A time to learn, discuss, and grow through K-mythology
Our Mythology Humanities Book for Youth

This is a revised edition of “Reading Our Myths to Cultivate the Power of Thought,” which has been consistently loved by readers since its publication in 2019.
This revised edition has refined the language and structure to make it more accessible to young readers, and has added new illustrations that capture Korean sentiment, further enhancing the depth and completeness of the content.

While Greek, Roman, and Nordic mythology are actively consumed as a source of global cultural content, our mythology has still been treated only as a few stories in textbooks or fragmentary old tales.
However, the recent success of webtoons, movies, Korean games, and dramas that utilize myths as motifs shows that our myths can also become a sufficient global story resource.

This book was planned to fully publicize the potential of the 'K-myth' in this context.
It contains a total of 16 stories, ranging from the story of the creation of the world, the power of goddesses, adventures of humans and gods, and epics that cross the line between the afterlife and the living world. It is structured so that readers can develop their thinking skills by asking questions and discussing them, rather than simply reading old tales.

In addition to the 58 recommended books and discussion activity sheets linked to elementary, middle, and high school subjects, the 2022 revised curriculum curriculum linkage table has been supplemented and included.
This will serve as a practical reference material reflecting the revised curriculum for not only youth but also parents and teachers.

《Our Myths: A Guide to Growing Thought》 is a guide to help you understand the original text of our mythology.
By examining the cultures and rituals of the past in myths, we are guided to think about topics that we must consider today.
Additionally, this book provides 'curriculum-linked discussion and writing activities' based on the curriculum for young readers.
Through this, readers can experience the diverse ideas contained in myths and consider what values ​​are necessary to live healthily as members of modern society.
In particular, the revised edition includes a '2022 Revised Curriculum Curriculum Linkage Table' to help readers see at a glance how reading myths helps them understand the curriculum.
(…) Recently, various cultural contents containing traditional Korean culture are receiving love from people not only on the Korean Peninsula but also around the world.
As the consumption of myths began in earnest over the past decade, the popularity of our myths continues to grow day by day.
However, it is difficult to readily answer whether our mythology is being actively addressed in the educational field.

This book contains the hope that the various archetypes of our myths will be more actively restored and preserved in the future.
We also hope that our children, who will be the protagonists of our next history, will be able to fully experience and enjoy our mythology in the educational setting.
The power of a nation is the power of its culture.
I hope that people of all ages and genders can enjoy our mythology, the root of our national spirit.
So, I hope the whole world will be filled with K-myths.

--- p.6~7

The stories we know about the creation of heaven and earth, the creation of animals and plants, the creation of humans, the creation of water and fire, and so on, are mostly found in the Book of Genesis in the Western Bible.
It is the story of how the world was created by words and how humans were created by shaping clay.
The question may arise, “So, do we also have a story about how the world first came into being?”
Of course, our country also has a story about how the world first came into being.
There are many interesting stories, such as the story of how heaven and earth were created from darkness, the story of our country's first god, the story of finding the source of water and fire, the story of how humans were created, and the story of another god who later appeared and took over the human world.
When you think of "the God who created the world," what image comes to mind? Is it an all-powerful creator god who appears as light from the pitch-black darkness, who can create heaven and earth, water and fire with a single word? However, our creation myth is fascinating because it doesn't depict creation from nothing, but rather a process in which a god appears, separates what already existed, and establishes cosmic order.
--- p.14~15

Our ancestors called any event where people gathered together and had fun 'gut'.
Good was the life and culture of our ancestors.
The reason why this kind of ritual has been reduced to a superstition is because Japanese historians distorted our culture and history.
Gangneung's Dano-gut, the East Coast's Byeolsingut, and Gyeonggi-do's Dodanggut can be considered village feasts held in each region.
Just as village feasts are not always filled with joy, our people have maintained a culture of sharing sorrow when someone passes away.
Baridegi is a goddess in a ritual that comforts those on their way to the afterlife at the moment of death.
Birth, growth, and death are the processes of life.
Of these, death is particularly difficult to accept.
It would be nice if everyone could live and die in peace, but that's not the reality.

Baridegi is the greatest of our gods, who reaches out to wounded and abandoned souls in the process of death and guides and guides them on their way to the afterlife.

