• Journal of the Daesoon Academy of Sciences
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• v.31
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• pp.49-92
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• 2018

I have examined some beliefs in the Thunder God and their magico-ritual techniques in Korea from the perspective of Korean national religious history and have classified these types of beliefs. In several myths from ancient nations in Korea, the Thunder God was the Supreme being governing the Universe including the sky, earth, and water, and he justified political power transcendently. In the medieval period, the Thunder God who was called 'the Supreme God and Celestial Worthy of the Ninth Heaven Who Spreads the Sound of the Thunder Corresponding to Primordial Origin' was the object of Daoist ritual for rain. In the early Joseon period, people believed that the prehistoric stone tools known as thunder axes were the tools of the Thunder God, and thereby were imbued with medicinal power. In the late Joseon period, beliefs in the Thunder God developed in various ways such as the overcoming of wars and healing of diseases. Modern Korean national religions including Daesoon Jinrihoe reappropriated the Thunder God called 'the Supreme God and Celestial Worthy of the Ninth Heaven Who Spreads the Sound of the Thunder Corresponding to Primordial Origin' from the perspective of the Great Opening (Kaebyŏk) and the resolution of grievances (Haewon).

• Journal of the Daesoon Academy of Sciences
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• v.35
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• pp.255-293
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• 2020

This study examines the God, Jiutian Yingyuan Leisheng Puhua Tianzun (九天應元雷聲普化天尊, 'The Supreme God of the Ninth Heaven, Celestial Worthy of Universal Creation through His Thunderbolt, the Originator with Whom All Beings Resonate' in Daesoon Jinrihoe), in terms of narrative imagination, by investigating the narrative of Wen Zhong (聞仲) in Investiture of the Gods (Fengshenyanyi 封神演義) and the narrative of Kang Jeungsan (姜甑山) in The Canonical Scripture (Jeongyeong 典經). This examination occurs along three dimensions: Firstly, I look into the cultural contexts of the image of the Thunder God (雷神) in Gojoseon (古朝鮮) mythology and the Korean seondo (仙道) tradition both of which are reflected in the narrative of Wen Zhong. At the same time, I also argue that the cultural contexts examined above are able to be found in the narrative of Kang Jeungsan. Secondly, I consider the essential meaning of the concept of "deifying" (封神) in the narrative of Wen Zhong and its connection to "the resolution of grievances" (haewon 解冤) in the narrative of Kang Jeungsan. Thirdly, I consider the traits of embracing heterogeneous things (異類) in the religious group "Jiejiao" (截敎) that Wen Zhong belonged to in relation to the values of "mutual beneficence" (sangsaeng 相生) that Kang Jeungsan pursued. In this study's conclusion, I posit that the "mentalité" of Dong-yi (東夷) culture and tales including Yin (殷) is identifiable in narrative imagination applied to the God, Jiutian Yingyuan Leisheng Puhua Tianzun. This means that the nature of Jiutian Yingyuan Leisheng Puhua Tianzun is closely related to the tradition of Korean seondo and Korean Daoism.