The Mythology Book

228

THERE WAS A MAN CALLED

DAN’GUN WANGGEOM WHO

CREATED A CITY AND

FOUNDED A NATION

THE LEGENDARY FOUNDATION OF KOREA

O

ne of the oldest foundation

myths of Korea, the story

of Hwanung and his son

cemented in Korean culture the

belief that its people are composed

of a single homogeneous group.

According to this myth, all Koreans

descend from the legendary

founder of the ancient kingdom of

Choson, established in 2333 bce.

The descent

Hwanung was the son of Hwanin,

the king of heaven and supreme

deity. One day, Hwanung asked his

father if he could descend to Earth

and govern his own land. Although

he was sad to see his son go,

Hwanin realized that Hwanung

would be a good ruler for mankind.

Hwanin then opened the gates

of heaven and commanded his

son to make his way to Mount

T’aebaek-san (somewhere in or

close to what is now Korea).

Accompanied by 3,000 spirits,

Hwanung descended from heaven

onto the summit of the mountain.

IN BRIEF

THEME

Origin of the nation

SOURCE

Samguk Yusa (“Memorabilia

of the Three Kingdoms”),

Iryon, 1277 ce.

SETTING

Mount T’aebaek-san, and the

ancient kingdom of Choson.

KEY FIGURES

Hwanin King of heaven.

Hwanung Son of the king

of heaven; first ruler of Earth.

Ungnyeo A bear who was

transformed into a woman.

Dan’gun Wanggeom Son

of Hwanung and Ungnyeo;

founder of the first Korean

kingdom.

Mount T’aebaek-san was the

legendary home of Hwanung’s sacred

cit y. The mythical mountain’s location

is unknown, but this peak in Korea’s

Gangwon region now bears its name.

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229

See also: The founding of Athens 56–57 ■ The founding of Rome 102–05 ■ Izanagi and Izanami 220–21 ■ Jumong 230–31

ASIA

He arrived under a sandalwood

tree, where he established a sacred

city, Shinsi (“City of God”), and

appointed the noble spirits of the

wind, rain, and clouds as ministers

of a government composed of 360

departments. Hwanung himself

took on the title of divine ruler

of the human realm.

This enabled him to supervise

agriculture, the preservation of

life, the curing of disease, the

meting out of punishments, and

the establishment of a moral order

that reflected the values of

the heavenly society he was

bringing to Earth.

Heir to the throne

One day, a bear and a tiger came

to Hwanung and begged him to

transform them into human beings.

He agreed, and gave them each a

piece of sacred mugwort plant and

20 bulbs of garlic. He told them

to eat it all and to stay in the dark

for 100 days in order to become

human. They accepted the bargain,

and went to a cave where they

would be out of the sunlight. But

the tiger, driven by hunger, soon

gave up and left. The bear patiently

remained and was transformed

into a beautiful woman at the

end of the 100 days.

The bear-woman, Ungnyeo, was

deeply grateful to Hwanung and

made daily offerings for him on the

summit of the T’aebaek mountain.

Although she had no husband,

she prayed for a son. Moved by

her heartfelt prayers, Hwanung

transformed himself into a human

and had a child with her, whom

she named Dan’gun Wanggeom.

Dan’gun with mountain peaks

behind him. This was painted by

Chae Yong-sin, around 1850. Yong-sin

was a prominent and successful

19th-century portrait painter.

If you eat this and

do not see daylight

for 100 days,

you will receive

a human form.

Hwanung

The Samguk Yusa

The oldest record of the myth of

Dan’gun is to be found in the

Samguk Yusa (“Memorabilia of

the Three Kingdoms”), compiled

in 1277 by the Buddhist monk

Iryon. The work is a collection of

Korean folk tales that was

written in the era of the Mongol

empire (1206–1368).

The Dan’gun myth affirms

the primordial origins of the

Korean people and is seen as

proof of their divine right to rule

over their homeland. The Korean

peninsula has been invaded

by the Mongols, China, and

Japan through the centuries.

The story received renewed

attention in the 20th century

when it was used to justify state

nationalism, territorial claims,

and Korean unification. This

arose in 1948 amid Cold War

international tensions that were

unfolding on Korean soil, with

the North, supported by China

and the Soviet Union, fighting

the South, backed by the US

and other Western countries.

This division remains today.

Dan’gun grew to become a wise

and powerful leader, and eventually

took over the land that his father,

Hwanung, had governed. Dan’gun

founded the first Korean kingdom,

and called it Choson. He

established its capital near

the city which is known today

as Pyongyang.

Later, Dan’gun moved the

capital to another city—Asadal, on

Mount Paegak. He ruled the nation

for 1,500 years. At the age of 1,908,

Dan’gun returned to the sacred

city of Shinsi on T’aebaek-san,

and was immortalized, becoming

a mountain god. ■

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