Jacheongbi

Jacheongbi is the central heroine of the Segyeong bon-puri, the Jeju origin chant of the farming gods, and one of the tradition's most fully realised female figures. Born to a well-to-do couple after they pray for a child, she falls in love with the heavenly student Mun-doryeong and disguises herself as her own brother to study at his side. Their romance is broken and remade across many trials: she is menaced by the family herdsman Jeongsu-nam, whom she kills with a hairpin and later revives; she journeys to heaven, where she puts down a soldiers' revolt through courage and disguise. For this she is rewarded with the seeds of the five grains, which she brings down to the human world, and she is enthroned as Jung-segyeong, the middle goddess of agriculture, with Mun-doryeong above her as god of the upper crops and Jeongsu-nam below as god of the herds.

Domains

• agriculture and grain
• harvest and abundance

Powers

• bring down and grant the five-grain seeds
• restore the dead with the flowers of life
• put down a rebellion of heaven's soldiers

Epithets

• 중세경 — Jung-segyeong, the Middle Goddess of FarmingHyun Yong-jun, Jeju-do musok jaryo sajeon (Seoul: Singu Munhwasa, 1980) (primary)

Relations

• spouse: Mun-doryeongAfter long trials the two are united in heaven.Hyun Yong-jun, Jeju-do musok jaryo sajeon (Seoul: Singu Munhwasa, 1980) (primary)
• enemy: Jeongsu-namThe herdsman lures her into the hills and attempts to violate her; she kills him, then later revives him.Hyun Yong-jun, Jeju-do musok jaryo sajeon (Seoul: Singu Munhwasa, 1980) (primary)

Sources

• Jacheongbi is the heroine of the Segyeong bon-puri who wins the seeds of the five grains and becomes Jung-segyeong, the goddess of agriculture.: Hyun Yong-jun, Jeju-do musok jaryo sajeon [Dictionary of Jeju Shamanic Materials] (Seoul: Singu Munhwasa, 1980) (primary); Choi Won-oh, An Illustrated Guide to Korean Mythology (Folkestone: Global Oriental, 2008) (secondary)