Korean History Through the Symbolism of the Rooster: From Myth to Proverbs

More Than Just a Meal

• Learn how the rooster became a sacred herald announcing the birth of a king in the founding myth of Silla.
• Examine how it evolved into a guardian repelling evil spirits and a symbol of scholarly success and family prosperity.
• Explore the five virtues of the rooster (Gyeyuodeok) and traces of the rooster in history and proverbs.

Today, the rooster first brings to mind delicious fried chicken or samgyetang, but the rooster symbol in our history holds much deeper and richer meanings. Behind this ordinary poultry lies a long history of foretelling a nation’s fate, driving away darkness, and symbolizing the virtues of scholars. From Silla myths to Joseon court rituals and modern proverbs, follow the fascinating narrative of how the rooster has intertwined with our culture.

The Rooster in Myth: The Sacred Herald of Silla’s Founding

The Birth of Kim Alji and the White Rooster’s Prophecy

The story begins in Seorabeol, the capital of Silla. During King Talhae’s reign, a mysterious light and strange phenomena were witnessed in the Sirim (Beginning Forest) west of Geumseong. Minister Hogong went to the forest and found a white rooster crowing beneath a golden box hanging from a branch.

When the king opened the box himself, a boy with extraordinary features appeared. The king rejoiced, naming him ‘Alji (閼智),’ believing him to be a descendant sent from heaven. This boy was Kim Alji, the progenitor of the Silla Kim dynasty. To commemorate this event, the forest was renamed Gyerim (鷄林), meaning ‘Rooster Forest,’ which later became another name symbolizing Silla.

Dissecting the Symbol: Why Is the Rooster Sacred?

In the Kim Alji myth, the rooster’s crowing was a sacred revelation announcing the arrival of a new ruler.

• White Rooster (白鷄): In ancient societies, white animals were considered divine messengers. The white rooster guaranteed the boy’s divine origin.
• Golden Box (金櫃): Gold symbolized nobility and absolute power, framing this event as a sacred narrative explaining a dynasty’s origin.
• Gyerim (鷄林): Renaming the forest officially incorporated the rooster’s sanctity into national identity.

Insight: This myth illustrates how political legitimacy is secured. The newly empowered Kim clan created the narrative that their ancestor descended by divine will, symbolized by the ‘white rooster.’ Thus, the rooster transcended mere good omen to become a core symbol of a dynasty’s legitimacy.

The Rooster as Guardian: Power to Repel Darkness

The Battle Between Light and Darkness

Before electric lights, night was a time of fear. The rooster’s crow piercing the darkness was a powerful signal that the reign of night ended and the world of light had arrived. Our ancestors believed the rooster governed the southeast, the direction of the rising sun.

Rooster in Rituals and Folk Beliefs

These beliefs manifested in various customs:

• Sehwa (歲畵): On New Year’s Day, rooster pictures were posted on gates to ward off misfortune. A single rooster image served as a steadfast guardian throughout the year.
• Rooster’s Blood (鷄血): The red blood of the rooster, symbolizing vitality, was believed to have magical power to block disease and evil spirits, applied to gates or walls.
• Shamanistic Rituals (Gut): The rooster acted as a medium connecting humans and spirits. It was used to find the souls of those who drowned.

The Kkokdu Rooster Guiding the Path of Death

The rooster’s guardian role extended to the final moments of life. At the front of funeral biers was a carved wooden ‘kkokdu rooster.’ It served as a sentinel protecting the soul from evil spirits and a guide lighting the dark path to the afterlife.

The Rooster as a Symbol of Success: The Scholar’s Dream

Wordplay Creating Symbolism

In the Confucian-centered Joseon era, the rooster became a symbol of scholars aspiring to official success. This transformation was thanks to clever linguistic puns.

• Rank: The rooster’s comb (볏) was called ‘byeoseul,’ homophonous with the word for official rank (벼슬). The rooster’s comb (鷄冠) was equated with the official’s hat (冠).
• Fame and Achievement: The phrase ‘gongmyeong (公鳴),’ combining the rooster (公鷄) crowing (鳴), sounded like ‘gongmyeong (功名),’ meaning to achieve fame and merit. The rooster’s vigorous crowing embodied the desire for success.

