Subscribe
E-Paper
 |
| A boat in the East Sea circa 1930 |
By Robert Neff
Korea was once described as the most haunted place on the planet. George Heber Jones, a missionary in the late 19th century, wrote:
"In Korean belief, earth, air, and sea are peopled by demons. They haunt every umbrageous tree, shady ravine, spring and mountain crest.
"On green hill slopes, in peaceful agricultural valleys, in grassy dells, on wooded uplands, by lake and stream, by road and river, in north, south, east, and west they abound, making malignant sport out of human destinies.
"They are on every roof, ceiling, oven and beam. They fill the chimney, shed, the living room, the kitchen - they are on every shelf and jar. In thousands they waylay the traveler as he leaves his home, beside him, behind him, dancing in front of him, whirring over his head, crying out upon him from air, earth, and water. They are numbered by thousands of billions, and it has been well said that their ubiquity is an unholy travesty of Divine Omnipresence."
These ghosts, according to Jones, demanded a "continual series of acts of propitiation" and omissions were dealt "with merciless severity," which kept the Korean population under a "yoke of bondage [of fear] from birth to death."
 |
| Stones of Gangwon Province circa 1930-1940 |
These demons and ghosts that he spoke of were often associated with abandoned homes and the desolate wilderness but there were also vengeful spirits that dwelt in the sea. Gangwon-do is rather infamous for its Haerang (해랑 also known as 해령) ― the spirits of drowned maidens who, even in death, bore a strong grudge against the living.
They were especially feared by fishermen. Sometimes they merely scared the fish away but other times they lashed out ― pushing or causing fishermen to fall into the water and drown. They also lured fishing boats onto reefs or guided them out to sea, never to be seen again.
When a young woman drowned, steps were taken to ensure that she did not become a ghost. The corpse was dressed in a man's clothing and buried facing down. The grave was surrounded by thistles and briars so that she could not leave its confines. But the spirits of the drowned were tenacious and they demanded respect and remembrance. Offerings were frequently made near the site of the drowning and shrines set up in hopes of appeasing the lost soul.
.jpg/dims/resize/740/optimize) |
| Stones of Gangwon Province circa 1930-1940 |
These shrines were often decorated with wooden phalluses. Was it perhaps an appeasement: an offer of something that she had been denied by an early death? Was it a form of masculine oppression ― a symbol of male strength?
Perhaps the most famous example of these maiden ghosts was at Sinnam ― about 20 kilometers to the south of Samcheok. In the 16th century, this area was very dependent on the sea and had a large number of fishermen.
According to the legend, one day, a young maiden was out gathering seaweed along the shore when she was noticed by a young fisherman. He was smitten with her beauty and thought to curry her favor by offering her a ride in his boat to a large rock a short distance in the sea that was known to have lots of seaweed around it. She could, he explain, gather the seaweed while he was fishing and in the evening he would come back and retrieve her. The girl readily agreed.
Unfortunately, several hours later, the weather changed and the choppy conditions of the water prevented the young fisherman from going back to retrieve her. The weather worsened and the waves grew higher and, despite her efforts, the girl was washed away and drowned.
 |
| Squid hanging up to dry in a Gangwon village circa 1930-1940 |
Shortly afterwards, evil and misfortune plagued the village and the fishermen. The once abundant fish disappeared and fishermen and their boats began to disappear ― even in calm weather.
The villagers built a shrine and made offerings but nothing seemed to appease her spirit. One day, a young fisherman, feeling the call of nature, stood up and relieved his bladder over the side of his boat. Suddenly there were fish everywhere. The villagers believed that the sight of the young man's genitalia had pleased her and so they decorated her shrine with wooden phalluses.
Although their lives were cut short and most of their names are forgotten, the drowned maidens of the sea are still remembered in annual festivals held at Sinnam and kept content by the large number of stone and wooden phalluses displayed at Haesindang Park.
 |
| A boat in Gangwon Province circa 1930-1940. |
