Today is Gaecheonjeol, 개천절! On October 3rd, Korea celebrates gaecheonjeol – the date of its legendary founding in the year 2333 BC by the equally legendary king Dangun Wanggeom (단군왕검). The first two words of gaecheonjeol, 개천, refer to an event called “The Opening of Heaven.” This marks the day when Hwanung (화궁), persuaded his father Hwanin (환인) – the supreme deity in the traditional Korean pantheon – to let him descend on earth to live with mankind. His wish was granted and he descended on Mount. Baekdu (백두산), in what is now North Korea. Hwanung was the one who passed on knowledge to the people including a morality code, agriculture, and various other trappings of civilization. The date for this event is set at October 3rd, 2457 BC. Korea has a very ancient history stretching back thousands of years and it’s only fitting that Korea has a mythical foundation story. This myth has all the trappings of great legends: gods, animals, talking animals, gods turning into people, and animals turning into people. Here below is a recount of Korea’s foundation myth. The Legend of Dangun After Hwanung descended to earth, he was approached by two animals: a tiger and a bear. Both animals fervently desired to become human. After consideration, Hwanung decided to grant their wish. However, before he would do so he gave the animals a challenge: he gave them twenty cloves of garlic and a bunch of mugwort for food and commanded them to retire into a cave for one hundred days. If they exited the cave before the 100 days, they would not be turned into humans. So the tiger and the bear went into the cave with their garlic and their mugwort. The tiger, who had a fierce and impatient nature, could not handle staying out of sunlight for the one hundred days. He left the cave after a short time. The bear, who had a patient nature, waited out the one hundred days and one the one hundredth day Hwanung made good on his promise and turned the bear into a woman. The woman was named Ung-nyeo (응녀). Ung-nyeo was happy to be a woman instead of a bear, but she was sad because she couldn’t find a husband among her new member species. Hwanung took pity on Ung-nyeo and married her. They had a child who they named Dangun. Dangun is considered to be the first Korean. Dangun would go on to become a great king, and the first human king of Korea. He established the first Korean kingdom of Gojoseon (고조선) in 2333 BC. He set up his kingdom at Asadan, near current the current North Korean capital Pyeongyang. Dangun would rule as king for nearly two thousand years until he retired into the mountains to become a mountain spirit at the age of 1,908.
Posted on: Fri, 03 Oct 2014 01:22:34 +0000
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