Korean Creation myth
Korean Creation Myth
By: James A. Crites
There was once a Heavenly Prince who asked his father, the Heavenly King, to give him the beautiful peninsula of Korea to govern. The King granted his wish and he went down to Korea with three Heavenly seals and 3000 followers. He landed in Korea under a now sacred sandalwood tree. Here he established a sacred city with three ministers to carry out his orders. The ministers were (in English) : Earl Wind, Chancellor Rain and Chancellor Cloud. These ministers were in charge of about three hundred and sixty officials who controlled things like grain, life, sickness and the determination of good and evil.
A bear and a tiger who shared a cave near the sacred sandalwood tree wanted very much to become human beings. Everyday they prayed so earnestly before the tree that the Heavenly Prince decided to give them a chance to become human. The Heavenly Prince gave the bear and the tiger a bundle of mugwort and twenty bulbs of garlic and told them that if they ate only these and stayed in the cave for one hundred days that they would become human.
So the bear and the tiger took the garlic and the mugwort and went into the cave. After a short time the tiger ran away because it could not stand the long days of sitting the cave and eating only garlic and mugwort, but the bear endured the boredom and the hunger, and after only twenty one days the bear was transformed into a beautiful woman.
The woman was overjoyed, visiting the sandalwood tree again and again she prayed that she may have a child. She became Queen before long and soon gave birth to Dan-Gun the Sandalwood King. Dan-Gun later reigned as the first human King of Korea.
When he became King he moved the capital to pyongyang and named the country Zoson (Choson), Land of Morning Calm. Later he moved the capital to Mt. Asadal(Mt. Guwol in Huang-He province) where there is now a shrine called Samsong (the Shrine of the Three Saints) dedicated to the Heavenly King, the Heavenly Prince and Don-Gun. It is said that when Dan-Gun abdicated his throne to the next king that he became a San-sin (Mountain God).
In the beginning of the myth the Heavenly Prince asks his father for the "beautiful" peninsula of Korea. To me this seems like something that would make Koreans proud to be here because being a Heavenly Prince he obviously could have picked any land in the world to govern and rather than pick any other place in the world, the prince chose Korea. This makes Korea a special place from the beginning of the myth. The three ministers he brought with him had the names of Rain, Cloud and Wind. To me this would give the people a way to account for some of the meteorological activity that occurs on a daily basis. The approximately three hundred and sixty officials that worked for them were in charge of grain, life, sickness and the determination of good and evil among other things. These seem to be the basic concerns in life, the things that you need to get a society started. Life, for the creatures that will inhabit the peninsula. Grain along with Chancellor Rain, to provide food for those creatures. Sickness is possibly regulated by the officials so that it would not get out of control and also to give the early people someone to blame or vent their frustrations against when a loved one became ill. The officials in charge of the determination of good and evil might possibly be credited with the moral standard that these people would live by.
Later in the myth the bear and the tiger prayed so hard and long to become human that eventually the Heavenly Prince gave them a chance to do so. This seems to me to reenforce the belief that if you are reverent and pray to your deity that your prayers may come true. I mean HEY!,... if it worked for a bear and a tiger.........After a short time in the cave the tiger ran away and thus was not allowed to become human. The bear on the other hand was transformed into a beautiful woman after only twenty one days. The simple lesson to this part of the myth is that perseverance, patience and sacrifice (only eating garlic and mugwort!!) are rewarded while impatience is not. Also the fact that these two animals wanted to become human in the first place communicates to me that it is better to be human than an animal, for example a bear or a tiger.
When the bear turned into a woman she was soon asking that she may have a baby. I think that this motherly instinct shows just how ultimately human that she had become because she was now feeling the same need for a child that most all women feel. Her son, Dan-Gun, is ultimately crowned the first human King of Korea. This in a sense gives to Korea their "George Washington" of rulers.
To conclude this myth interpretation, it is said that when Dan-Gun passed on his throne to the next King he became what is known in Korea as a San-Sin or Mountain God which is interesting because many religious rites are still performed today to Mountain Gods.
http://www.angelfire.com/ca/beekeeper/korea.html
Tangun: A Korean Creation Myth
Jessica Colberg
In Korea, there are few creation myths that start from the beginning, the very beginning. In a few oral traditions, a primal chaos exists until, unexpectedly, a crack appears, separating earth from sky. But these myths, those that survive, are not the colorful intricate histories of the Theogeny or the Enuma Elish. Korea’s most treasured myth is that of its own creation from an existing earth and the humans already living upon it. This is the myth of Tangun.
