Waheul Bonhyangdang

Quick facts

Address

1274-1 Waheul-ri, Jocheon-eup, Jeju-si, Jeju

About this place

Waheul Bonhyangdang stands at the entrance to Waheul-ri, Jocheon-eup, Jeju City. Its deity is called Baekjo Doryeong, said to be the eleventh son of the deity of Songdang Bonhyangdang. In one corner of the shrine sits a goddess called Seojeongseung-ttanim; the two were once husband and wife, but are parted because they did not get on. According to the bonpuri, Seojeongseung-ttanim originally lived alone with seven children as the deity of Waheul Bonhyangdang, and one day Baekjo Doryeong, hunting on Hallasan, caught sight of her. In the seventh month the Baekjung Mabullim rite is held, a major rite for those who raise livestock in the mid-slope villages, and in the tenth month after the harvest the Simangok great rite is held in thanks to the shrine deity. It is designated a folk cultural heritage of Jeju Province.

Origin and history

The deity here is called Baekjo Doryeong, said to be the eleventh son of the deity of Songdang Bonhyangdang.

In one corner of the shrine sits a goddess called Seojeongseung-ttanim. The two were once husband and wife, but are parted because they did not get on. According to the bonpuri, Seojeongseung-ttanim originally lived alone with seven children as the deity of this shrine, and one day Baekjo Doryeong, hunting on Hallasan, caught sight of her.

In the seventh month the Baekjung Mabullim rite is held, a major rite for those who raise livestock in the mid-slope villages. In the tenth month, once the harvest is in, the Simangok great rite is held in thanks to the shrine deity.

It is designated a folk cultural heritage of Jeju Province.

What it is locally associated with

• Origin

  A parted couple

  Baekjo Doryeong and Seojeongseung-ttanim were once husband and wife but are parted, and the goddess sits apart in one corner of the shrine.

  folk tradition

• Origin

  The god who was here first

  Seojeongseung-ttanim lived alone with seven children as this shrine’s deity, and Baekjo Doryeong saw her while hunting on Hallasan.

  folk tradition

• What people do here

  The livestock rite and the harvest rite

  The Baekjung Mabullim rite of the seventh month is a major one for those raising livestock; the Simangok great rite of the tenth gives thanks after the harvest.

  documented history

There are two gods at this shrine and they do not sit together. Baekjo Doryeong and Seojeongseung-ttanim were husband and wife, parted because they did not get on, and the goddess has her own place in a corner of the same enclosure. Nowhere else on this site are two deities kept in one place with their backs turned.

In order of arrival, the goddess was here first. Seojeongseung-ttanim lived alone with seven children as this shrine’s deity, and Baekjo Doryeong saw her while hunting on Hallasan. The one who came later is the one the shrine is now named for.

Who Baekjo Doryeong is, another shrine explains: the eleventh son of the deity of Songdang Bonhyangdang. Gwenegitdang in Gimnyeong-ri, also on Jeju, belongs to the sixth son. The shrines of this island are not strangers to one another.

The rites follow the seasons. The Baekjung Mabullim rite of the seventh month belongs to those who keep livestock on the mid-slopes; the Simangok great rite of the tenth gives thanks once the harvest is in. The herding season and the reaping season each hold a day.

Related guides

• Musok and gut — Korea’s living folk religionWho the mudang are and what a gut is. And what to do if you walk in on one.

Sources

1. 제주특별자치도 민속문화유산 와흘본향당 — 국가유산청 국가유산포털 (accessed 2026-08-16)