26 Blast from the Past
The Heavens Open Korea Is Created
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very 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 (단군), “Korea’s founding 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.
become human. They prayed every day at the sandalwood tree for the gods to grant them that wish. Having magic powers, Hwan-ung granted them the chance to become human if they could pass a special test of will. The tiger and bear were ordered to remain in a cave and out of the sunlight for 100 days. They were given only a bundle of mugwort and 20 bulbs of garlic to eat during this time. If they could endure this challenge, they would magically become transformed into humans.
As the story goes, there was once a heavenly king, Hwanin (환인), who had a young prince, Hwan-ung (환웅). This heavenly prince asked his father for permission to descend to Earth to live and rule over a beautiful part of the world, which is modern-day Korea. The king agreed and sent his son with three heavenly seals or treasures and 3,000 followers earthward. Hwan-ung arrived at the foot of a sacred sandalwood tree, located in the vicinity of Baekdu Mountain (also referred to as “Taebaek Mountain” in present-day North Korea), where he established his new sacred city, Asadal (아사달).
The tiger could not stand the torturous ordeal and fled the cave after only a short time. But the bear remained, and after only 21 days, the animal was granted its wish: The bear was transformed into a beautiful woman and given the name Ung-nyeo (웅녀). After some time, this woman became sad that she was alone, so she prayed at the sandalwood tree again. This time, she prayed for a baby to nurture. The prince saw her sadness and decided to make her his wife 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 – Go-Joseon (고조선), over which he reigned for about 1,200 years.
Hwan-ung enlisted the spirits of Wind, Rain, and Clouds to be his ministers to carry out his vision. He then created a government of 360 departments to manage laws and codes. These departments handled matters of life and death, sickness and medicine, good and evil, hunting and fishing, agriculture, and other affairs.
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October 2021
blast from the past
Every year, October 3 is a national holiday, Gaecheon-jeol (개천절, 開天節), often rendered as “Korea Foundation Day” in English but literally means “opening of heavens celebration.” Six years ago, Stephen Redeker provided the Gwangju News with a two-part article about the story of the creation of Korea and his interpretation of the story’s meaning (“Korea’s Creation Myth: What Can We Learn? Parts I & II,” September and October 2015). The creation took place, according to legend, in 2333 B.C., making this year 4354 by the Dangun calendar. — Ed.
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Then, a bear and a tiger get involved in the heavenly prince’s plans. These two animals wanted so much to
As mentioned earlier, exploring this story of Korea’s creation can shed some light on a few modern-day practices and beliefs in Korea. Keep in mind that many parts of the story can be interpreted in a number of ways. Why did the Heavenly Prince, Hwan-ung, choose to settle in this area of the world? Koreans are very proud of their country’s beauty, so it would make perfect sense for this Heavenly Prince to decide to rule over that particular piece of land when he could have chosen to be anywhere in the world. The ministers of Wind, Rain, and Clouds, who aided Hwan-ung in setting up his kingdom, certainly can account for the weather conditions common to the area.
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