The story goes that a Heavenly Prince, Hwangun looked down at earth and desired to possess it and rule over mankind. His father, the Ruler of Heaven, Hwanin knew that his son would bring happiness to human beings and, looking at the earth, chose Mount Taebak as a suitable place for his son to go to earth. Hwangun arrives beneath a sandalwood tree where he creates a holy city. He brings with him three heavenly seals, somewhat mysterious in nature, and 3000 loyal subjects from heaven, which are possibly spirits. In addition, Hwangun brought three ministers, the Earl of Wind, the Master of Rain, and the Master of Clouds. Different accounts of the myth tell that Hwangun either taught or took charge of 360 areas of responsibility, like agriculture and medicine. The story moves now to a bear and a tiger, both desiring to become human beings. Set the task of shunning sunlight and eating only the food given to them by Hwangun (some mugwort and twenty cloves of garlic), the bear succeeds in earning Hwangun’s approval while the tiger fails to fast, fleeing into the forest. The bear becomes a beautiful woman, Ungyo (bear woman) and becomes the wife of Hwangun. Their son is Tangun, the King of Sandalwood. Tangun becomes the first king of Korea, calling his country choson and ruling for 1500 years. After this time he retreats to Taebak-san to become a mountain god.
Though the myth of Tangun begins with an already existing earth, it still bears some resemblance to the later portions of other creation myths. Like Marduk in the Enuma Elish, Hwangun descends to earth to create a paragon of cities, the City of God. Like the Enuma Elish and the Theogeny the parentage of the heroic king Tangun is very important as with Marduk in Zeus. In other ways, the myth is very different, having a scholarly air in contrast to the violence and melodrama of the other myths. Unlike the Enuma Elish and the Theogeny, the myth of Tangun portrays divine forces as a civilizing influence, bringing law and culture to humanity. The heavenly prince neither kills nor overthrows anyone to gain his power over Korea. Instead he brings down loyal subjects and ministers to establish a working, exacting government and teaches humanity 360 different useful ways of working. Korea is not created violently, but with a comforting
feeling of calm efficiency.
By: James A. Crites
There was once a Heavenly Prince who asked his father, the Heavenly King, to give him the beautiful peninsula of Korea to govern. The King granted his wish and he went down to Korea with three Heavenly seals and 3000 followers. He landed in Korea under a now sacred sandalwood tree. Here he established a sacred city with three ministers to carry out his orders. The ministers were (in English) : Earl Wind, Chancellor Rain and Chancellor Cloud. These ministers were in charge of about three hundred and sixty officials who controlled things like grain, life, sickness and the determination of good and evil.
A bear and a tiger who shared a cave near the sacred sandalwood tree wanted very much to become human beings. Everyday they prayed so earnestly before the tree that the Heavenly Prince decided to give them a chance to become human. The Heavenly Prince gave the bear and the tiger a bundle of mugwort and twenty bulbs of garlic and told them that if they ate only these and stayed in the cave for one hundred days that they would become human.
So the bear and the tiger took the garlic and the mugwort and went into the cave. After a short time the tiger ran away because it could not stand the long days of sitting the cave and eating only garlic and mugwort, but the bear endured the boredom and the hunger, and after only twenty one days the bear was transformed into a beautiful woman.
The woman was overjoyed, visiting the sandalwood tree again and again she prayed that she may have a child. She became Queen before long and soon gave birth to Dan-Gun the Sandalwood King. Dan-Gun later reigned as the first human King of Korea.
When he became King he moved the capital to pyongyang and named the country Zoson (Choson), Land of Morning Calm. Later he moved the capital to Mt. Asadal(Mt. Guwol in Huang-He province) where there is now a shrine called Samsong (the Shrine of the Three Saints) dedicated to the Heavenly King, the Heavenly Prince and Don-Gun. It is said that when Dan-Gun abdicated his throne to the next king that he became a San-sin (Mountain God).
