The power to possess the traits and powers of, or even be a Korean Deity. Variation of Transcendent Physiology.
Also Called[]
- The Korean Gods and Goddesses
Capabilities[]
The user with this ability either is or can transform into one of the Korean Deities from mythology. Becoming a god or goddess who are associated with Korean culture, able to draw power and abilities connected to them. Even in some cases becoming new incarnations of them on earth.
Applications[]
Deities[]
- Cheonji-wang - A celestial being in some narratives
- Birth Manipulation (Some time after the creation, the celestial deity Cheonji-wang descends onto earth, often to punish the impious Sumyeong-jangja. There, he impregnates an earthly woman. She gives birth to the twins Daebyeol-wang and Sobyeol-wang, who ascend to the heavenly realm of their father)
- Archetype:Creator Deity (Said to be a creator deity according to some narratives)
- Misfortune Embodiment (Shamans often mention how Sumyeong-jangja's house is defended by dogs, bulls, and horses so that even the god himself cannot enter. The god then sends forth warning omens to his house; bulls appear on top of his roof, mushrooms sprout in his kitchen, and his pots parade around the courtyard. In one version, Cheonji-wang laments his wife's initiative: "The butterfly ought to look for the flower, but the flower looks for the butterfly; many things will be wrong-side-up in the human world.")
- God Summoning (Sometimes, Cheonji-wang responds by ordering his subordinate gods – such as the deities of fire, lightning, and thunder – to annihilate Sumyeong-jangja and his family. In many other versions, Cheonji-wang wraps an iron band or netting around Sumyeong-jangja's head)
- Nigh-Omnipotent Entity Creation and Nigh-Omnipotence Bestowal (His two children, Sobyeol-wang and Daebyeol-wang)
- Cheukshin - Toilet Goddess
- Disease Manipulation (Via her hair and not even a shaman could help the person affected by her disease; she can also kill pigs)
- Household Deity Physiology
- Justice Deity Physiology
- Punishment (Through her long hair if a person never entered an outhouse without coughing three times. She was also believed to be the deity of legal punishment, following the orders of the house deity Seongjushin)
- Time Manipulation and Fate Manipulation (Limited. Can force people to die during puberty)
- Toilet Deity Physiology (Koreans held jesas, or rituals, to her in the sixth, sixteenth, and twenty-sixth days in the lunar calendar, or when a shoe or a child fell in the pit toilet. Jesas were also done for her when a pig contracted disease and died, when a prophecy warned of the anger of the goddess, or when the outhouse was built)
- Virgin Deity Physiology
- Dalnim - Goddess of the moon
- Lunar Deity Physiology (Moon goddess)
- Light Deity Physiology (Of moonlight)
- Lunar Deity Physiology (Moon goddess)
- Dangun - God-king and first ruler in Korean mythology
- Divine Lord Physiology (God-king)
- Heaven Deity Physiology (Dangun's ancestry legend begins with his grandfather Hwanin (환인/桓因), the "Lord of Heaven". Hwanin had a son, Hwanung (환웅/ Hanja: 桓雄), who yearned to live on the earth among the valleys and the mountains. Hwanin permitted Hwanung and 3,000 followers to descend onto Baekdu Mountain, where Hwanung founded the Sinsi)
- Heaven Lordship (minor; Grandson of Heaven)
- Absolute Law Manipulation (Limited. Along with his ministers of clouds, rain and wind, he instituted laws and moral codes and taught humans various arts, medicine, and agriculture)
- Mountain Deity Physiology (Controls mountains)
- Eopsin - Wealth goddess
- Tutelary Deity Physiology
- Divine Protection (She could protect families who acknowledged or worshipped)
- Deification and Divine Power Bestowal (She followed the wife of the Song family. The snake-girl blessed the Songs, and the family became the richest family on earth. When the rest of Jeju Island heard of this, they worshipped the snake-girl and her children. The snake-girl and her seven children became gods)
- Invisibility (Was mostly invisible in dreams)
- Land Lordship and Authority (The snake-girl and her seventh child became the two Chilseongsin, the two storage gods. The first child became the harvest deity, the second child became the deity of the judicial court system, the third child became the deity of the prison, the fourth child became the orchard deity, the fifth child became the deity of storages operated by the government, and the sixth child became the deity of governmental offices)
- Shapeshifting (Eopsin was believed to be a pitch-black snake that had ears. She was mostly invisible, but could appear as rat snakes, weasels, toads, cattle, pigs, roosters, dogs, or humans. If the goddess appeared in a person's dream, the person would experience money problems)
- Wealth Deity Physiology (A wealth goddess)
- Absolute Storage (Goddess of storage; In the Chilseong Bonpuli, she is said to bear limitless storage)
- Immense Wealth
- Prosperity Embodiment (Goddess of prosperity)
- Tutelary Deity Physiology
- Gameunjang-aegi - God of destiny
- Blessing Bestowal/Reality Warping (In her dealings with the youngest brother, the goddess shows the rewards that accrue to those who accept divine authority and she can give her parents sight)
- Fate Deity Physiology (God of fate)
- Meta Fate Manipulation (Folklorist Lee Soo-ja accordingly characterizes Samgong as a divinity who "changes destiny by determining the shape of human lives according to the mindset that they have.")