--- p.60~61

It is said that a fragrant tree leaves its fragrance even on the axe used to chop it down.
The problem was solved when the heart of the Dragon King's daughter, who harbored evil, was embraced by the warm heart of the daughter of Myeongjin Kingdom.
Our gods, like Athena in Greco-Roman mythology, extend the hand of reconciliation instead of taking revenge.
And I propose that we do good things together for the human world.
Our gods do not treat evil with evil, but praise and understand the merits of others and move their hearts.
We often curse or slander others because we don't get along.
Or you think about how you can use the other person for your own benefit.
However, you must know that the harm you cause to others will eventually come back to you like a boomerang.
A wise life is not about revealing only yourself, but also having an open mind that can be with many people.
--- p.89

There is a saying called 'fated love'.
It means that from birth, you are destined to meet that person and eventually fall in love.
A love that is so inevitable that even the word 'fate' sounds romantic.

However, when the word 'fate' is used in ways like 'overcoming fate' or 'the shackles of fate', it somehow feels tragic and desperate.
Because in the end, it amounts to admitting that humans are ruled by some absolute power that they cannot reject.

So, what does fate mean to humans? It seems the ancients also pondered this question.
Jeju Island's shamanistic myth, Samgongbonpuri, is a story about this 'god of destiny.'
If you listen carefully to the story, you will see that the god of fate is not a god who determines fate, but rather a god who helps us overcome fate.
Even if there is a given fate, it is up to each individual to choose whether to accept that fate or overcome it.

--- p.93~94

If we look at the story today, not only Today, but also Jang Sang-doryeong, Mae-il, the lotus tree, and even the snake were all bound by fate and could do nothing about it.
But today, instead of remaining stuck in fate, he overcame it and even changed the lives of those who helped him.

Today, I hold a night light in one hand and a lotus flower in the other.

Today's story contains the flow of time.
Time is created by gathering moments called 'today'.
Only when we live each day cherishing it, can beautiful moments begin to accumulate.

Past time, present time, future time, today tells us that all of this time has not stopped.

Listen up.
Even now, somewhere in the Woncheon River, Today is quietly telling us that it is a precious time that cannot be wasted, protecting our beautiful four seasons.
--- p.119~120

If a couple is something that must be tied together as a set like a needle and thread, then in residential life, one set is a house and land.
Just as one cannot live on land without a house and cannot build a house without land, the god of the land, ‘Teojusin’, and the god of the house, ‘Seongjusin’, appear as a married couple.
They say that the younger generation these days doesn't really feel the need for marriage.
We don't know whether it's because they don't want to sacrifice themselves or because they give up in search of better conditions, but the images of couples in our mythology will allow us to think about what virtues are most necessary in a couple.
--- p.141

Today, people born in big cities are called 'people without a hometown.'
Hometown is not simply the land where I was born and raised, but a special place where my story is preserved.
That's why the city, which is constantly changing, also becomes a place where my story disappears, a place where I lose my hometown.
Big cities are filled with identical, square apartments, and the landscape changes rapidly with trends.
When a new city is built, people move there and the old city declines and disappears.
Ultimately, the big city remains an empty place that cannot contain our lives and stories.

People living in such a rapidly changing city can easily become increasingly indifferent to the places where they live.
However, the 'place' where people live has a huge impact on human life.
So, it's time to look back on where I live now and my life there.
--- p.192

There are laws in this world, and if you break them, you will be punished.
Likewise, in the afterlife, there is a law that reevaluates one's actions in this world and gives punishment.
The afterlife is a completely fair world.
In this world, the powerful and the rich oppress and wrong the powerless, but in the afterlife, there are no rich or poor people, and money and power do not work.
Just as death comes to everyone without exception, it is perhaps natural that the afterlife is a fair place for everyone.
(…) The story of Kangrimdo-ryeong goes back and forth between the story of the afterlife where the dead go and the story of the world where the living live.
It is called “Chasabonpuri” and has been passed down as a ritual to appease the spirits of the dead.
When reading the story of Kangrimdoryeong, one gets the illusion that this world and the afterlife are one world.
Ultimately, Kangrimdo-ryeong's actions remind us that we must acknowledge that death is also a part of life.
It is also interesting because it shows our people's funeral customs and perception of the afterlife.
Through the tangled story of Kangrimdo-ryeong, we can also see our people's ethical standards, which clearly dictate rewards and punishments.

--- p.197~198

Our ancestors regarded goblins as friendly beings, neither human nor god.
So, they hung goblin figures on the walls or pillars of their houses, or carved goblin faces into roof tiles.
This is because it was believed that goblins punished bad people and defeated evil spirits.
(…) It’s nice to have a god who plays the role of a perfectly cool hero, but it makes me happy just to know that there is a goblin god who laughs and enjoys with us and helps us.
(…) A goblin, a somewhat imperfect but loving god, a friend who shared life's joys and sorrows with us! Thanks to goblins like this, the ancients were able to maintain a smile even amidst the hardships of life.

--- p.235~236