Gangwon-do, Fire, and Kangcheol-i -Potential of the Kangcheol-i Story as Cultural Heritage-

Kangcheol-i is a legendary monster from the eastern part of Korea, known from the proverb “Wherever Kangcheol-i goes, autumn and spring are also spring.”, and has been recognized as a type of Imugi. However, according to oral traditions, Kangcheol-i appears as a corrupted Imugi in the Yeongnam region, whereas in the Gangwon-do, Kangcheol-i is a monster associated with fire, unrelated to Imugi. The earliest record of Kangcheol-I is found in Jibong Yuseol by Lee Soo-gwang. The oral folktale is centered in the Gangwon-do region, and Gangwon-do tale tends to use the name Kangcheol-i alone. The lore centered on Gangwon-do frequently includes references to “fire.” The difference between the Gangwon-do tales and those of other regions seems to stem from the distinct local perception of fire. There are two main socio-cultural characteristics of the Gangwon-do region. First, the Yeongseo region of Gangwon-do historically practiced slash and burn farming. The form of the rainmaker rituals in the folk tale of Kangcheol-i corresponds to those of “slash-and-burn” agricultural rainmaker rituals. Next is the geographical and climatic characteristics of Gangwon-do. Gangwon-do is a region prone to forest fires, and Yeongseo was a region prone to droughts and forest fires due to its dry climate. With these two backgrounds, steel tales in Gangwon-do tend to be more strongly associated with fire than those in other regions. For slash-and-burn agriculturalists in Gangwon-do would have created a different transmission pattern from other regions. In this way, the story of Kangcheol-i, which shows the regionalism of Gangwon-do in slash-and-burn agriculture and fire, has been passed down until the 21st century, and since it is a story that reflects the lifestyle of the local people, it may have some significance as an intangible cultural heritage.