본 연구는 한국 설화에 등장하는 요괴(妖怪) ‘이무기’ 표상의 변모 과정을 탐구하여 ‘이무기’의 근본적인 정체와 성격을 밝히는 것을 목표로 삼았다. 먼저, 이무기에 대한 총체적 논의를 진행하기 위해 『삼국유사(三國遺事)』 「보양이목(寶壤梨木)」을 중심으로 관련된 문헌 및 구비 전승되는 텍스트를 비교·검토하였다. 이를 통해 「보양이목」에 나타나는 이무기 표상의 의미와 이무기 표상이 변화한 과정과 이유에 대해 확인하였다. 그 후, 「보양이목」을 중심으로 이루어지던 논의를 확장하여 『구비문학대계』에 등장하는 이무기 설화 자료를 확인한 후, 이를 유형별로 분류하여 구비 전승되는 이무기 설화의 양상과 그 특징에 대하여 분석하였다. 이를 통해 이무기라는 표상의 특징을 ‘물과 관련된 존재’, ‘양면성을 지닌 존재’, ‘다른 표상들을 흡수하는 존재’, ‘계속해서 생성되고 변화하는 존재’라는 결론을 도출하였다. 다음으로, 이무기 표상의 변모 과정이 일어난 이유를 찾기 위해 크게 ‘용이란 표상에 의한 종속화’와 ‘이무기에 의한 종속화’라는 방향에서 변모 과정을 정리하였다. 그 중 ‘용이라는 표상에 의한 종속화’가 어떻게 일어나는지 살펴보기 위해 ‘호명에 의한 변모’와 ‘재현에 의한 변모’라는 두 가지 방법으로 현상을 바라보았다. 이를 통하여 이무기는 원래 ‘물’과 관련된 표상으로, 한자와 불교 같은 외래문화의 유입에 의하여 ‘이무기’라는 존재가 종속되고 하위화되었다는 것을 확인하였다. 그러나 이와 같은 종속화 현상은 ‘이무기’에게만 일어나는 것이 아니라는 점을 확인하기 위해 ‘이무기에 의한 종속화’에 대하여 고찰하였다. 이를 위해 이무기 유형의 다양한 호명들을 분석했으며, 그 결과 ‘강철이’와 ‘이시미’의 경우 이무기와 그 층위 부분에서 이무기와 확연한 차이를 보인다는 것을 증명했다. 이를 통해 한국 설화에서 ‘이무기’가 지닌 성격과 의미를 다양한 측면에서 도출하였다. 본 연구에서 ‘이무기’ 표상을 총체적으로 살펴본 후, 그 특징과 의미를 규명한 것은 한국의 대표 요괴이지만 한 번도 총체적으로 다뤄지지 않았으며, 그 정체가 불분명하던 ‘이무기’의 표상에 주목했다는 점에서 의의가 있다.

This study aims to reveal the characteristics and meaning of ‘Imugi’ through the transformation process of the representation of ‘Imugi’, a representative Korean monster in Korean folklore. The dictionary definition of ‘Imugi’ is a legendary animal, a hornless dragon. A large, aged serpent that lives in the water, unable to become a dragon by some curse. With this dictionary definition, Imugi has been equated with a dragon or a snake. However, for all its recognition and fame, the Imugi has rarely been the subject of collective attention for its characteristics or meaning. The earliest known reference to the existence of ‘Imugi’ is in the work Boyangimok(寶壤梨木, The Bo-Yang Monk and the Pear Tree) of the Samgukyusa(三國遺事, Memorabilia of the Three Kingdoms). However, the ‘Imugi’ in the Samgukyusa is very different from the ‘Imugi’ that is currently transmitted. This study focuses on the differences between the appearance of ‘Imok’ in the Samgukyusa and ‘Imugi’ in the present day. Since there is a long time distance between Samgukyusa and the current ‘Imugi’ tales, this study was conducted with the idea that the transformation process of the current ‘Imugi’ tales in the Boyangimok of the Samgukyusa is important to explore the essential characteristics and meaning of ‘Imugi’. Therefore, this study was analyzed in the following order: reviewing the target data - presenting the reasons for the change - and confirming the meaning of Imugi. First, Chapter II examines the most important text, the Boyangimok of the Samgukyusa. For this purpose, it is necessary to compare and contrast the Wonkwangjeon(圓光傳, The Story of Monk WonKwang) of Haedonggoseungjeon(海東高僧傳, The story of Korea’s spiritual monks), a text related to the Samgukyusa, with the Korean oral tales of Unmunsa(Temple of Unmun)/Hobakso Imugi. In addition, since there are various types of imugi tales besides the Boyangimok in the Samgukyusa, in order to review ‘Imugi’ tales, it is necessary to review all of the ‘Imugi type tales’ in the Korean Oral Folklore to classify their types and identify their characteristics. Through this process, it was confirmed that the transformation process of ‘Imugi’ was transformed by ‘subordination’ in relation to the dragon. Chapter III explores the phenomenon of ‘subordination’ from the perspective of ‘naming’ and ‘representation’ in order to reveal how it occurred. Through this, it was found that the meaning of ‘Imugi’ changed as its ‘Naming’ changed with the introduction of language systems, and that the representation of ‘Imugi’ changed and was ‘represented’ as people’s perceptions changed due to the introduction of Buddhism and language systems. It was also confirmed that subordination by naming and representation did not only occur with ‘Imugi’, but also with other Monster of the Imugi type (Kangcheoli, Isimi). With this review process, Chapter IV identified the features and meanings of the ‘Imugi’ in Korean folklore. First, ‘Imugi’ is an existence of “Folk Belief”. While the power of ‘Imugi’ as a Folk Belief has waned with the influx of foreign religions and changing human perceptions of nature as a material object, Imugi still exists in the realm of Folk Beliefs as a Monster that represents “Water” itself. Next, ‘Imugi’ is a Monster, but It is not a Monster. This means that It is not the supposedly “evil” Monster, but rather a multifaceted existence. Sometimes It is portrayed in folklore as evil beings that eat humans or curse them, sometimes It is portrayed as helping humans, and sometimes they are portrayed as great humans in history. In other words, ‘Imugi’ is not the evil Monster that is commonly perceived, and It has many different layers. Finally, ‘Imugi’ is a changing representation. As times have changed, the transmission of traditional folklore has decreased, but ‘Imugi’ continues to appear in modern folklore such as urban legends. In addition, there are many stories in Korean content that are based on ‘Imugi folklore’, but the appearance of ‘Imugi’ is very different from the appearance of ‘Imugi’ that has been passed down until now. These changes are in line with the perceptions of people living in the current era. It is likely that these changes will continue. Examining the representation of ‘Imugi’ and identifying its characteristics and meanings is significant in that it focuses on a representation of ‘Imugi’ that, until now, has been a representative Korean Monster, but whose identity has remained unclear and outside the realm of interest. In particular, given the growing interest in Korean Monster, the study of ‘Imugi’ as a representative Korean Monster, both individually and collectively, is expected to lay the groundwork for the study of other Korean Monster and the study of ‘Monster’ in general.