유라시아 상고 신화의 두 사례 - 마고신화와 반고신화의 비교연구 = Two Cases of Ancient Eurasian Myths - A Comparative Study of Mago and Pangu Myths

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

This study aims to investigate the differences in worldviews and views of humanity underlying two representative ancient Eurasian myths: the Korean Mago myth and the Chinese Pangu myth. The way a myth defines its deities reflects how that cultural tradition defines humans and the world.
Thus, this study examines the theological and anthropological perspectives centered on the Mago myth from the Korean Seondo text Budozi and the Pangu myth from the Chinese texts Sanwu Liji and Wuyun Linianji.The results show that the Mago myth, based on the unique Qi-philosophical worldview of Korean Seondo, presents Mago as a god of harmony and depicts an active, independent view of humanity. Humans are born as direct descendants of the creator Mago, possessing a divine nature within themselves, and sharing an equal status with the divine. This egalitarian theology expands into a life-symbiosis worldview where humans and nature are not subjects of domination but siblings, leading to the practical ideology of Hongik Ingan.Conversely, the Pangu myth features a sacrificial god whose dead body transforms into all things in the universe. Notably, humans are described as originating from insects that lived on Pangu’s body, revealing a theology of separation between god and human that highlights a strict hierarchy and disconnection between the creator and the created. This passive view of humanity justified the discriminatory status system and patriarchal ruling structure within Chinese society. Furthermore, it formed the philosophical foundation for a hierarchical hegemonic worldview, where the superior center must enlighten and dominate the inferior periphery.In conclusion, comparing these two creation myths confirms the origins of two fundamental thought systems in Northeast Asia: the symbiotic culture based on equality and harmony pursued by Korean Seondo, and the hierarchical order based on opposition and domination embedded in Chinese thought.