A Study of Yongunga of Suwun-gyo -The history of Suwun-gyo and its hidden side-

This study focuses on the gasa(a traditional Korean verse form)-style work of Yongunga (Song of the Dragon and the Cloud), a work of Suwun-gyo, and aims to explore both the history of the religious order revealed in the text and aspects not reflected in the current official history of the sect. Suwun-gyo, a late Donghak-affiliated sect, reveres Ch’ullyongja (出龍子, 1822~1938) as Suwun Choe Je-u, the founder of Donghak, and strives to realize its three core principles: “Spreading Virtue Throughout the World” (布德天下), “Saving All Living Beings” (廣濟蒼生), and “Protecting the Nation and Pacifying the People” (輔國安民). Although Ch’ullyongja was sentenced to death in 1864 for the crime of practicing left-hand Taoist sorcery, he narrowly escaped execution and hid in Mt. Geumgang. He traveled across the nation’s sacred mountains and great temples, preaching and practicing spiritual discipline, before settling in Doseongam Hermitage in Jeongnuri, Cheongyang, in 1912 for prayer. He re-emerged publicly in 1920, formally founded the Suwun-gyo in Seoul in 1923, and the religious community continues its activities actively today in Daejeon. Yongunga is a handwritten gasa-style text in pure Korean script that records the life story of Suwun-gyo’s leader, Ch’ullyongja. It is preserved within the sect at Yonghodang, along with other materials such as the Bulcheonmyobeop Jeonsu. Yongunga was composed within the sect to explain and promote its doctrine and beliefs. The text not only covers the official history—such as Ch’ullyongja’s birth, sentencing, founding of Doseongam, reappearance in 1920, and the establishment of Suwun-gyo—but also uniquely provides insight into his period of seclusion, which is not detailed in the official records. Particularly, Yongunga offers a rare perspective where the new religious history intersects with traditional Korean folktales, such as the fox tale, a feature difficult to find in other sources.