- God Summoning (Gameunjang-agi actively causes her parents' blindness by throwing a handful of dust at their eyes, and then summons deities that destroy all of her family's properties)
- Fortune Deity Physiology (Her parents become very rich after her birth)
- Karma Manipulation, Causality Manipulation and Justice Manipulation (Jeonsang is called destiny in Korean. It is often glossed as roughly equivalent to the notion of "fate" or "destiny." Shamans refer to both "good jeonsang," such as becoming rich, and "bad jeonsang," such as becoming blind. Jeonsang with such value judgement applied is called sarok)
- Misfortune Redirection and Meta Luck (She can make people go blind and she can control good and bad jeonsang where she brought evil and misfortune to her sisters. When all three daughters fail to return, the parents decide to leave the house to see for themselves, only to crash into the doorframe and go blind. They then lose all their fortune and return to being beggars)
- Principle Manipulation (The deity invoked through the recitation of the narrative and in the Samgong-maji is Gameunjang-agi, who is worshipped as the goddess Samgong (lit. 'Third lord'), the divinity in charge of a concept called jeonsang. The precise meaning of this word is unclear, but it has been translated as "the principles by which all things in the world are done, including having a job or becoming rich or falling ill.")
- Logic Manipulation and Nigh-Omnipresence (Only nearly omnipresent in people's homes. "I have come into the human world to take charge of human destiny [jeonsang]. When you lived as rich people, it was because I was there.")
- Transmutation/Matter Manipulation (Her sisters lie, telling Gameunjang-agi that her parents are coming out to beat her and that she should run away. The youngest sister then turns Eunjang-agi into a centipede and Notjang-agi into a mushroom)
- Haemosu - Sun god
- Divine Objects (sword and chariot)
- Solar Deity Physiology (When he ascended to heaven and descended, evening and morning became reality)
- Light Deity Physiology (A ray of light impregnated Yuhwa)
- Haneullim - Primary god in Korean folk religion
- Absolute Wish (Presumably. He caused Ungyeo's wish to be fulfilled)
- Heaven Deity Physiology (Dangun is traditionally considered to be the grandson of Hwanin, the "Heavenly King", and founder of the Korean nation)
- Heaven Lordship (Lord of Heaven)
- Omnipotence (as the Supreme Being in Korean mythology)
- Reality Warping (The myth starts with prince Hwanung ("Heavenly Prince"), son of Hwanin. The prince asked his father to grant him governance over Korea. Hwanin accepted, and Hwanung was sent to Earth bearing three Heavenly Seals and accompanied by three thousand followers. The prince arrived under the Sindansu/ Shindansu (신단수/ Hanja: 神檀樹, "Holy Tree of Sandalwood") on the holy mountain, where he founded his holy city)
- Ruler (Ruler of the skies)
- Sky Deity Physiology (Sky Father)
- Supreme Deity Physiology (Supreme God in some Eurasian cultures)
- Supreme Divinity (Possesses highest divinity in the folk religion)
- Hogubyeolseong (Hogu and Byeolseong) - God of Diseases
- Disease Manipulation (God of diseases)
- Plague Deity Physiology (smallpox)
- Hwanung - God of Heaven
- Artistic Deity Physiology
- Element Manipulation (He has ministers of clouds, rain, and wind)
- Harvest Deity Physiology
- Heaven Deity Physiology (God of Heaven)
- Heaven Lordship (Heaven King)
- Health Deity Physiology
- Justice Deity Physiology
- Law Manipulation and Knowledge Manipulation (He instituted laws and moral codes and taught the humans various arts, medicine, and agriculture)
- Principle Manipulation (Via his grandson Tae-ho, (태호), youngest among the 12 sons of Tae-u-eui Hwan-ung, his descendants lived in present-day Shaanxi, China. In the Hwandangogi, the descendants of Tae-ho (태호 복희씨, Tae-ho Bok-heui-sshi) has revealed the beginning of the Chinese fundamental principles of Bagua (Hanja: 八卦, Pal-gwae 팔괘) in Taoist cosmology))
- Reality Warping (According to the Dangun creation myth, Hwanung yearned to live on the earth among the valleys and the mountains. Hwanin permitted Hwanung and 3000 followers to depart and they descended from heaven to a sandalwood tree on Baekdu Mountain, then called Taebaek Mountain (태백산/太伯山). There Hwanung founded Sinsi (신시/神市, "City of God") and gave himself the title Heaven King)
- Supreme Deity Physiology (Hwanung is the son of Hwanin (환인; 桓因), the "Lord of Heaven")
- Supreme Divinity (Supreme Divine Regent)
- Time Manipulation, Time Acceleration and Immortality Bestowal (The kingdom of 18 descendants of Hwan-ung are claimed to have ruled the nation for 1565 years in the annals of these books, as well as the featuring one of emperors, Chiyou (Hangul: 치우; Hanzi: 蚩尤) which has been traced from Chinese Mythology on record)
