The author uses the material of Korean myths and folktale and from a patient to understand the way in which the Oedipus complex is negotiated and resolved in Korean society. In Korean myth and folktale a benign and supportive pre-oedipal father—son relationship is more appreciated and encouraged than the competition and rivalry in the oedipal father—son relationship. Consequently, in Korean myth the boy can develop balanced masculinity through the father's encouragement and protection and set out on his own journey to be a man as strong as his father. Oedipus, in contrast, was abandoned by the parent, which led him to act out his unconscious desire to kill the father, ending with total destruction. The difficulties of applying western-based psychoanalytic theory to Korean culture are discussed. Although we are influenced by historical, social and cultural patterns of external reality, we are more influenced by our unconscious than we are aware of, which enables us to share current psychoanalytic knowledge to understand Korean myths and patients without much deviation.