Korean Mythical Creatures - Sot'dae

In ancient times, Koreans believed that Hwanin (god) lives in the sky and those things reaching into the sky (mountains and especially trees) could communicate with god. Birds were viewed as messengers from Hwanin. Sot'dae were poles with bird figures perched on top. It symbolized the bird's role as a messenger connecting heaven and earth. Residents placed sot'dae at the village entrance to wish for human beings' survival and abundance on the earth. Sot'dae is where Koreans would pray toward the sky when they were happy or sad. Sot'dae Hanul (Hanul means sky) describes the place where the souls of Korean ancestors dwell.

Korean Mythical Creatures - Goblins

The dokkaebi appeared in many old Korean stories. Although usually frightening, it could also represent a humorous sprite or goblin with grotesque looks. Most dokkaebi were depicted with a horn growing from the top of the head and carried a magical, spiked club. Although these creatures loved mischief and playing mean tricks on bad people, they also rewarded good people with wealth and blessings.

There were endless goblin characters and many versions of the stories. Unlike ghosts, dokkaebi were transformed from natural objects or household goods and appeared in woods or fields.

Korean Mythical Creatures - Dragons

Korean dragons are legendary creatures in Korean mythology and folklore. Dragons in Korean mythology are mostly viewed as benevolent beings related to water and agriculture, often considered bringers of rain and clouds while Chinese dragons traditionally symbolize potent and auspicious powers. Many Korean dragons are said to have resided in rivers, lakes, oceans, or even deep ponds within mountains.
Ancient texts sometimes mention sentient speaking dragons, capable of understanding such complex emotions such as devotion, kindness, and gratitude. One particular Korean legend speaks of the great King Munmu, who on his deathbed wished to become a "Dragon of the East Sea in order to protect Korea".

Difference? Korean? Western?

The shin in shinhwa are a breed apart. They are the gods who live in the heavens and more or less rule over the earth. The other shin (also called chapshin, chap meaning "various" or "miscellaneous") live on the earth and interact quite regularly with humans; these chapshin are a product of Korean folk religions. Ghosts, faeries, guardian spirits, and even what would be considered monsters in the West are all described by the term chapshin. Interestingly, ghosts and monsters in Korea do not hold the same place of horror and dread as they do in the west; there are, in fact, no truly evil chapshin. A ghost may of course take revenge on someone who has done them wrong, but the Western vampires, ghouls, zombies and the like--fearsome monsters evil to the core--have no counterparts in Korea. Chapshin often act as judges or guardians, punishing the evil and rewarding or protecting the good.

Korean Mythology

Korean Mythology is based on legends and folk tales from across the Korean peninsula. There are thousands of gods, spirits, and ghosts. 
The original religion of Korea was a form of the Eurasian shamanism and the totemism of Far East Asia, specifically of the nomadic peoples of present-day Manchuria. These were strongly colored by the later importations of Buddhism, Confucianism and Taoism from China.
During the early ages, when Buddhism was on the rise, Korean shamanism was widely discredited in an attempt to establish Buddhism as the state religion. In later years both Korean Buddhism and shamanism were heavily purged, almost to the point of being lost from the consciousness of the general population.

Below are some mythology stories:
The Coming of Humankinds
The first story has to do with the beginnings of mankind. A long time ago, a man named Jiso지소 (支巢)   was starving from a famine that raged the entire countryside. To relieve his hunger, 지소 decided to climb a tall cliff to jump off of it and die. Before he was about to jump off, he noticed some grapes near the cliff. Unable to suppress his hunger, he ate the grapes and immediately acquired the five tastes of sourness, bitterness, spiciness, sweetness, and saltiness. This is known as the Incident of the Five Tastes. 지소 told his fellow countrymen about the grapes. In the mist of such hunger, several of the men ate a live animal near the grapes. One of the guardian gods saw this and punished everyone in anger. To this day, no human has immortality.

The Settling of the World 
Cheong-gung 청궁 (靑穹) went to the East, where he established China.
Baekso 백소 (白巢) and his people moved to the West and became the people of Europe and the Middle East.
Heukso 흑소 (黑巢) moved to the South, into the region that is now India and Southeast Asia.

The Establishment of Korea
The next myth has to do with the birth of the Korean peninsula. One of the guardian gods named Hwang-gung황궁 (黃穹) took about three thousand men and traveled north to a place called Cheonsanju 천산주 (天山洲). In Korean Cheonsanju means, “land of the heavenly mountains”. 황 궁 had a grandson named Hwan-in 한인 (桓因). 한인 received a heavenly heirloom that contained knowledge. With the heirloom 한인 taught people how to build a fire, how to farm, and how to domesticate certain animals. As the people became civilized, 한인 decided to return to the heavens. 한 인 was the last of the heavenly gods, who used the power of the Heirloom to bring abundant sunlight and good weather.