- Transmutation and Matter Manipulation (In a cave near the sandalwood tree lived a bear and a tiger who came to the tree every day to pray to Hwanung. One day Hwanung gave the bear and the tiger twenty bulbs of garlic and some divine mugwort. Hwanung promised if they ate only his garlic and mugwort and stayed in the cave out of the sunlight for one hundred days he would make them human. The tiger and the bear agreed and went back to the cave, but tiger was too hungry and impatient to wait, leaving the cave before the 100 days were done. But the bear remained, and on the 21st day was transformed into a beautiful woman, who gratefully honored Hwanung with offerings)
- Jacheongbi - Goddess of earth
- Earth Deity Physiology (Controls earth)
- Harvest Deity Physiology (In a tale, she has 5 grains to take with her in order that the people of earth – in this case, those of Jeju – could adequately feed themselves: barley, rice, millet, foxtail millet, and bean (the latter not technically a grain). Geum Baekjo represents the actual changeover from a hunter-gatherer to an agricultural society, while Jacheongbi governs the processes of agriculture))
- Holy Gift (Jacheongbi is especially associated with buckwheat, however. Ever sure of herself in her knowledge and pragmatism, Jacheongbi asks the Emperor of Heaven for a 6th grain, one that would grow in the harshest of conditions and nearly throughout the year. The Emperor of Heaven, in appreciation of her wisdom and compassion for the people among whom she lives, grants her wish and gives her hardy buckwheat in addition to the 5 original grains)
- Love Deity Physiology (Goddess of love)
- Shapeshifting (Limited. Her story begins when she disguises herself as a young man in order to pursue higher education)
- Teleportation (Through her love for a young god and to atone for her deed, however, to restore justice and right the wrong that she feels she has done – or, out of simple compassion, she travels to the Garden of Heaven in order to find the plant that will restore him to life – and, a second plant that will cure his 'greedy desire' for women)
- Jishin/Teojusion - Patron of the ground
- Creation and Tool/Weapon Manipulation (The Teojushin's origin appears in the Seongjugut, a myth and gut of Seoul. A long time ago, Cheonsarangssi of the Sky Palace and Jital Buin of the Underground Palace married. In ten months, Jital Buin delivered a boy who cried like a dragon. His name was Hwanguyangssi, who could build any building on earth. Jowangshin advised the Okhwang Chasa to capture Hwanguyangssi at sunrise, the only time he did not wear his armour. Jowangshin had betrayed his master because he threw muddy shoes at the kitchen, and his wife, Makmak Buin, placed sharpened knives above the hearth. Following Jowangshin's advice, the Okhwang Chasa captured Hwanguyangssi and told him to prepare within four days. When Makmak Buin heard this, she made hammers, saws, and an extraordinarily large number of other tools within one day, in addition to new clothes. As dawn came, she prepared the horse by brushing, reining, and saddling it. Makmak Buin finally advised Hwanguyangssi to not talk to anyone on the trail, and to use old wood rather than new wood)
- Adaptive Armour (One day, Hwanguyangssi had a disturbing dream. In response, he decided to wear his glorious armour all throughout the day except at sunrise, when he visited his parents. Meanwhile, the Sky Palace had been destroyed by a storm. The adviser of the supreme deity, Gwangcheosa, advised Hwanguyangssi as the man suitable for repairing the palace. But when the envoy of Heaven, the Okhwang Chasa, came to Hwanguyangssi's house, he was dressed in full armour. While he wandered around, unsure of what to do, an old man approached him. The old man was the hearth deity, Jowangshin)
- Creation and Destruction Embodiment and Soul Manipulation (The first power is over land and houses. On the trail, Hwanguyangssi was insulted by a man named Sojinhang, a wizard, for not replying to his questions about Hwanguyangssi's identity. Sojinhang said that he picked the land for the Sky Palace, and if anyone other than him touched it, the building would fall. He thus asked for an exchange of clothes and soul. Hwanguyangssi said that he would exchange the clothes, but not the soul)
- Meta Probability Manipulation and Reality Warping (Via his actions. Meanwhile, Hwanguyangssi dreamed himself wearing just the rims of a hat, his spoon being broken in half, and his spoon buried under the earth as he slept in the Sky Palace. A fortune-teller said that the meaning of the dream was that his house was razed to the foundation, his wife serving another man. Hwanguyangssi was extremely agitated by this dream, and he reconstructed all of the Sky Palace in just four days, using the old rather than new wood, as Makmak Buin had said. He quickly returned to his house. All but the foundation of the house had been destroyed, and only tadpoles lived in the well. As he wept, his tears became a river, and his sighs became the winds)
