This research is written for revealing the functions and the meanings of ‘village flag’, which has been handed down in the Korean villages, through exploring and investigating many aspects of the current flags existing in various places.
The word of ‘village flag’ is the combination word, ‘village’ and ‘flag’. It means the flags which represent the village, going together with the lives of the village people in the community, the village. ‘The village’ refers to the regional community and ‘the flag’ contains all kinds of flags equipped with flagpoles, top ornament of the top of the flagpole, and the flag cloth. Especially, this research usually focuses on the large flags which have been handed down based on the identity of the culture within the village. The small flags are contained in this research only in case of fitting into the defined criteria.
This research is processed on the bases of the functionalistic standpoints and the methods of the field exploration. The functionalistic standpoint can make estimate how to maintain and change the flags while changing the social structure. Especially, the point of view can make it possible to investigate more deeply about the relations between the village community and the village flags.
Also, the methods of the field exploration, which is carried out directly in the field where the flags have been handed down, can make confirm the gaps in the folk customs which are not to be identified from only the general field works or just documentary records.
The results of this research say that the distribution of the village flags are classified into several groups according to some criteria. The kind of ‘Dure-gi’ deeply connected with agriculture is distributed in Gyeonggi, Cungcheong, and Jeolla Province. The kind of ‘Young-gi’ revealing the military nature is distributed in the western and southern coast of Jeollanam­do, and the kind of ‘Seonang-gi’ which has the religious characteristics is distributed in Kyongsang Province. The village flag can also be classified by its characteristics. It divide the flags into three types, the ritual type, the agricultural type, and the playing type. In addition, they can be classified by the size ― large, medium, and small. The medium size flag is used in the shape of length and certain particular letters of people’s names in the group are written on it. It is usually called ‘Nong-gi’. The small size flag is usually the military flag. Another classification can divide most flags into two types, lengthwise type and breadthwise type, by the shape of the flag cloth. The large flags and military flags are the lengthwise type and the smaller flags are found in the breadthwise type. Flags can be also divided into the picture type, the letter type, the color type, and the plain type by the drawings or patterns on them. The picture, the letter and the plain types are found in the agricultural type, and the color type stands out only in the ritual type. The reason why the color type is found only in the ritual type is that the flag cloth itself is the beautiful dress consecrated to the god of the village. The last category of the flag type is defined by the method of its disposal. It divides the flag into the one-time type and the preservation type.
It can be inferred that a Sindae, which is the center of the village religion, has been developed into a Sin-gi, that is ‘village flag’. The research for ‘village flag’ proves that the Seonangdae is the early form of ‘village flag’. ‘Village flag’ formed during the developing periods of Dore was revitalized with Dure expanded. The Dure-gi outstood in Jeolla, Chuncheong, and Kyeonggi Province. The Dure-gi created many various Dure cultures in the agricultural laboring field and then it became the symbol of the village community. As a result, we can say that ‘village flag’ is originated from the traditional Sindansu, and it is turned over to Sotdae and then a moving body of god, Seonangdae. Seonangdae is also handed down to the holy flag and Dure-gi, and later the military nature is added to the flag. It becomes village flag maintaining the holy characteristics.
Village flag have been decreased by now. In particular, the weakening of Dure in accordance with the introduction of the Capitalism during the era under the rule of Japanese imperialism is the direct reason of declining of village flag. Later, in the beginning of 1960‘s, village flag was taken a temporary attention because of the policy to preserve the traditional cultures with the Cultural Properties Protection Law. Besides, the active atmosphere which was formed from the competition contest of Pungmul such as the National Folk Art Competition Contest made village flag re-emerge with Pungmul in spite of there remaining very few bases of its transmission. Even though a few flags protected by the government, most flags were laid aside or disappeared because they had already lost their usage and the necessity of their existence had not remained any more in our modern society.
In the traditional society village flag was the symbol of the collective consciousness of the village community. It functioned in many ways in many areas such as ritual, labor, and play, revealing its meaning. Unlike other fixed holy bodies, village flag is personalized like the human body with some shamanistic ornaments added on the moving Sindae, standing vertically. These ways enforce the holiness of village flag more strongly. Especially, that the holy body can move in the shape of village flag means that the village god approaches the immediate field of the people‘s lives more closely and actively. The village people started to think that the village god not only scaring but also friendly because they were able to play with him. The flags can make the religious community in the village and confirm the bond among the village people.
In the agricultural type of flag, the flag cloth is emphasized more than the flag pole by drawing the god of water, dragon, by printing some letters related with agriculture like ‘Farmers Are the Root In the Whole World‘, or by painting some specific farming pictures on it. Expressing the pictures more specifically on the flag by using the movements and dynamics of the flag cloth is the result from the farmers wishes and willingness to give the more powerful life to their village god and to emphasize the religious nature.
Village flag appears very frequently in the activities of Dure. The flag is the motivation for bind the Dure group strongly and making the activities of Dure. It plays a role for organizing the whole Dure through its visual effects. Futhermore, the effects of village flag has both sides of aspects about the group labor. It represents the harsh compulsion of Dure as for the hand-to-mouth people, which they cannot avoid. In contrast, it contributes for eliminating the inequality among the village people and transforming the group excitement, even though Dure begins under the unfair conditions.
The typical plays related with village flag are playing flags, flag bowing, and flag fighting. Playing flags is designed for the harmony and solidarity between within their own village community. On the contrary, flag bowing and flag fighting are the play planned for sharing some bond with neighboring villages and making the rank order between the villages. Playing flags cannot be discovered in everyday lives, but it plays an important role for implicating the members‘ consciousness and making strong bond among them. It is not just play for leisure. It is the process of making sure that the god and the people go together forever. Flag bowing and flag fighting can be seen in the types of Dure-gi and Seonang-gi, and they occur in two or more villages in general. Flag bowing proceeds in the unit of several villages, making order among them through it. If the order is so obscure that they cannot make fair order, it turns into flag fighting. through which people make more strong bond inside the community and reform the relationships between villages.
In conclusion, village flag functions compositively in the fields of ritual ceremony, labor, and play, making strong bond and solidarity in the village community. Then it also functions to make the village power formed in the process extend outside the village. Village flag has the local specificity based on the conditions of physical geography and sociocultural elements as well as the structural universality in the traditional society. Besides, it is the symbol showing the unification in one village, and the relation and antagonism between one and other villages. Village flag as the symbol of the village community culture represents the consciousness of village people who are the subject of folklore. It is the folk of village community which is produced and connected, and then accepted again by people, the active subject. Therefore, village flag has a distinctive status in the category of traditional Korean flags, and it has its own uniqueness and identity as a sort of village community folks.