1. Introduction

The interest in Jeju mythology, represented by Jeju Shinhwa World—which broke the record for the largest foreign investment ever attracted to Jeju (1.5 billion USD, approximately 1.7 trillion won)—extends from a variety of facilities such as the Seolmundae Halmang Exhibition Hall, the Jeju Mythology and History Park, and the Tamna Mythology Park, all the way to a great deal of scholarly research. Jeju's creation myth, said to be one of the rare examples in East Asia, has come to be regarded by researchers of Jeju mythology as a mythological model distinct from existing Korean myths.

The point at which Jeju mythology is differentiated from other Korean myths stands out not only in its creation myth but, first of all, in its geographical conditions. Whereas existing Korean myths were centered on the north, Jeju mythology has its origins in the south. In particular, the era referred to by Jeju mythology is the pre-Ice Age period, a time when Sundaland—which connected Europe, America, Asia, and Africa into a single landmass—existed. The discovery of Sundaland provides an occasion to discuss Jeju's creation myth not so much as a myth original to the Korean Peninsula but rather along a continuum with world mythology.^[1]

Even before the discovery of Sundaland, the connection of Jeju's distinctive culture—represented above all by the dolhareubang, the Samseonghyeol myth, and the Seolmundae Halmang legend—with surrounding regions had been steadily raised. Yet the discovery of Sundaland provides room to link the possibilities of Jeju mythology all the way to the Atlantis myth and the Garden of Eden myth, which may be called the origins of world mythology.

Research connecting Atlantis, Jeju Island mythology, and Sundaland appears broadly in two forms. The first is geopolitical research linking Sundaland and Jeju Island mythology. Mt. Halla as the highest mountain of Sundaland, the circumstances when Sundaland sank, and the topography of surrounding areas such as Yonaguni are aspects through which Jeju Island and Atlantis can be connected. These studies point to Atlantis as the South American civilization to which the Sundaland civilization of Jeju Island migrated. The second is humanistic research linking Jeju Island and Atlantis. Humanistic research is again divided into mythological research and linguistic research: mythological research proceeds mainly by comparing the Garden of Eden, Peruvian mythology, and Jeju mythology as mythemes, or by noting such points as the worldwide distribution of the Mago figure of Seolmundae Halmang. Linguistic research argues for a connection between Atlantis and Jeju through analysis of common etymologies shared by African languages and Korean.

The two lines of research have been conducted separately, and there is as yet almost no study that synthesizes them. This paper seeks to synthesize the geopolitical research and the humanistic research with one another by drawing on ancient-history research centered on the Land of the Gentlemen. Through this, it aims to explore the possibility of Jeju mythology as the origin of the Atlantis myth.