- God Summoning, Inversion and Direction Manipulation (Suddenly, a flock of crows cast their shadows on a certain foundation stone. Hwanguyangssi was suddenly curious about what was there. There, he found Makmak Buin's note. He ran to the Fields of Sojin, but found it heavily defended by the Obang Shinjang, the deities of the cardinal directions. Hwanguyangssi hid in the willows next to the well)
- Attack Prediction, Transmutation and Combat (But Makmak Buin knew that there was a hypnotic in the alcoholic beverage. Sojinhang fell asleep, and Hwanguyangssi emerged and turned Sojinhang into a jangseung, or totem pole, to defend the villages. Sojinhang's children turned into Seonangdang, or stone towers where travellers prayed for safety)
- Meta Luck and Absolute Wish (The Seongjugut concludes with this: Seongjunimi bulanhamyeon Jishinnimi anjonhago (When Seongju is nervous, Jishin (Teojushin) is steady) Jishinimi bulanhamyeon Seongjunimi anwianjeonghashigo (When Jishin (Teojushin) is nervous, Seongju is steady and firm) Du gawangi habi doeya (Only when the king and queen of the Gashin are one) Han Namukkeuti Neul Nagilnagilhago (One tree's end is fortunate) Chilbidongsane manmansu nojeokeul naerieojubsoseo (Grant us 10,000 luck to the seven peaks)
- Earth Manipulation (God of the earth in modern day shamanism)
- Luck Manipulation (Through the tteoks. Teojushin was believed to embody a pot holding rice, peas, or red beans. The pot was then buried or just placed on the corners of the backyard or the jangdokdae, an open area holding jangdok. The pot was covered with a cone-shaped umbrella woven of rice stalks. The grains within the pot was replaced every year, and the family made tteok, or rice cakes, out of them. The rice cakes were never shared; this is because the tteoks represented luck)
- Josang - God of the household
- Ancestral Evocation (Josang refers to one's immediate ancestors, offspring, a deceased relative or any unrelated soul; and worshipped as a god in Korean Shamanism. It is viewed as a supernatural being rather than blood relations, includes all immediate and extended family, both male and female, and all other deceased souls that influence the family. These include who died before marriage, or who died a tragic, untimely death)
- Afterlife Manipulation (Limited. The main purpose of the ritual of house cleansing is to dissipate the regret of the dead. In the course of this ritual the spirit comes down twice, once to the shaman, and once to the man holding the bamboo stick. As in the funeral rite, the important deities in this ritual are messengers who guide the deceased to the king of the otherworld)
- Soul Manipulation (The long period of funeral and mourning is a period of patience and self-denial for the mourner. This sacrifice of the offspring allows the deceased parent to become an ancestor who must also then protect the living family members. The dead spirit needs the help of a shaman to release it from regret and to help in the passing of the ten trials in the otherworld. This is done when the death is due to an accident)
- Household Deity Physiology (God of household in modern shamanism)
- Family Deity Physiology (In the modern day)
- Jowangshin - God of the fire and the hearth
- Curse Inducement and Rule Manipulation (Because Jowangshin was believed to write down the happenings within the house and broadcast them to heaven, housewives had to follow five rules: 1. Do not curse while in the hearth. 2. Do not sit on the hearth. 3. Do not place your feet on the hearth. 4. Maintain the cleanliness of the kitchen. 5. You may worship other deities in the kitchen)
- Fire Deity Physiology (God of fire)
- Food Deity Physiology (God of food)
- Hearth Deity Physiology (God of hearth)
- Household Deity Physiology (God of protecting the household)
- Obstacle Transcendence (The origin of Jowangshin appears in the Munjeon Bonpuli, a myth of Jeju Island. Meanwhile, Jowangshin can be vengeful against those who do not honor the five taboos. In the Seongjugut, the envoy of heaven, Okhwang Chasa, cannot enter the house of Hwanguyangssi because of the glorious and intimidating armor of Hwanguyangssi. However, the Jowangshin reveals how to get past this obstacle)
- Mireuk - Creator deity
- Anger Manipulation (Mireuk’s rage caused the first death in the world and threw the world into endless chaos)
- Creator Deity Physiology (Mireuk is known as the god of all creation. He is said to have separated earth itself from the cosmos. It is also said that he had created the human race from 5 golden insects and 5 silver insects. The insects became 5 couples that all humans descended from)
- Creative Source
- Creative Force Manipulation (Could create the sun and moon in northern narratives)
