Socheon-guk
Jeju Island shamanism · deity · Jeju Island shamanism traditional religion; continuing · Recorded classification
Socheon-guk is the hunter-god of the Songdang district and the first husband of the goddess Baekjut. Native to the volcanic uplands, he embodies the older hunting economy of Jeju: when his farming wife sets him to the plough, his prodigious appetite leads him to eat the ox that drew it, whereupon he abandons the field and returns to the hunt. The couple's estrangement, born of this clash between hunting and agriculture, is a defining episode of the Songdang bon-puri. Through their many children, who become the guardian deities of villages across the island, Socheon-guk is honoured alongside Baekjut as a founding ancestor of Jeju's local god-cults.
Domains
- hunting
- village guardianship
Powers
- hunt the beasts of the highland
Relations
- spouse: BaekjutHe weds Baekjut but they part after their quarrel over hunting and farming.Hyun Yong-jun, Jeju-do musok jaryo sajeon (Seoul: Singu Munhwasa, 1980) (primary)
Sources
- Socheon-guk is the hunter-god of Songdang, husband of Baekjut and co-ancestor of Jeju's village guardian gods.: Hyun Yong-jun, Jeju-do musok jaryo sajeon [Dictionary of Jeju Shamanic Materials] (Seoul: Singu Munhwasa, 1980) (primary)