본고는 방귀담의 神話的 特性과 象徵的 意味를 밝히고 방귀담의 變移 樣相을 살펴 방귀담 類型들 간의 관계를 밝히는 것을 목적으로 한다. 방귀담은 排泄 모티프를 바탕으로 創造 모티프, 겨루기 모티프를 가지고 있어 세계 創造神話의 巨人的 특성을 보여준다. ‘방귀 대결담’과 ‘방귀쟁이 며느리담’ 중 神話的 原型에 더 가까운 것은 방귀 대결담이다. 방귀 대결은 주로 남성 방귀쟁이가 여성 방귀쟁이에게 挑戰하는 형식으로 나타나 女權과 男權의 교체기에 男女의 갈등을 보여주는 이야기라 할 수 있다. 방귀쟁이 며느리담은 男權이 主導權을 잡은 직후에 형성된 이야기로 볼 수 있다. 방귀쟁이 며느리담에는 남성이 여성을 支配하기 위해 어떻게 했는지, 또한 主導權을 빼앗긴 여성이 남성 중심의 사회에서 자리 잡기 위해 어떻게 對處했는지 그 摸索과 抵抗의 모습이 잘 나타난다.

The purpose of this article is to identify the relationship among different types of fart stories by identifying the myth characteristics and the symbolical meaning of the fart stories and reviewing the changing trend we can find in the stories. Fart stories show the characteristics of Giant Myth with its creation motif and competition motif based on the excretion motif. In this article, the fart stories are classified as fart competition stories and farting daughter-in-law stories. Fart competition stories are closer to the prototype of the myth of the two. In most of the fart competition stories, male farter challenges female farter and it shows the conflicts between male and female sex during the transition of the initiative. Fart stories can be said to be stories of goddesses, in that they mainly deal with female farters. In particular, it can be thought to be a story derived from the female myth implying the creative meaning such as delivery, production or abundance. However, while they were passed generation to generation in the society grounded on the patriarchal ideology, the divinity of the goddess became weaker in the stories. Eventually the divinity was removed from the stories and the stories became more realistic to be funny stories. Farting daughter-in-law stories seem to be created after males had secured the initiatives. Therefore in the farting daughter-in-law stories, the trial and resistance of males and females are shown very well such as what males did to dominate females and what females did to secure their positions in male-dominating society.