- Disaster Manipulation (Separated earth from Heaven)
- Good Manipulation (Humans under his rule were all good)
- Meta Power Manipulation (But it is also believed that he had unsurpassable powers that could even destroy all his creations)
- Omnificence and Absolute Destruction (Mireuk is the ultimate Korean god of creation as well as destruction)
- Reality Warping (The creator shows his power by freezing a river, which would have been useful for nomads to reach better pastures. Mireuk causes the plant to bloom naturally without human effort)
- Perfection (A perfect being)
- Supreme Voice and Domain Manipulation (In any case, Mireuk is defeated in all narratives. In Jeon's Changse-ga and the Sam Taeja-puri, this leads to the sun and moon's disappearance. Seokga retrieves the sun and moon by thrashing either a grasshopper (in the former narrative) or a chaedosa (in the latter) until it reveals the sun and moon's location. The motif of thrashing a small animal appears in Kim's Changse-ga and the Seng-gut as well, but in a different context. In the former, the creator god Mireuk wishes to discover fire and water. He thrashes a grasshopper, a frog, and a mouse each three times, but only the mouse reveals that fire is created by hitting iron on stone and that water springs up from inside a certain mountain. Mireuk rewards it by giving it dominion over all the rice boxes of the world)
- Meta Time Manipulation ("When it becomes my age, water will form first out of the Five Phases of Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth. The liquor has spilled to the earth, and the waters of the ditches and wells and the waters of the springs and the rivers have all formed from it.")
- Transmutation and Soul Manipulation (Kim's Changse-ga ends with Seokga going on a hunt with three thousand Buddhist priests. He kills a roe and roasts its meat, but two of the priests refuse to eat. The priests die and become rocks and pine trees)
- Aspect Manifestation through Ülgen
- Eternal Existence (Ülgen is believed to be without either beginning or end)
- Universal Manipulation (In Tengrism, the birch tree, regarded as a cosmic axis between earth and sky, was regarded as sacred to him, as was the horse (horse-sacrifice was a part of his worship). Ülgen symbolizes goodness, welfare, abundance, plentiness of food, water, etc))
- Big Creation Manipulation (Furthermore, he created earth, heaven and all living beings. In addition, he controls the atmospheric events and movements of stars. He creates land for people to live on, the heads of both humans and animals and the rainbow. He was regarded as the patron god of shamans and the source of their knowledge)
- Supreme Divinity (It is believed that Ülgen has been created from Kayra (Tengere Kayra Khan). He is the highest deity after Tengri in the pantheon. Often, Ülgen is compared with Tengri and at times they are thought to be on par, or even the same. In some sayings, the name/function of Ülgen may be (partially) interchangeable with that of Tengri)
- Omni-Protection (Ülgen is described as the enemy of Erlik who is the god of evil and darkness. Ülgen assumes the protectorship of humankind against him)
- Unreachability, Infinity Manipulation, Omnilock and Zenith Form (Bai-Ülgen lives on the sixteenth floor of the sky above the stars, sun and moon in a golden house. Mere humans may never reach him, only shamans and kams who possess astral powers can. Animals are used for sacrifice in worship of him, especially horses. Once in every third, sixth, ninth, or twelfth year, a shaman may sacrifice a white horse as the first step of reaching Ülgen. Then he must ride its soul, penetrate through all the layers of heaven until he reaches Ülgen. Firstly, the kam (shaman) meets Yayık who is the servant of Ülgen. This entity informs the kam whether or not the offering has been accepted. If the sacrificial rite has been successful, the shaman is able to learn from the omniscient Ülgen of impending dangers, such as bad harvests)
- Prosperity, Purity, Nature, Animal, Confidence and Blessing Inducement (His seven sons)
- Mago - Deity of life
- Munshin - God of the door in Korean shamanism
- Disease Manipulation (Stopped sexual contact with another disease god)
- Liminal Deity Physiology and Omnipresence (Protects all doors and can appear within all doors)
- Nulgubjishin - Deity of grain
- Harvest Deity Physiology (Controls the harvest)
- Household Deity Physiology
- Misfortune Redirection (Against Gwishin, who are ghosts)
- Paritegi - Guide to the underworld
- Boundary Manipulation (She is the only goddess who has travelled to the underworld and can see through both the worlds by being at the boundaries existing between the two worlds. So, the rejected or the seventh princess acts as a messenger to convey spiritual messages from the other side of the underworld)
