230
T
he myth of Jumong, the
Holy King of the East,
can be traced back to the
foundation of the kingdom of
Koguryo, one of the Three
Kingdoms of Korea that succeeded
Choson and dominated the Korean
peninsula for much of the 1stmillennium ce. The story charts the
creation of this new state and the
founding of an enduring dynasty.
One day, Celestial Emperor
Cheonje sent his son Hae Mosu
down to Earth, where he came
across Yuhwa bathing by the
Ungsim Pond with her two sisters.IN BRIEF
THEME
The founding of a dynastySOURCE
Gusamguksa ("Old History of
the Three Kingdoms"), Kim
Busik, 1145 ce; A Dictionary of
Creation Myths, D. A. Leeming
and M. A. Leeming, 1996.SETTING
The kingdom of Koguryo.KEY FIGURES
Cheonje Celestial emperor.Hae Mosu Son of Cheonje.Yuhwa Daughter of the
river god Habaek.Habaek Yuhwa’s father;
god of the Yalu River.Geumwa King of Dongbuyeo;
Yuhwa’s lover.Jumong Son of Hae Mosu and
Yuhwa; born from an egg.... exiled to Mount
T’aebaek-san ...... raped by Hae Mosu ...The egg hatches to reveal Jumong.
... made a concubine by
King Geumwa ...Yuhwa is ...... impregnated by
sunshine ...... and gives birth to
an egg.HAE MOSU MADE THE
SUN SHINE AND ITS
RAYS CARESSED
YUHWA’S BODY
JUMONGUS_230-231_jumong.indd 230 01/12/17 4:23 pm
231
Hae Mosu descends from heaven
in a golden carriage pulled by five
dragons. Hae Mosu died before he
was able to see his son, Jumong,
found a new dynasty.See also: Origin of the universe 18–23 ■ The Kalevala 160 – 61 ■
The legendary foundation of Korea 228–29ASIA
Captivated by her beauty, he took
all three women to his palace on
the Yalu River, just beneath Ungin-
san (Bear Spirit Mountain) where
he trapped them. Her two sisters
managed to escape, but Yuhwa
was left alone with Hae Mosu,
who raped her.
When Habaek, Yuhwa’s father,
found out, he was outraged and
confronted Hae Mosu. He told
Habaek that he had been sent from
the heavens and he intended to
marry Yuhwa. To test if the man
did have the power of the heavens,
Habaek challenged him to a duel.
When he realized Hae Mosu
had the strength of a god, he tried
to trap him in an enormous leather
pocket after getting him drunk.
Hae Mosu burst through the
pocket and fled, never to see
Habaek or Yuhwa again.The young archer
Now alone, Yuhwa was sent
into exile by her father to the
southern side of Mount T’aebaek-
san. Yuhwa was discovered there
by King Geumwa of Dongbuyeo,who was touched by her beauty
and sorrow, and decided to make
her his concubine.
When Hae Mosu—who bitterly
resented his defeat by Yuhwa’s
father—made the rays of the sun
caress her body, she became
pregnant and gave birth to an egg
five days later. The king quickly
realized the egg was not his but
that of the celestial prince. Unable
to smash its unbreakable shell, he
returned the egg to Yuhwa, who
wrapped it in a cloth and placed
it in a warm spot. When the egg
finally hatched, a child was born.
By the age of 7, he was able to
make his own bows and arrows,
and was then named Jumong
("Excellent Archer").Narrow escape
When Jumong was 12, King
Geumwa's sons, bitterly jealous of
his abilities, conspired to have him
killed. Learning that his life was in
danger, Jumong fled to the River
Om, where he cried out that he was
the grandson of the Ruler of
Heaven. Rising up from the fast-
flowing waters of the river,
terrapins and fish formed a bridge
over which he could cross. As soon
as he was safely on the other side,
the bridge dissolved and left his
pursuers stranded on the other side.
Jumong traveled on, reaching
Cholbon-ju in 37 bce and founding
his capital there. He named the
new state Koguryo and took "Ko" as
his surname, beginning the longest
dynasty in Korean history. ■The egg
The powerful, primordial
motif of the egg features at
the heart of creation myths
around the world. In several
traditions, such as the tale of
Pangu in Chinese mythology,
the universe begins as an egg,
from which all life hatches and
develops. In other myths, such
as the story of Jumong, the
birth of a human from the
primordial egg in miraculous
circumstances defies nature,
and signals the cosmically
ordained role of the hero in
shaping future events.
In producing a heroic
protagonist, the egg is
not only a potent symbol
of new life, but a gift from
the universe that enables the
foundation of an entire nation
and—in Jumong's case—a
new era for Korea under
his leadership. Similar
national origin myths can be
found in the ancient folktales
of many nations, including
Finland, Egypt, Angola,
and India.The Orphic egg, in Greece,
was believed to hatch the
hermaphroditic deity Phanes, also
known as Protogenus, from whom
all other gods were descended.US_230-231_jumong.indd 231 01/12/17 4:23 pm