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- Gongsim (Korean: 공심) is a legendary Korean princess of the Goryeo dynasty said to have been struck with sinbyeong, an illness which can only be cured by initiation into shamanism. According to the myth, she joined the shamanic priesthood at Namsan Mountain in Seoul, and introduced the shamanic religion to Korea or to parts of Korea. The myth of Gongsim was known only in the southwestern provinces of South Chungcheong, Jeolla, and South Gyeongsang, and oral transmission of the story appears to now have ended. While most of the six versions transcribed by researchers concur that Gongsim was a Goryeo princess-turned-shaman initiated at Namsan, the details diverge between them. In one version, the princess goes insane after the death of her beloved and must be cured by shamanic initiation. In another version, she is imprisoned by her father but teaches shamanism to her wardens, who spread the faith in Korea. Whether Gongsim is based on a historical noblewoman is unknown, although lack of corroboration in literary sources makes it highly unlikely that she had royal blood. Southwestern Korean shamans invoke Gongsim at the start of many rituals, identifying the princess as "our monarch and ruler" or "our sovereign and ruler" and Namsan as the "origin". The invocation also includes a statement about the princess which usually superficially appears to refer to a Buddhist temple or to prostration, but whose true meaning is disputed. The invocation has since spread north to Seoul shamanism and—in a highly divergent and largely uninterpretable form—south to Jeju Island. In Seoul, the Gongsim invocation begins the recitation of the Princess Bari myth. In Jeju, it is associated with the Mengdu triplets, the local patron gods of shamanism. (en)
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