- Life and Death Manipulation (She leads souls back and forth over the thresholds of life and death)
- Telepathy (She can be invoked to transmit and receive messages from those on the Other Side)
- Banishment (She banishes ghosts, soothes restless spirits)
- Meta Teleportation (She is petitioned to rescue souls stuck in hell dimensions)
- Shapeshifting (In one tale, she shapeshifts into a man)
- Psychopomp Physiology (Taker of souls)
- Underworld Deity Physiology (Underworld Deity)
- Samshin-halmang - God of childbirth and fate
- Fertility Deity Physiology
- Wave Manipulation (There are also stories regarding the creation of strong waves by her urine flow, and even a male 'Seolmundae Harubang' [grandfather] who stirred a fish pond with his giant penis, all cited by some local scholars as deliberate distortions which emerged during or after the Joseon era, a repressive period for women as well as shamanism, as attempts to trivialize, render passive and impotent)
- Samsin Halmoni - Female aspect
- Big Creation Manipulation, Omni-Manipulation and Primordial Force Manipulation (She is the creator of Jeju, and the body on which the island's inhabitants rest. In the world's mythology, it is highly unusual to find a creation myth which has a single goddess as progenitor; most such have either a single male deity, or more commonly, a male-female pair, typically depicting a female earth and male sky or universe)
- Divine Item and Cloth Manipulation (An earlier myth of Seolmundae refers to the progressive deterioration of her godly garments caused by her stay in this world, clothing which couldn't be repaired because in the Otherworld it would never have deteriorated -- and on earth, the proper materials for its repair thus did not exist)
- Family Deity Physiology (ancestor goddess)
- Ancestral Evocation (She is able to call on ancestors of the dead or living)
- Fate Deity Physiology (Controller of fate)
- Fertility Deity Physiology (Deity of fertility)
- Birth Manipulation (Controls birth and in one tale, as a grandmother, gave birth to 500 sons)
- Island Mimicry (Embodies the Jeju Island)
- Primordial Magma Manipulation and Primordial Fire Manipulation (Could control magma, fire and volcanoes)
- Meta Matter Manipulation (The people attempted but fell short of this task, collecting 99 bundles of silk instead of the required 100 -- a metaphor for human imperfection or, alternatively, a 'missing holy one' common to the world's myths, and a sense of Jeju's geographic limitations. At the same time, the number nine is considered propitious in the Chinese language which greatly informed that of the Korean region, and appears in other myths and metaphors of Jeju such as the '99 points' in the 'crown' of Seongsan Ilchulbong, a tuff cone off the eastern tip of the island, or the '99 valleys' said to both protect and limit the people of this land)
- Binding (With clothes. In some Korean myths of the mainland, clothing when in reference to deity or other mythical creatures is a metaphor for wings or mobility, most significantly the ability to return to their celestial home -- the absence of which renders the otherworldly being earthbound. An earlier myth of Seolmundae refers to the progressive deterioration of her godly garments caused by her stay in this world, clothing which couldn't be repaired because in the Otherworld it would never have deteriorated -- and on earth, the proper materials for its repair thus did not exist)
- Omnipotence and Omniscience (She is envisioned as a giant goddess, and myths have emerged regarding her retreat to a watery core, her eternal sleep, her death, all of which suggest an omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient deity that retreated following creation, a 'deus otiosus' who does not interfere in the people's daily life)
- Omnipotence Bestowal (She grants omnipotence to weaker deities according to some interpretations of the Jeju myth)
- Omnipresence ("Grandmother Seolmundae watches over us all" is a common Jeju sentiment. It is also universally acknowledged that one can "see Mount Halla from anywhere on Jeju,” a metaphor for her omnipresence, and that the view or 'face' of Halla differs greatly depending on one's vantage point – or, that Seolmundae is subject to interpretation)
- Reality Warping (The theme of worn fabric plays a role in another of her myths. She was said to have struck a bargain with the people of Jeju, in that she would complete their desired bridge to the mainland -- a bridge that her original creation had begun, as rocks jut out into the sea at an area along the northeast coastline near Jocheon -- if they in turn would create new silk clothing for her)
- Triple Deity Physiology
