The Story of the Twelve Animals of the Korean Zodiac
Pig
영상
Scenario
# 1 Main title: Pig
# 2 The Pig is the last animal of the twelve zodiac animals. Pig Hour is from 9 o'clock to 11 o'clock in the evening, and the animal guards the direction north-northwest. Pig Month corresponds to the seventh month of the lunar calendar. Since ancient times, the Pig had been regarded as a sacred offering to gods, a source of fortune and happiness. The Pig was considered an auspicious animal that can bring great fortune.
# 3 The origin of pigs in Korea: Pigs had lived in the Korean Peninsula for a very long time. The proof of the pig's existence in the peninsula was confirmed through fossils of boars in the Stone Age sites as well as pig-shaped figurines found in ancient shell mounds. It is presumed that the Korean Peninsula had long been inhabited by wild boars, the progenitor of pigs, before they were domesticated.
# 4 The holy nature of the Pig: In myths, the Pig appears as the animal that delivers the message of gods.
# 5 The Jak Je-geon (作帝建) Section of the "Goryeosa (History of Goryeo)": The Jak Je-geon Section in the "Goryeosa (高麗史)," or "History of Goryeo," narrates the mythical power of the pig. Jak Je-geon, who is the grandfather of Wang Geon (王建), the founding monarch of the Goryeo dynasty, received a pig after helping the Dragon God. When he returned home and tried to put the pig into a pigpen, it escaped and went up to the southern edge of Songak (present-day Gaeseong) and lay there. Later, this was the place where Wang Geon was born, which was called Manwoldae (滿月臺), the site of the Goryeo royal palace today.
# 6 The King Sansang Section of "Samguksagi (三國史記, The History of the Three Kingdoms)": The King Sansang Section of "Samguksagi" records that, in the dream of the king who did not have a son, a pig appeared and picked his queen. After praying to the gods of the mountains and water, he received a prophecy from the heavenly god that he would find a lady who would bear his son. A few years later, while performing a ritual for the heavenly god, the ceremonial pig ran away. He chased after the pig only to find a young maiden’s house. He slept with the young maiden and had a son, who later became King Dongcheon.
# 7 The myth of the celebrated Silla scholar Choi Chi-won (崔致遠): In the myth of Choi Chi-won, the greedy aspect of pigs is emphasized. In a village of the Silla kingdom, a golden pig appeared and kidnapped the wife of the village chieftain. Hearing about the pig’s aversion to deer hide, the chieftain defeated the pig using deer hide and saved his wife. After this happened, the wife gave birth to a son, Choi Chi-won. Future generations called him "the son of the golden pig."
# 8 The symbolism of the Pig in Korean ceremonial rites: Pigs had long been used as an offering in ceremonial rites. The custom of using the pig as offering started from the Goguryeo dynasty, and the ceremonial pig (郊豕) was considered holy. Even today, the pig is a fixture on the altar of rites. It is commonly thought that a pig’s head in the middle of an altar completes the formality of the ceremony. Koreans say their wishes and bow to gods and then put money into the mouth of the ceremonial pig, believing that doing so will bring fortune.
# 9 The auspicious animal, the Pig: The Pig has long been regarded as an auspicious animal. A dream about a pig is believed to bring fortune or luck, so after dreaming about a pig, Koreans would buy lottery tickets and wait for a windfall.
# 10 The clean animal, the pig: The pig represents the source of money or fortune in homes or companies. Contrary to popular preconception that pigs are dirty and lazy, pigs are smart animals that keep their place clean and can be toilet-trained.
# 11 The pig as food: Most pigs are bred to be consumed as food. High in unsaturated fat, pork is known to be good for preventing various lifestyle diseases and accumulations of cholesterol in the body and for helping promote blood circulation. The meat can also help discharge pollutants and detoxify the body of heavy metals. According to the PR director of the Korea Pork Association, "They say after working in the place with a lot of dust, such as moving, the first thing that people would eat is pork to remove dust in the body. … The Korea Food Research Institute announced in 1999 that [pork is] good for removing lead and cadmium in the body." "Okdon (玉豚)" is a pig-shaped decorative piece made of nephrite stone (軟玉), symbolizing food for the dead. During the Nangnang (樂浪) period (BC 108 B.C.~AD 313 A.D.), people placed a pig-shaped figurine made of jade or green glaze (綠釉) on the eye, hand, and ear of the dead, believing that the dead will need food in the afterlife. Pork was regarded as food not only for the living but also the dead.
