Dr. Kim drew the following conclusions after 20 years of research:
- 1. Since ancient society, the Earth has been identified with the womb of motherhood. Praying the rich earth is the same as praying prolificity of men. The cave and the hole of the earth shown in the myth symbolize a women’s vagina and birth canal, respectively.
- 2. The ocean and the primary sea shown in the myth symbolize the fetal amniotic fluid.
- 3. The snake (especially two, entwined snakes) repeated in myth and in ancient art stands as a metaphor for the umbilical cord. The hero that slays the snake reflects the cutting of the umbilical cord when a woman gives birth.
- 4. There are many myths of snakes in the world, especially in China: Fuxi(sun god) and Nuwa(moon goddess)’s lower halves of bodies were entwined like copulating snakes.
- 5. Fuxi and Nuwa’s figure of entwined snakes symbolizes the umbilical cord and perhaps inspired our Korean term for an entwined straw rope as ‘Gumjul(sacred rope)’, which is hung on a gate to indicate that a new baby was just born in that house. This ritual also spread to Japan and called ‘Shimenawa’ in that country.
- 6. ‘Sam-Sin’ is a god of birth who plays a role of midwife in Korean myth.
- 7. The reason why mankind prefers the numeral ‘3’ and regards the numeral ‘3’ as a holy number can be understood by two hypotheses of mine.
- The first hypothesis concerns the effect of gravity at the beginning of the universe. After the Big Bang, every organism and object is subjected to the force of gravity. Accordingly, we have used to pursue balance, harmony, and stability instinctively. As a result, humans chose the triangle and numeral ‘3’ that have the most stable composition by instinct.
- Secondly, we discuss the hypothesis of the <embryologic effect>. The birth was a sacred ceremony to ancient people. I think that they regarded the umbilical cord as a sacred rope of life. The shape and function of the umbilical cord which consists of 3 blood vessels including two veins and one artery was sacred and supported our perspective on the special quality of the numeral ‘3’. I assure that these two hypotheses have affected mankind’s culture in various ways.
Therefore, the numeral ‘3’ has descended from ancient times to now as a phenomenon of mankind’s culture.
Dr. Kim has been writing a book concerning the culture of the numeral ‘3’. He said that his goal in life was to establish the museum of the culture of 3. He received the key to understand the truth of the universe through his discovery of the numeral ‘3’. Medicine helps give birth to new life and can affect the quality of life. I think that Dr. Kim’s study of the numeral ‘3’ is worthwhile because he manifests continued concern for humanity and harbors the sentiment that medicine is intended for the betterment of mankind. His perception of the importance of the numeral ‘3’ has been in his heart for a long time. Therefore, his study of the numeral ‘3’ is the philosophy that constitutes the basis of his life and study for the past 20 years. This philosophy has assured that Dr. Kim has already fully incorporated the concept of the numeral ‘3’ in every facet of his life and maintains his curiosity about new discoveries in his life. His enjoyment of his life and study are evident in the passion with which he speaks about it. He seemed very proud of his ability to find an accurate metaphor for human existence. He has participated in the ‘Mythology Academy’ as a member, although he is not a strict mythologist. On doing my interview with him, I felt that the human curiosity for truth has no bounds. Although technology of medicine marches forward without stop, we usually do not think deeply about the love of mankind and the reason why we have to regard our life highly and nobly. The numeral ‘3’ is a clue to show that mankind has kept a lot of affection toward life. So, it seems to be Dr. Kim’s aim to illuminate the deep pride of medicine in the field of humanities through his study and systematic writing.
I have a blog so that you can visit there. Even though everything is written in Korean, I hope you could find some interesting photographs.
http://blog.chosun.com/blog.screen?blogId=35501
