic and personal level. Professor Carter Eckert has been an exemplar to strive for as a teacher and researcher of modern Korean history, and his guidance and unwavering confidence in me has helped me grow over the years in ways I am only beginning to comprehend. Professor Sun Joo Kim has done much to open my eyes to the importance of premodern history, making me a more inquisitive scholar. She has also been a most meticulous and helpful reader as well as an always-reassuring presence during my time at Harvard. Professor Andrew Gordon has given me incisive input from a non-Koreanist’s perspective, enabling me to think about my research in new ways. He has also been most generous with his sense of humor and help in all matters, including professional advice. My committee members have been role models as scholars, advisors, and human beings, and I feel lucky to have experienced their support, warmth and intellectual rigor. I am deeply thankful to the Harvard Korea Institute and all its former and present members, especially Myong-Suk Chandra and Susan Laurence, for their support in anything from very generous research funding to making sure there is enough food in my stomach. I also thank Mikyung Kang at the Harvard Yenching Library for her unfailing reliability in responding to every (documentary) need. Similarly, the Department of East Asian Languages and Civilizations and its members have never failed to offer support, just as the Harvard Asia Center with its funding for summer language training. vi My time at the University of Chicago as a Master’s student has been pivotal in determining the direction of my academic career. I owe a great amount of gratitude to Professor Bruce Cumings who has played a crucial role in my rather unexpected turn toward Korean studies—without my encounter with him, I would not have been able to embark on this path. Professor John MacAloon and Professor John Schuessler have likewise furnished me with the confidence and backing to continue my academic quest. More recently, my experience as a visiting fellow at the Kyujanggak, Seoul National University, has been of immense value in adding depth and rigor to my research. I am indebted to Professors Park Tae Gyun, Sem Vermeersch, Kim Shiduck, and Hwang Jae-Mun, as they have enabled me to become part of a vibrant community of scholars and given me indispensable input that greatly enriched my dissertation. My research has also benefitted a tremendous amount from the Department of Religion at Seoul National University, and I am especially indebted to Professor Choi Jong-Seong and Han Seung-Hoon. I further thank all other teachers and professors who have passed through my life at Harvard, Chicago, Sogang, and elsewhere, each contributing in their own ways to bringing me to this point. These past few years, I was very fortunate to receive the moral support, intellectual stimulation, and academic help from numerous friends. In Cambridge, I am especially indebted to John Lee, John Kim, Hansun Hsiung, E.J. Bensing, Jared Redmond, Javier Cha, Ilsoo Cho, Jean Hyun, Holly Stephens, Peter Banseok Kwon, Yaejin Cho, Philip Gant, Jennifer Yum, Hyeok Hweon Kang, Graeme Reynolds, Wenjio Cai, Anna Jung-Eun Lee, and many others. In Chicago, Jaein Lee and Joohyang Kim in particular have been my comrades through the dark winter days. Likewise, my friends in Korea, most of all Woorinara Park, have never tired of vii welcoming me despite my many trips there. I am also deeply thankful to my relatives in Korea and the U.S., as well as Rev. Park Chansoo and all former and present members of the Boston Church of the Lord and Hyde Park Korean Church for their inestimable support over the years. Finally, my family has been a constant rock in my life—my parents Hee Seong Kim and Gyun Sil Chang, as well as my siblings Hanna, Nara, and Neri have nurtured me from near and far with patience, love, and faith. To these and others not named here, I express my most heartfelt gratitude. viii Figure 1. Map of Korea ix Nuri Kim Dissertation Introduction Introduction This study examines the history of the myth