In honor of AAPI Month, this myth is about the Korean trickster God, Seokga.
Seokga, a mischievous god of nature, along with Mireuk, the God of Creation, are responsible for the creation of the world. The story of their contest, called Changsega, stems from modern day Hamhung, Hamgyong Province, South Korea.
At first, the world and the sky were joined as one. Mireuk parted the world by putting four pillars between the Earth and the Sky. He also destroyed one of two moons and suns, creating the stars. A mouse led him to a mountain, on which he struck two irons together. According to University of British Columbia, “Using this new tool he created fire, and with the newfound light, he could see something simmering in the distance at Mount Soha.” He then went to that part of the mountain and found a spring, which he used to create rivers, lakes, and oceans. He used rope to create the clothes that he wore.
With this, the creation of the world was nearly done. However, Mireuk was now lonely. He prayed to the sky for company. The sky sent down 5 golden beetles and 5 silver beetles. The gold beetles became men, and the silver became women, all of whom kept him company. Under his rule, humans thrived and populated. This brought on the envy of Seogka, who wanted the world for himself. So, he challenged Mireuk for the ownership of the world.
The challenge was to bloom flowers in their own lap to show care, love and patience. Seokga, being evil, only produced dead flowers. Mireuk produced fully bloomed flowers from his lap but was asleep while it happened. Taking advantage of this, Seokga switched their flowers. Mireuk woke up to find dead flowers on his lap and bloomed ones on Seokga’s, and, being honorable, gave ownership of the world to Seokga.
“However, this treachery had terrible consequences upon the creatures of the world. Seokga’s twisted victory twisted the world, unleashing upon it evil such as hatred, greed, envy, and war,” according to a University of British Columbia blog.
While Seokga wanted control of the world, he didn’t want to do the work required to take care of it. After becoming the owner of the world, he would often engage in duels with Mireuk. These duels would have Seokga winning in cunning, manipulative, and unjust ways. They would also often cause great calamity to the Earth. “As a result of one particularly unjust victory, the moon and sun either duplicated or vanished,” according to Seokga: The Mischievous and Gigantic Korean God Unveiled.
Though Seokga got what he wanted, he surely bit off more than he could chew. In his jealousy, he schemed to gain control, and constantly struggled afterwards.
Within art itself, it is best to pace yourself. If someone is at a higher experience in their art, no progress will be made by attempting to simply copy their work exactly. Instead, focus on your own, and use it as inspiration to further improve yours.