The Sun and the Moon
Once upon a time, there was an older brother named Haesik (해식) and a younger sister named Dalsun (달순). 해식 and 달식’s mother was a rice cake seller. On her way to selling rice cakes, she came upon a tiger. She pleaded her life to the tiger, and mentioned her children, in hopes that the tiger would pity her. Instead of pitying the woman the tiger ate the mother and used her clothes to disguise himself as the mother. When the tiger found the children, he used the powder from the rice cakes and stuck his hand under the door.
The tiger’s paw looked white and the children opened the door. As the children realized in horror that it was not their mother, they raced to the top of a tall tree. In an effort to eat the children, the tiger got an axe and tried to chop the tree. Then the children prayed to the gods and asked for deliverance. The gods felt pity for the children and let down a strong rope, which the children climbed. As the children climbed up to the sky, 해식 became the sun, and 달식 became the moon. (해 = sun and 달 = moon in Korean).

Founding of the Nations - Founding Myth of Ancient Joseon
"Dangun", the first Korean Emperor of the first Korean dynasty, a half-human and half-divine, is said to be the grandson of heaven and regarded as the ancestor of all Koreans. 

Dangun's ancestry legend begins with his grandfather Hwanin 환인(桓因), the "Lord of Heaven". Hwanin had a son Hwanung who yearned to live on the earth among the valleys and the mountains. Hwanin permitted Hwanung and 3,000 followers to descend onto Baekdu Mountain, where Hwanung founded Sinsi 신시 (神市, "City of God"). Along with his ministers of clouds, rain, and wind, he instituted laws and moral codes and taught humans various arts, medicine, and agriculture.
A tiger and a bear prayed to Hwanung that they may become human. Upon hearing their prayers, Hwanung gave them 20 cloves of garlic and a bundle of mugwort, ordering them to eat only this sacred food and remain out of the sunlight for 100 days. The tiger gave up after about twenty days and left the cave. However, the bear remained and was transformed into a woman.
The bear-woman (Ungnyeo; 웅녀; 熊女) was grateful and made offerings to Hwanung. However, she lacked a husband, and soon became sad and prayed beneath a "Sindansu" (신단수; 神檀樹, "Divine Betula") tree to be blessed with a child. Hwanung, moved by her prayers, took her for his wife and soon she gave birth to a son, who was named Dangun Wanggeom.
Dangun ascended to the throne, built the walled city of Asadal, situated near Pyongyang (present capital of North Korea), and called the kingdom Joseon—referred to today as "Old/Ancient Joseon" (Korean: "Gojoseon") so as not to be confused with the Joseon kingdom which occurred much later. He then moved his capital to Asadal on Mount Baegak (or Mount Gunghol). Fifteen hundred years later, in the year Kimyo, King Wu of the Zhou Dynasty enfeoffed Jizi to Joseon, and Dangun moved his capital to Jangdangyeong. Finally, he returned to Asadal and became a mountain god at the age of 1,908.

Korean Decorative Motifs - Traditional Furnitures

Furniture used in the Korean woman's quarters tended to feature colorful and vivid ornamentation with auspicious motifs. The favored motifs were phoenixes, cranes with clouds, a butterfly with a pair of fish, chrysanthemums, pines with bamboo, plum blossoms with bamboo, and peonies.
These motifs served aesthetic function and acted as carriers of auspicious messages. The symbolic features of traditional arts and crafts offer valuable insights into the customs of the Korean people and the beliefs that governed their everyday lives. Some symbols are originated from China but in the hands of Korean artists, they have taken on a distinct and uniquely Korean character.

In contrast, the man's quarters  had simple and modest designs, such as the "four gentlemen" plants (plum blossoms, orchids, chrysanthemums, and bamboo). the Seven Treasures (gold, silver, lapis, crystal, coral, agate, and pearl), carp, and bats.

Concept

my concept is to create a clip that shows the formative beauty and spiritual values behind Korean architecture.

As Korean's wooden architecture developed under strong influence from the Chinese, it can be observed not only on architecture but also other fields of culture centering around Buddhism. However, gradually, architecture harmonized with the taste and climate of Korean ancestors came into being; an architectural style which was distinctively Korean developed with their unique sense of beauty. Unfortunately, after the Japanese invasion, many buildings were reduced to ashes.Wooden structures which remains in their country show features which are typically Korean, different from that of Chinese or Japanese buildings. The Korean buildings are different form Chinese buildings which, ignore the surroundings, showing off their pompous dignity and boast unbalanced and false proportions which tend to press the viewers to suffocation. They are also different from Japanese buildings, which lost the original function and beauty of composition required of architecture as a result of too much standardization of parts and became degraded into insipid and academic structure. Despite their shortage of precision in minute of lumber, the Korean buildings form a complete whole with the surroundings.