• Sim-seong Yeon-gu
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.224-264
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• 2010

A brief story of the tale follows : Mokdoryung was a son of an arbor tree and a fairly. When the boy was 7-8 years old, mother-fairy returned to the sky. By using father-tree, Mokdoryung survived from the flood where he saved ants, mosquitos, and a boy with the same age. They arrived on top of the highest mountain, met an old woman with two daughters, worked as servants. With help of insects, Mokdoryung passed the trials, married to a wise daughter and 2 couples became the ancestor of the mankind. Interpretation of the tale starts with amplification of tree which symbolizes Self and Libido. As the son of the tree-spirit and a fairly from the sky, Mokdoryung is a kind of 'divine child' which represents a psychic possibility to understand archetypal nature of unconscious. Adversities of early childhood due to mother's absence regarded as necessary condition for 'divine child' to attain highest good. Flood can be compensation of absence of feminine as well as to bring a new life. The notion of father·tree becomes a kind of life-boat has to do with union of opposite(vertical phallic tree and horizontal feminine boat). Ants and mosquitoes represent upper and lower level of unconsciousness, they mediate divine power. Therefore respecting insects means respecting unconscious, and reward of insects means salvation come from unconscious. The boy saved from the flood presents emergence of psychic energy in its latent unconscious condition to create mental dynamism. The old woman is Great Mother or anima, the controller or guider of unconscious. Working as servants can be an active service for the divine marriage. Trials of separating millet from sand, and finding right direction relate to separatio, means one needs to be separated from unconscious before conunctio, union of opposite. Two sets of couple becoming ancestor of man-kind has to do with number 4 (quaternity) as well as regeneration. Although the tale includes both positive couple (Mokdoryung, wise daugther in east room). and negative couple(shadow side of Mokdoryung, step daughter in west room)as ancestors of mankind, "Good" seems to be more valued than "evil".