Behind the Myth

Korea’s Creation Myth: What Can We Learn? Part I

Image Courtesy of San-shin.org

Every society has its own myths explaining how things came about in ancient times before research and studies could provide answers. Some myths are credited as the origin of many societal norms, and others serve as a moral compass to help guide people along the path of life. For Korea, Dangun, “the first Korean king,” serves as the most famous creation myth. Exploring this story can shed some light on a few modern-day practices and beliefs in Korea.

There was once a heavenly king who had a young prince. This heavenly prince asked his father for permission to live on Earth and rule over a beautiful part of the world, which is modern-day Korea. The king agreed and sent his son with three heavenly treasures and 3,000 people to follow him. The prince arrived at the foot of a sacred sandalwood tree (located somewhere near Baekdu Mountain in present-day North Korea), where he established his new sacred city.

With the king were three ministers to help carry out his vision: Earl of Wind, Chancellor of Rain and Chancellor of Clouds. He then created a government of 360 departments to manage laws and codes. These departments handled things, such as life and death, sickness and medicine, good and evil, hunting and fishing, agriculture and other matters.

Then, a bear and a tiger get involved in the heavenly prince’s plans. These two animals wanted so much to become human. They prayed every day at the sandalwood tree for the gods to grant them that wish. Having magic powers, the prince granted them the chance to become human, if they could pass a special test of will. The tiger and bear were ordered to remain hidden in a cave for three months. They were given only a small bundle of garlic and some mugwort to eat during this time. If they could endure this challenge, they would magically become human.

The tiger could not stand the torture, and it fled the cave after only a short time. But the bear survived the ordeal and only after 21 days, the animal was granted its wish. The bear was transformed into a beautiful woman. After some time, this woman became sad that she was alone, so she prayed at the sandalwood tree again. This time, she wanted a baby to nurture. The prince saw her sadness and decided to make her his queen and give her the son she so desired. She finally bore a son who was named “Dangun the Sandalwood King,” and he would become the first human king of the new nation of Korea.

But, what does it mean? In October’s edition of Behind The Myth, we will explore the significance of this creation story.

Image Caption: An image of baby Dangun with his parents, on a stamp. Korea released a series of stamps in 2008 depicting this creation story.

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