- Primordial Water Manipulation (Her elder brother, in the world of the gods, noted her misery and offered to rescue and return her to her rightful home; she refused, preferring to remain with her beloved Jeju people even if it meant her death. She asked her brother's advice on how to remain with the Jeju people eternally, and was told to heal herself [resolve her sadness] and become water [source of life]. Having emerged from Mount Halla in the form of fire, as the burning lava of the spewing volcano from which Jeju was created, she returned to the island in the form of water, becoming or residing within Muljangeori, a crater lake at 900m above sea level located in Bongjae-dong, retreating beneath its surface and subsequently emerging only as needed by the Jeju people. The dying god, typically descending to the Underworld and often including rebirth or reincarnation, is a common theme among world mythologies, one of sacrifice for a beloved people. Muljangeori thus became a traditional sacred site to the inhabitants of Jeju, and is today a Ramsar-designated wetland)
- Sang-je - God of Heaven
- Complete Arsenal (Should have every power as the God of Heaven)
- Heaven Deity Physiology (Ruler of Heaven)
- Heaven Lordship (Heavenly Emperor)
- Metapotence (Through being Hanuellim according to Korean narratives)
- Shapeshifting (Turned his form from a god into a human)
- Supreme Deity Physiology (Is directly compared with Hanuellim in some versions of the Korean creation story)
- Supreme Divinity (The highest divinity in Korea)
- Seokga - Trickster deity
- Deceiver Deity Physiology (A deceiver in Korean narratives)
- Trickster
- Absolute Command, Indomitable Will, Supreme Voice and Absolute Domination (Seokga's feats are distinctly agricultural. The usurper invokes the thawing of ice at the beginning of spring, which marks the beginning of the farming season. His spilled liquor becomes the freshwater of the world, which is crucial to agriculture. In the second contest in Jeon's Changse-ga, Seokga explicitly mentions the fact that humans will stack grain the way he has)
- Creation and Destruction and Order Manipulation (Limited. Seokga lacks the ability to bring about his order by himself; he cannot generate the animals from nothing but must fashion them from the flesh of the deer. Shim cites folktales about deer-women to argue that the dismembered deer is Mireuk herself, explaining Seokga's antipathy towards the animal. The usurper is thus dependent on the creator for his act of creation)
- Reality Warping, Telekinesis and Cosmic Manipulation (While eating, Seokga spits some of the meat out into the water. This meat turns into the fish of the world. He then spits meat into the air, thus creating the birds. He spits a third time, and this meat becomes the beasts of the earth, including deer, tigers, and wolves. But his two followers refuse to eat the meat, saying that they would rather become Buddhas. Later in the journey, Seokga crosses a river on the backs of packed fish, but the fish refuse to allow the two who did not eat the meat to cross. When Seokga returns, he finds that the two have turned into large boulders. The god makes the boulders the gods of the Big Dipper and of a mythical southern counterpart of the Big Dipper. In most of the stories, the moon and sun double or disappear after the unjust victory of Seokga, and the usurper must either destroy the moon or the sun)
- Unlosability, Meta Luck and Victory Inducement (Defeats Mireuk in all narratives)
- Universal Lordship (Although credited to being the creator of the universe, Seokga is not described to have unlimited powers. He is often described as being similar to Mireuk but with slightly reduced powers)
- Ruler (of the World)
- Perfection (As the Buddha)
- Enlightenment (As the Shakyamuni Buddha)
- Complete Arsenal (Buddha in Korean narratives)
- Meta Power Immunity and Meta Immunity Bypassing (Via being the Buddha)
- Absolute Wish and Supreme Voice (Can grant wishes on a whim)
- Deceiver Deity Physiology (A deceiver in Korean narratives)
- Seonangsin - Patron deity of war and villages
- Boundary Manipulation
- Land Lordship (villages)
- Immunity to Archetype:Fortune Deity (Prayed to deal with misfortune)
- Immunity to Meta Gravity Manipulation (Could casually stop boats from sinking)
- Divinity Nullification (According to the Seongjugut, the Seonangshin are the children of the evil Sojinhang. The patron of the house, the deity Seongjushin, made the children of Sojinhang turn into Seonangshin, who had to feed on saliva. This origin of Seonangshin shows that in Korean mythology, Seonangshin was considered to be one of the weaker deities, especially as the Seongjugut mentions that Seonangshin are 'lowly soldiers')
- Omni-Protection (Prayed to, for help from all bad situations)
- War Deity Physiology (Certain records show the Malseonang, a characteristic male form of Seonangshin. The Malseonang is a war deity, with a large sword in one hand and reining a flying horse in the other. He is dressed in full armor from head to toe, with a bow and quiver on his back and a helmet on his head. He was believed to kill Gwishin, or evil spirits, with his blade)
