[Korean] The Cosmogonic Goddess of Cheju, Solmundae Halmang. The goddess Solmundae Halmang (Grandmother) is the creator of the islands, mountains, valleys, hills, and rivers on Cheju Island, Korea. Physically she is a giantess: the highest mountain on Cheju Island (Hanla Mountain is over 6,000 feet in elevation) reaches below her elbow, and the deepest river reaches near her ankle. Her diarrhea turned into 360 heights and her urine created the channel. She is the land itself, and her presence is marked over the entire Island. There are various tales about her: Solmundae Halmang had difficulty finding clothes because of her giant size. She proposed to the inhabitants of Cheju that if they made her underwear she would build them a bridge to the mainland. However, her underwear required one hundred tong (the unit to measure fabric) of silk but when all the silk was gathered there were only ninety-nine tong and unfortunately the clothes were not made for the goddess. Thus, the bridge building...
Read more ...