In the beginning of the myth the Heavenly Prince asks his father for the "beautiful" peninsula of Korea. To me this seems like something that would make Koreans proud to be here because being a Heavenly Prince he obviously could have picked any land in the world to govern and rather than pick any other place in the world, the prince chose Korea. This makes Korea a special place from the beginning of the myth. The three ministers he brought with him had the names of Rain, Cloud and Wind. To me this would give the people a way to account for some of the meteorological activity that occurs on a daily basis. The approximately three hundred and sixty officials that worked for them were in charge of grain, life, sickness and the determination of good and evil among other things. These seem to be the basic concerns in life, the things that you need to get a society started. Life, for the creatures that will inhabit the peninsula. Grain along with Chancellor Rain, to provide food for those creatures. Sickness is possibly regulated by the officials so that it would not get out of control and also to give the early people someone to blame or vent their frustrations against when a loved one became ill. The officials in charge of the determination of good and evil might possibly be credited with the moral standard that these people would live by.
Later in the myth the bear and the tiger prayed so hard and long to become human that eventually the Heavenly Prince gave them a chance to do so. This seems to me to reenforce the belief that if you are reverent and pray to your deity that your prayers may come true. I mean HEY!,... if it worked for a bear and a tiger.........After a short time in the cave the tiger ran away and thus was not allowed to become human. The bear on the other hand was transformed into a beautiful woman after only twenty one days. The simple lesson to this part of the myth is that perseverance, patience and sacrifice (only eating garlic and mugwort!!) are rewarded while impatience is not. Also the fact that these two animals wanted to become human in the first place communicates to me that it is better to be human than an animal, for example a bear or a tiger.
When the bear turned into a woman she was soon asking that she may have a baby. I think that this motherly instinct shows just how ultimately human that she had become because she was now feeling the same need for a child that most all women feel. Her son, Dan-Gun, is ultimately crowned the first human King of Korea. This in a sense gives to Korea their "George Washington" of rulers.
To conclude this myth interpretation, it is said that when Dan-Gun passed on his throne to the next King he became what is known in Korea as a San-Sin or Mountain God which is interesting because many religious rites are still performed today to Mountain Gods.
http://www.angelfire.com/ca/beekeeper/korea.html
Tangun: A Korean Creation Myth
Jessica Colberg
In Korea, there are few creation myths that start from the beginning, the very beginning. In a few oral traditions, a primal chaos exists until, unexpectedly, a crack appears, separating earth from sky. But these myths, those that survive, are not the colorful intricate histories of the Theogeny or the Enuma Elish. Korea’s most treasured myth is that of its own creation from an existing earth and the humans already living upon it. This is the myth of Tangun.
The story goes that a Heavenly Prince, Hwangun looked down at earth and desired to possess it and rule over mankind. His father, the Ruler of Heaven, Hwanin knew that his son would bring happiness to human beings and, looking at the earth, chose Mount Taebak as a suitable place for his son to go to earth. Hwangun arrives beneath a sandalwood tree where he creates a holy city. He brings with him three heavenly seals, somewhat mysterious in nature, and 3000 loyal subjects from heaven, which are possibly spirits. In addition, Hwangun brought three ministers, the Earl of Wind, the Master of Rain, and the Master of Clouds. Different accounts of the myth tell that Hwangun either taught or took charge of 360 areas of responsibility, like agriculture and medicine. The story moves now to a bear and a tiger, both desiring to become human beings. Set the task of shunning sunlight and eating only the food given to them by Hwangun (some mugwort and twenty cloves of garlic), the bear succeeds in earning Hwangun’s approval while the tiger fails to fast, fleeing into the forest. The bear becomes a beautiful woman, Ungyo (bear woman) and becomes the wife of Hwangun. Their son is Tangun, the King of Sandalwood. Tangun becomes the first king of Korea, calling his country choson and ruling for 1500 years. After this time he retreats to Taebak-san to become a mountain god.
Though the myth of Tangun begins with an already existing earth, it still bears some resemblance to the later portions of other creation myths. Like Marduk in the Enuma Elish, Hwangun descends to earth to create a paragon of cities, the City of God. Like the Enuma Elish and the Theogeny the parentage of the heroic king Tangun is very important as with Marduk in Zeus. In other ways, the myth is very different, having a scholarly air in contrast to the violence and melodrama of the other myths. Unlike the Enuma Elish and the Theogeny, the myth of Tangun portrays divine forces as a civilizing influence, bringing law and culture to humanity. The heavenly prince neither kills nor overthrows anyone to gain his power over Korea. Instead he brings down loyal subjects and ministers to establish a working, exacting government and teaches humanity 360 different useful ways of working. Korea is not created violently, but with a comforting
feeling of calm efficiency.