- Sosamshin - Household deity
- Bovine Deity Physiology
- Spatial Manipulation (For cows forbidden to come into a house after four days)
- Fertility Deity Physiology
- Teojushin - Patron of the ground/God of earth
- Earth Deity Physiology
- Land Aspect Manifestation (On the trail, Hwanguyangssi was insulted by a man named Sojinhang, a wizard, for not replying to his questions about Hwanguyangssi's identity. Sojinhang said that he picked the land for the Sky Palace, and if anyone other than him touched it, the building would fall. He thus asked for an exchange of clothes and soul. Hwanguyangssi said that he would exchange the clothes, but not the soul)
- Land Lordship (In mythology, A long time ago, Cheonsarangssi of the Sky Palace and Jital Buin of the Underground Palace married. In ten months, Jital Buin delivered a boy who cried like a dragon. His name was Hwanguyangssi, who could build any building on earth. When Hwanguyangssi matured, he married the mortal Makmak Buin. Hwanguyangssi constructed a circular building in the Fields of Hwangsan. One day, Hwanguyangssi had a disturbing dream. In response, he decided to wear his glorious armour all throughout the day except at sunrise, when he visited his parents)
- Meta Luck (Through controlling all situations related to the earth. The Seongjugut concludes with this: Seongjunimi bulanhamyeon Jishinnimi anjonhago (When Seongju is nervous, Jishin (Teojushin) is steady) Jishinimi bulanhamyeon Seongjunimi anwianjeonghashigo (When Jishin (Teojushin) is nervous, Seongju is steady and firm) Du gawangi habi doeya (Only when the king and queen of the Gashin are one) Han Namukkeuti Neul Nagilnagilhago (One tree's end is fortunate). Chilbidongsane manmansu nojeokeul naerieojubsoseo (Grant us 10,000 luck to the seven peaks)))
- Earth Deity Physiology
- Ungnyeo - Bear Goddess
- Bear Deity Physiology (According to Helen Hwang, the story of "Ungnyeo" remains largely misrepresented. Her myth, better known as the Myth of Dangun or the Korean foundation myth, Ungnyeo (lit. 'bear/sovereign woman') is a she-bear who becomes a woman after undergoing "the cave initiation")
- Land Lordship (Korea)
- Yeongdeung Halmang - Goddess of wind
- Air Deity Physiology
- Air Manipulation (Control of wind)
- Island Lordship (Jeju Island)
- Water Deity Physiology (According to legend, the goddess resided in the East, but visited the island once a year, and sowed the foods of the sea, such as fish, seashells and other things which the inhabitants of the island lived of, and rituals were held to ask her to be generous)
- Fishermen Deity Physiology (Controller of fishermen)
- Ocean Deity Physiology
- Air Deity Physiology
- Yeomna - God of Death
- Absolute Intelligence (Supremely intelligent)
- Absolute Death Inducement (He is based on Yama, a wrathful underworld god of the Hindu Vedas)
- Ancestral Evocation (Can summon the dead including a person's ancestors)
- Dark Divinity (A divine being in Hell)
- Death Lordship (Death God)
- Absolute Death Inducement (With a thought)
- Meta Death-Force Manipulation (Can kill anyone)
- Death Manipulation
- Guardianship (Of the dead)
- Judgement Manipulation (Can judge the dead and living)
- Justice Manipulation (Yeomna dispatches the Jeoseung (“messengers from the other world”) where needed. The personifications of death collect the spirit and guide it safely along the Hwangcheon Road – the road to the afterlife – and even assist them in crossing the river)
- Meta Immunity Bypassing (via being based on Yama)
- Mortality Manipulation (Presumably)
- Necromancy (Can likely revive the dead)
- Necroscience
- Order Manipulation (In Hell)
- Law Manipulation (In Hell and likely in the otherworld
- Punishment (Punisher of souls)
- Sin Detection (Judges the sins of the deceased and decide what to do with them)
- Soul Manipulation (Controller of souls in Hell)
- Summoning (Yeomna was also involved in the Chasa Bonpuli, a myth that tells how Gangnim, a death god, came to be. Gangnim was a human warrior famed for his strength and bravery, and thus was charged by the king to bring Yeomna into this world to help solve a murder case. With his wife’s help and advice, he traveled to the afterlife and managed to capture Yeomna. Yeomna was so impressed by his skill and wits that he made Gangnim his top Jeoseung)
- Psychopomp Physiology (Brings souls from the otherworld to Hell through his spirits)
- Ruler (One of the Kings of Hell)
- Underworld Deity Physiology (One of the ten kings of Hell)
- Yuhaw - Tree Goddess
- Tree Deity Physiology (willow trees)
Associations[]
Limitations[]
Known Users[]
Manga/Manhwa[]
- Various Gods (My Love Tiger)
Folklore/Mythology[]
- List of Korean Deities (Korean Mythology)