The Grammar of Aspiration in Folk Paintings

Because of this symbolism, scholars hung rooster paintings in their studies to strengthen their resolve. In folk paintings, the rooster combined with other symbols to deepen meaning:

• Rooster and Cockscomb Flower: The flower resembling the rooster’s comb symbolized ‘adding a crown on top of a crown’ (冠上加冠), wishing for the highest official rank.
• Rooster and Peony: Paired with the peony, a symbol of wealth, it expressed the wish for fame and fortune (功名富貴).

Insight: The changing meaning of the rooster symbol reflects social shifts. Once an exclusive royal symbol, it became a ‘democratized’ emblem of success accessible to all aspiring scholars in Joseon. This shows how wordplay served as a powerful cultural device to create and amplify symbolic meaning.

The Rooster as Family Guardian: Origins of Fertility and Harmony

Accompanying Life’s Important Ceremonies

The rooster also played a role in wishing for individual and family well-being.

• Weddings: On traditional wedding tables, a hen and rooster wrapped in blue and red silk were placed. This symbolized marital harmony, protection from misfortune, and, as hens lay many eggs, fertility and prosperity (多産).
• Funerals: The ‘kkokdu rooster’ on funeral biers shows the rooster’s importance throughout the human life cycle.

Ideal Family Painted in Art

Paintings of a rooster and hen with many chicks represented the ideal family envisioned by our ancestors. The rooster’s ecology of forming large families perfectly matched the era’s values emphasizing family continuity. What struck me most was that while the rooster was sacred, it was also a prized ingredient, especially the hen given as a gift to a son-in-law. This shows how closely the rooster’s sanctity was connected to everyday life.

The Rooster Embodying the Virtues of a Gentleman: The Five Virtues of the Rooster (Gyeyuodeok, 鷄有五德)

Joseon scholars identified five virtues humans should embody from the rooster’s nature, calling it a ‘feathered gentleman’ and seeking to learn from its virtues.

Despite these ideals, in popular language the rooster was sometimes portrayed realistically, as in ‘chicken head’ (닭대가리) meaning foolishness, or ‘when the hen crows, the household falls’ reflecting patriarchal oppression. This contrast between lofty philosophy and everyday observation is an interesting point.

The Rooster in History and Daily Life: From the King’s Table to Proverbs

Rooster Stories in History

The rooster symbolized royal sorrow and anguish in history.

• King Taejong’s Grief and Chicken Meat: Mourning his early deceased son, Prince Seongnyeong, Taejong ordered a chicken dish he liked placed on the ancestral rites table every five days. The chicken embodied a father’s tender longing.
• King Injo’s Agony and Rooster Crowing: During the Manchu invasion when Injo fled to Namhansanseong, he noticed fewer rooster crows and feared starving people were sacrificing chickens for him. He ordered no more chicken offerings. The rooster became a symbol of national crisis and royal anguish.

The Rooster Alive in Language

The rooster is deeply rooted in our proverbs and customs. When do you use the phrase ‘a chicken instead of a pheasant’?

• Proverbs: ‘A chicken instead of a pheasant’ expresses the usefulness of a second-best option; ‘Better to be the head of a chicken than the tail of an ox’ values leadership in a small group.
• Friendship and Hospitality: The idiom ‘promise of chicken and millet (계서, 鷄黍)’ means preparing chicken and rice for a friend, symbolizing humble but sincere hospitality and friendship.

Conclusion

We have explored the diverse journey of the rooster symbol in our history. The rooster was more than just poultry; it embodied the deep spirit of our culture.

• Sacred Herald: In Silla’s founding myth, the rooster announced the birth of a king and conferred legitimacy on a dynasty.
• Powerful Guardian: It opened dawn to repel evil spirits and protected humans at the boundary of life and death.
• Symbol of Secular Aspirations: In Joseon, it represented the scholar’s dream of success and, within the family, blessings of fertility and harmony.

Next time you see a crispy fried chicken, why not recall the profound stories that have accompanied the rooster throughout our history? Other everyday objects around us may also harbor such fascinating tales.