청주 ‘압각수(鴨脚樹)’ 전설의 전승력과 ‘홍수’화소의 지역성

The Traditional Legend of the Apgak-tree(鴨脚樹) in Cheongju and Flooding Motif

There is an old ginkoo thee called 'Apgaksu'(鴨脚樹) in Jungang Park in Cheongju city in Chungbuk Province. This tree is closely related to historical events during tumultuous periods from the late Goryeo Dynasty to the early Joseon Dynasty and there is a legend about times . This papwe aims at examining periodical difference in literature on the Apgak-tree legend, specifically noting the localization of this legend. The Apgak-tree legend is a historical legend in terms of its historical importance, a character legend in terms of the importance of the characters, a historical relic legend in terms of the importance of the object, and a tree legend in terms of the importance of the tree itself. The various characteristics of this tree show that the documents of the legends on this tree are related to history, culture and nature although they are hidden. Although documents on this legend tell a single story, there is much grave evidence behind it. At the same time, this legend started as a local legend. Local specific historical events were reported to the central government for recoding, and a single charcter story emerged. Finally it became of historical interest. However, its root is based in a historical event that happened in a specific local area to a specific object. Because of the importance of the event and character, this legend expanded. But it is originally based on a local legend about a tree. This paper focuses on the influential power of this legend and specifically, its endemism as a local legend. Also, a 'flooding' motif is important as a root of the Apgaksu legend. Since geographically Cheongju City is located on the upper part of a river, it experienced a lot of major flooding damage. The legend has been handed down from generation to generation and repetitive flooding experiences influenced the creation of this legend as powerful folklore. Therefore, this legend indicates that natural conditions, flooding and events of the Mushim-river(無心川) in Cheongju city formed an inevitable chain of events. It is the main goal of this paper to examine the local natural conditions through legend by demonstrating the originality of this legend as specifically local legend. I hope this paper will help bring understanding to legends that emphasize local characteristics.