Chongdok C. H. Park
Dongguk University
Chilseong, or Seven Stars, is a deification of the constellation Bukduchilseong (Big Dipper), overseeing health and longevity, personal wishes, peace and safety, and most of all, longevity of children. Chilseong worship is one of the oldest practices in Korean folk religion, observed by women in the form of private household rituals with an offering of fresh water from the well (jeonghwasu), or by shamans in the form of chilseonggut, or the Seven Stars ritual.
In Taoism, Chilseong is believed to oversee the fortunes of individuals, called Chilseongyeorae (Seven Stars Buddha) or Chiraseonggun (Seven Star Gods). At Korean Buddhist temples, Chilseong is enshrined as an adapted version combined with the medicine Buddha, Yaksayeorae (Bhaisajya-guru), promoting faith in the afterlife. Chilseong shrines became a part of Buddhist temples in Korea because Sansin (Mountain God) worship and Chilseong worship were the two most important folk beliefs at the time of the introduction of Buddhism, and the adaptation of Chilseong was especially crucial since the deity oversees the lifespan of individuals. Within this historical context, Chilseong worship spread around the country, combining folk religion with Buddhism and Taoism.
(Presented in the 2018 Chulalongkorn Asian Heritage Forum : Culture of Longevity, 15-16 August 2018, Mandarin Oriental Hotel, Bangkok, organized by Institute of Thai Studies, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Population Studies, Chulalongkorn University)