일제강점기 ‘삼성혈’을 둘러싼 일선동조론 도입과 성역화의 전개 양상 = The Introduction of the Theory ofIlseon Dongjoron Surrounding Samseonghyeol and the Development of Its Sacredization Duringthe Japanese Colonial Period

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

This paper analyzes, from a decolonized perspective, the introduction and development of the Japanese colonial regime’s Ilseon Dongjoron (theory asserting the cultural homogeneity of Japan and Korea：(日鮮同祖論)) surrounding Samseonghyeol(三姓穴)—the site of the sacred origin myth where the three clans (三姓)(Goh, Yang, and Bu) emerged from the earth to found the Tamna kingdom—and its mythical traditions. To this end, it cross-examined and reviewed Japanese colonial-era documentary records, newspaper articles, and visual materials such as picture postcards by field, thereby clarifying how Samseonghyeol and the Myth of the Three Clans were distorted, transformed, and reconfigured within the empire’s political symbolic system.
The results show that the Japanese Empire reinterpreted the marriage narrative between the indigenous Samshin-in (Three Divine Beings) appearing in the Tamna Foundation Myth (Myth of the Three Clans) and the Samgongju (Three Princesses, or Three Goddesses) who came from Japan as evidence proving the blood kinship and cultural homogeneity of the two peoples. Through this, they concretized the logic of the Ilseon Dongjoron.
Furthermore, the Japanese colonial government actively facilitated and approved the establishment of the Goyangbu Samsungsijo Jesa Foundation as a legal entity. It also systematized pilgrimage routes through the opening of new roads and designated Samseonghyeol as a scenic spot and historic site, directly intervening in its preservation and management at the institutional and administrative levels. Through this process of sanctification by the Japanese colonial regime, Samseonghyeol was redefined from the ‘origin site of Tamna’ into an ‘imperial sacred site’ and ‘tourist attraction,’ becoming incorporated into the historical and cultural policies of colonial power.
Thus, Japanese imperialism used Samseonghyeol and the Samseong myth to exaggerate and formalize the blood ties and history of interaction between Japan and Jeju. It disseminated a discourse of ‘civilization guidance’—claiming that Japan had achieved Jeju’s civilization—through various media. This served as a mechanism to legitimize the colonial order. Implications suggest that Samseonghyeol at that time was a symbolic site(場) that intensively revealed the structure and operating principles of imperial cultural politics.