Literary Acceptance of the Chinese Mazu Myth in Korean Marine Culture

This study gives a basic introduction to the Chinese Mazu culture and investigates how Korean marine culture was reflected in classical literature. Mazu refers to Lin Mo, a real person during the Northern Song dynasty. She became a sea goddess who was worshipped as Tianfei (Princess of Heaven) or Tianhou (Queen of Heaven) for a thousand years after her death. China has extensively held symposia or festivals commemorating her since the Mazu culture was registered as a UNESCO intangible heritage in 2009. This study examines the correlation with Korean literature, figuring out the characteristics of faith in Mazu from the aspects of goddess, sea god and national god. This study chose 12th century works. This was a time when the granting of the title of Mazu was in progress. The local correlation was mentioned in Xu Jing’s Seonhwabongsa Goryeodogyeong. This study chose three stories. The first story is that of Seondo Seongmo (Holy Mother). Seondo Seongmo is a goddess from China. The earth god (in the literature) entered the Goryeo dynasty period. The period when Seondo Seongmo was recorded overlaps the establishment of the status of the Goddess Mazu as a national god. The second story is the classic novel of the 17th century, the S t o r y o f C h oi C h e o k . This study does not focus on an analysis of the narrative of the S t o r y o f C h oi C h e o k . The background is the flow of the history of civilization. It is the Age of ‘Exploration’ which made the Mazu Myth possible. This study understood the meaning of the S t o r y o f C h oi C h e o k as the ‘return of a heroic couple who seized the sea.’ The third story is the S t o r y o f t h e Ol d L a d y I m and Oryong Cemetery. This story was passed down in Gogunsan, Jeonbuk. Gogunsan is a historic place where trade with China was carried out, and the party of envoys from Song actually began the official schedule. Old Lady Im and Mazu are the same in terms of deification. It is said that the Old Lady Im refused a secular marriage and was found dead in front of Oryong Cemetery. However, the status of Oryong Cemetery was declined, and no village ritual (Byeolsinje) is performed, today. This study discusses the correlation of the Chinese Mazu culture with the above three works. As compared to the Mazu’s status that was promoted and passed down till today, the status of the marine goddess in Korean classical literature has been clothed in a religion or secularized to be passed down. This was because of fluctuations in the history of marine policy and culture, which had been changed in the linkage between inland culture and the marine culture. In this sense, the history of Chinese Mazu culture is a useful term for comparison to examine Korean marine culture.