@article{ART003279627},
author={Kim, Do-Hyeon},
title={The Structure and Meanings of the Deities Venerated in the Villages of the Yeongdong Region, Gangwon-do},
journal={International Journal of Glocal Language and Literary Studies(약칭: IGLL)},
year={2025},
volume={21},
number={21},
pages={92-112}
TY - JOUR
AU - Kim, Do-Hyeon
TI - The Structure and Meanings of the Deities Venerated in the Villages of the Yeongdong Region, Gangwon-do
JO - International Journal of Glocal Language and Literary Studies(약칭: IGLL)
PY - 2025
VL - 21
IS - 21
PB - Glocal Institute of Language and Literary Studies(GILLS)
SP - 92
EP - 112
AB - This study offers a comprehensive analysis of the deities venerated in the Yeongdong region of Gangwon-do, focusing on the differentiated ritual strata: official rites (gwanhaengje), village shrines, and coastal village rites. We examine a diverse pantheon, including Seonghwang, Tojisin, Yeoyeoksin, Cheonsin, Sansin, Yongwang, Haeseonang, Jimdae, Subu, and Cheonwang, each performing vital community functions.
Seonghwang and Tojisin protect boundaries and support settlement stability, while Yongwang and Haeseonang ensure maritime safety and abundant catches. Sansin governs forests and water, and Yeoyeoksin controls epidemics. Cheonsin and Cheonwang act as superior integrative deities, and Subu mediates communal memory by institutionalizing local merit.
A deity’s function and status are not fixed but are reorganized based on the ritual setting (official, inland, or coastal) and the prevailing economic environment (agriculture, fishing, or forestry). This dynamic results in mutually complementary networks among central, upper, and lower deities.These findings demonstrate that the Yeongdong ritual system operates as a “ritual ecology,” not a linear hierarchy, flexibly adjusting to local environments and communal needs. This structure illustrates that Korean folk religion evolves through the continuous redistribution of roles and the recontextualization of ritual practices shaped by function, place, and community scale, rather than through the absolute dominance of a single deity.
KW - Gangwon Province;Yeongdong Region;Official Rites;Village Rituals;Seonghwang (Guardian Deity);Tojisin;Yeoyeoksin;Cheonsin;Sansin;Yongwang;Haeseonang
DO -
UR -
ER -
Kim, Do-Hyeon. (2025). The Structure and Meanings of the Deities Venerated in the Villages of the Yeongdong Region, Gangwon-do. International Journal of Glocal Language and Literary Studies(약칭: IGLL), 21(21), 92-112.
Kim, Do-Hyeon. 2025, "The Structure and Meanings of the Deities Venerated in the Villages of the Yeongdong Region, Gangwon-do", International Journal of Glocal Language and Literary Studies(약칭: IGLL), vol.21, no.21 pp.92-112.
Kim, Do-Hyeon "The Structure and Meanings of the Deities Venerated in the Villages of the Yeongdong Region, Gangwon-do" International Journal of Glocal Language and Literary Studies(약칭: IGLL) 21.21 pp.92-112 (2025) : 92.
Kim, Do-Hyeon. The Structure and Meanings of the Deities Venerated in the Villages of the Yeongdong Region, Gangwon-do. 2025; 21(21), 92-112.
Kim, Do-Hyeon. "The Structure and Meanings of the Deities Venerated in the Villages of the Yeongdong Region, Gangwon-do" International Journal of Glocal Language and Literary Studies(약칭: IGLL) 21, no.21 (2025) : 92-112.
Kim, Do-Hyeon. The Structure and Meanings of the Deities Venerated in the Villages of the Yeongdong Region, Gangwon-do. International Journal of Glocal Language and Literary Studies(약칭: IGLL), 21(21), 92-112.
Kim, Do-Hyeon. The Structure and Meanings of the Deities Venerated in the Villages of the Yeongdong Region, Gangwon-do. International Journal of Glocal Language and Literary Studies(약칭: IGLL). 2025; 21(21) 92-112.
Kim, Do-Hyeon. The Structure and Meanings of the Deities Venerated in the Villages of the Yeongdong Region, Gangwon-do. 2025; 21(21), 92-112.
Kim, Do-Hyeon. "The Structure and Meanings of the Deities Venerated in the Villages of the Yeongdong Region, Gangwon-do" International Journal of Glocal Language and Literary Studies(약칭: IGLL) 21, no.21 (2025) : 92-112.
