Abstract
This chapter explores the Korean peninsular environment as the backdrop for the wild animals that live on it. To argue that not all wild animals were equally important to hunters or the state, it categorises the beasts most frequently encountered in the mountains, valleys, plains and pages of the historical records. Some held more significance in terms of protein, others for ritual needs, and yet more for medicinal, economic, or symbolic purposes. Some beasts were outright dangerous and a threat to people regardless of social status. The second half of this chapter studies the social role of animals in premodern Korea. How did people think about and ‘use’ animals in non-material ways? Part of the answer includes the adoption of animals as symbols of legitimacy and power by early political leaders, commoners and the lowborn. These beasts of the wild helped people from all social status groups make sense of their worlds.
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