# 12 Ending: The pig can bear many piglets at once and grow relatively fast; thus representing prosperity. The Pig was also considered an auspicious animal that delivers messages from gods and a sacred offering to the heavenly gods. Koreans nicknamed a precious son in infertile families "Pig" to mean "a ball of happiness." In many ways, the Pig in Korea is regarded as a good animal that can bring happiness and hope.
Within the 60-year cycle, the Year of the Pig repeats five times in the order of "Wood Pig (乙亥)," "Fire Pig (丁亥)," "Earth Pig (己亥)," "Metal Pig (辛亥)," and "Water (癸亥)." The Pig (亥) is the twelfth animal of the twelve zodiac animals. Pig Hours (亥時) are from 9 o'clock to 11 o'clock in the evening, and Pig Month (亥月) corresponds to October of the lunar calendar. The Pig guards the direction (方位神) north-northwest.
What do Koreans think of a pig in general? Popular sayings include "Casting pearls before swine." Koreans would make fun of an overweight person by calling him or her "Ttungdoeji (fat pig)" or "Kkotdoeji (flower pig)" if cuteness should be added. When eating pork, most Koreans think it must be eaten together with pickled shrimp sauce. A popular practice is placing a boiled pig's head on the ritual altar and praying for the success of a newly opened business. Koreans are presumed to have begun to breed pigs about 2,000 years ago. For generations, the Pig has been regarded as a sacred animal with mythical power through various myths and believed to symbolize sacrifice at ceremonial rites as well as an auspicious animal or the God of Fortune (財神) that can bring fortune and happiness. On the other hand, the Pig is portrayed as greedy, dirty, lazy, and slow, making the concept contradictory and ambivalent.
The purpose of pigs as livestock was to provide man with meat and fat, but they were often used as a sacred offering to various local gods. The pig was one of the first animals to be used as an offering at various ceremonies. This history-rich tradition dates back to the Goguryeo dynasty, and it has been transmitted until today. In the Goguryeo dynasty, the pig was regarded as a ceremonial pig (郊豕) and consequently specially bred and managed; in the Goryeo dynasty, legend has it that Jak Je-geon, who was the grandfather of Wang Geon, received a pig as a gift from the Dragon King who ruled the West Sea of Korea. In the Joseon dynasty, a wild boar was used as an offering for "Nabil Rite (臘享, the rite on Hunting Day, which falls in the 12th lunar month)." Even today, a pig is "sacrificed" for community religions, large-scale exorcism, and family ancestral rites. Because the Pig has long been regarded as a sacred offering to gods, the Pig itself is believed to carry mythical power.
While chasing a pig, King Yuri of the Goguryeo dynasty ended up in Guknaewinaam (國內尉那巖). He saw that the site, deep with mountains and rivers, was ideal for a capital and moved the capital there. In the case of the childless King Sansang of the Goguryeo dynasty, he chased a ceremonial pig that led to a young maiden, who gave him a son. In the Buyeo kingdom, one of the government official ranks was called "Jeoga (猪加)," meaning "pig." Likewise, in Korean ancient kingdoms, it was the Pig that helped a king locate a capital and find an heir who will succeed the throne. The animal was believed to have supernatural power and was sacrificed at ceremonies in order to deliver man's wishes to the gods. The Pig has always been viewed as an auspicious animal. Such auspicious sign was evident in various relics and literatures from ancient kingdoms throughout Korean history. In folk customs, the Pig as the source of fortune or happiness or the guardian god of the family was emphasized even more. A dream about a pig is interpreted as an excellent dream. Merchants would begin business on the First Pig Day (上亥日) of a new year. Families hung a painting of the Pig as if it were a talisman. On the other hand, the Pig is also thought of as greedy, dirty, lazy, and unintelligent. In some folktales, the Pig is depicted as a greedy monster of the underworld. Popular Korean proverbs describe the nature of the pig as greedy, dirty, foolish, lazy, and the like as well as the nasty screeching voice or grunting noise of the animal. Such negative notions can also be found in Western religions. In Judaism and Islam, the pig is viewed as an unclean animal, or the ultimate symbol of loathing and revulsion. Christians see it as a vile, rude creature, or the symbol of evil seduction, whereas the Old Testament dietary laws are still in effect today.
