ScholarWorks@숙명여자대학교

초록

This study aims to re-examine the historical nature of the Seodong tale recorded in the “King Mu” section, Volume 2 of the Samguk Yusa (Memorabilia of the Three Kingdoms), and to elucidate the background of its formation. While recent scholarship largely tends to identify Seodong as ‘King Mu of Baekje,’ it is necessary to re-evaluate the perspective of ‘Seodong as King Mugang (武康王).’ This is due to the discrepancy between the tale’s motifs and King Mu’s actual historical trajectory, as well as the appearance of ‘King Mugang’—a figure deeply associated with Seodong’s deeds—in numerous historical records such as the Goryeosa (History of Goryeo) and the Sejong Sillok (Veritable Records of King Sejong). Accordingly, this paper interprets the Seodong tale as the ‘foundation myth of King Mugang of Baekje, conceived by the Gyeon Hwon faction,’ based on the following arguments: First, later historical texts like the Goryeosa and Sejong Sillok identify King Mugang as the occupant of the Iksan Ssangneung (Twin Tombs). Notably, they record that the local people of Iksan referred to King Mugang’s tomb by the alias Maltong Daewangneung (Tomb of Great King Maltong), which strongly suggests that King Mugang is indeed Seodong. This is supported by linguistic shifts: if the first character of ‘Seodong’ (薯童; Seo, meaning yam) is read by its native Korean meaning, it becomes ‘Madong’ (마동). If the first character of ‘Madong’ is then phonetically transcribed using the Hanja for horse (馬; pronounced ma, meaning mal in native Korean) and read by its native meaning, it becomes ‘Maldong’ (末童), which can interchangeably be pronounced as ‘Maltong’ (末通). This connection corroborates that the tale’s protagonist, Seodong, is Great King Maltong—namely, King Mugang—who founded a state in the Geumma region, present-day Iksan. Second, the structure of the tale and its placement within the literature support this view. The Seodong tale exhibits the typical structure of a foundation myth: ‘miraculous birth → hardship → helper → acquisition of the throne.’ Furthermore, it is compiled alongside other foundation myths within the Samguk Yusa. Thus, it can be inferred that this tale was originally perceived, placed, and recorded as the ‘foundation myth of King Mugang of Baekje.’ Third, regarding the period and agents of the myth’s formation, this study proposes that the myth was likely created by the Gyeon Hwon faction, who founded Later Baekje based in Iksan around 900 CE. Gyeon Hwon rejected the then-orthodox, Onjo-centric view of Baekje, adopting instead a historical view of Baekje as the successor to Mahan. He required an independent historical focal point, and it appears he appropriated the King Mugang myth for this exact purpose. Fourth, comparative mythological and linguistic evidence further validates this claim. The fact that both the Gyeon Hwon tale and the Seodong tale share the ‘Water Father, Earth Mother’ (水父地母) motif implies that the originating forces behind both myths are identical. Additionally, the transcription method of the characters ‘Ju’ (主) and ‘Eul’ (乙) in Seodongyo, written in Hyangchal, aligns with the borrowed-character notation patterns that began emerging around 900 CE. In conclusion, the Seodong tale in the Samguk Yusa should not be viewed merely as a romance of King Mu of Baekje, but rather as the ‘foundation myth of King Mugang,’ which Gyeon Hwon promoted around 900 CE to rally the displaced people of Baekje in the Iksan region and secure political legitimacy.

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