A () or village guardian is a Korean

totem pole Totem poles () are monumental carvings found in western Canada and the northwestern United States. They are a type of Northwest Coast art, consisting of poles, posts or pillars, carved with symbols or figures. They are usually made from large t ...

usually made of wood. were traditionally placed at the edges of villages to mark village boundaries and frighten away

demon A demon is a malevolent supernatural entity. Historically, belief in demons, or stories about demons, occurs in folklore, mythology, religion, occultism, and literature; these beliefs are reflected in Media (communication), media including f ...

s. They were also worshipped as village

tutelary deities A tutelary (; also tutelar) is a deity or a spirit who is a guardian, patron, or protector of a particular place, geographic feature, person, lineage, nation, culture, or occupation. The etymology of "tutelary" expresses the concept of safety and ...

. In the southern regions of

Jeolla Jeolla Province (, ) was one of the historical Eight Provinces of Korea during the Kingdom of Joseon in southwestern Korea. It consisted of the modern South Korean provinces of North Jeolla, South Jeolla and Gwangju Metropolitan City as wel ...

Chungcheong Chungcheong Province (; ) was one of the eight provinces of Korea during the Joseon Dynasty. Chungcheong was located in the southwest of Korea. The provincial capital was located at Gongju, which had been the capital of the kingdom of Baekje ...

, and Gyeongsang, jangseungs are also referred to as ''beopsu'' or ''beoksu'', a variation of ''boksa'' (), meaning a male

shaman Shamanism is a spiritual practice that involves a practitioner (shaman) interacting with the spirit world through altered states of consciousness, such as trance. The goal of this is usually to direct spirits or spiritual energies into ...

. In the Jeolla region, are often made of stone bearing some resemblance to the dolhareubangs of

Jeju Island Jeju Island (Jeju language, Jeju/) is South Korea's largest island, covering an area of , which is 1.83% of the total area of the country. Alongside outlying islands, it is part of Jeju Province and makes up the majority of the province. The i ...

Seoul Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...

, 18th century

Joseon Dynasty Joseon ( ; ; also romanized as ''Chosun''), officially Great Joseon (), was a dynastic kingdom of Korea that existed for 505 years. It was founded by Taejo of Joseon in July 1392 and replaced by the Korean Empire in October 1897. The kingdom w ...

King Jeongjo ordered erected in the area near Sangdo-dong to ward off evil spirits when he made a royal procession to

Suwon Suwon (; ) is the largest city and capital of Gyeonggi Province, South Korea's most populous province. The city lies approximately south of the national capital, Seoul. With a population of 1.2 million, Suwon has more inhabitants than Ulsan, tho ...

, where his father's tomb was located. Since then, the district has been called Jangseungbaegi and has given its name to the Jangseungbaegi Station on the

Seoul Metropolitan Subway The Seoul Metropolitan Subway () is a urban rail transit, metropolitan railway system consisting of 23 rapid transit, Medium-capacity rail transport system, light metro, commuter rail and people mover lines located in northwest South Korea. T ...

's Line 7. are usually adorned with inscriptions describing the personae of the carved figures along the front of the poles. "Male" usually bear inscriptions in

Hanja Hanja (; ), alternatively spelled Hancha, are Chinese characters used to write the Korean language. After characters were introduced to Korea to write Literary Chinese, they were adapted to write Korean as early as the Gojoseon period. () ...

Hangul The Korean alphabet is the modern writing system for the Korean language. In North Korea, the alphabet is known as (), and in South Korea, it is known as (). The letters for the five basic consonants reflect the shape of the speech organs ...

reading "Great General of

All Under Heaven ''Tianxia'', 'all under Heaven', is a Chinese term for a historical Chinese cultural concept that denoted either the entire geographical world or the metaphysical realm of mortals, and later became associated with political sovereignty. In anc ...

," or ''Cheonha-daejanggun'' () and are decorated with headpieces resembling those worn by Korean aristocrats or scholars. "Female" , on the other hand, wear less elaborate headpieces and usually bear inscriptions reading "Female General of the Underworld," or ''Jiha-yeojanggun'' () or "Great General of the Underworld," or ''Jiha-daejanggun'' ().

Place

Depending on the location or affiliation, can be divided into village guardian, temple guardian, and public guardian. The village guardian is the god of dongje, and has the functions of village guardian, mural, expelling the harmful ghosts, fire prevention, and gathering happiness for the village. The temple guardian post has the function of protecting the temple from the invisible evil spirits. The temple guardian is the boundary mark of the temple. The public guardian is a milestone and a street god to protect the safety of the gate, barracks, and roads and sea roads.

References

External links

Jangseung (Totem Poles) - An Object of Worship

"Totem poles: Endangered folk icons from the past"
from ''Korea Now''. Religion in Korea Culture of Korea Liminal deities Outdoor sculptures Korean mythology Totem poles Korean folk religion {{Korea-reli-stub

Place

See also

References

External links