The story of Dan-Gun
According to the legend, Dan-Gun was the man who formed the first Korean kingdom in 2333 BCE. His story goes like this: Long ago, Hwan-ung moved from heaven with his people to live on Earth and formed his new nation on the slopes of Mount Paektu, a rugged peak in northern Korea.
Nearby on the mountain, a bear and a tiger were living together in a cave. They saw how the humans lived so happily and wanted to become human too. So they went to ask Hwan-ung how they could do this. Hwan-ung told the two animals that to become human they had to stay in their cave for 100 days without sunlight and nothing to eat but garlic and mugwort. They agreed to do this, but it was not long before the hungry tiger lost interest. "I’ve had it," he grumbled after about 20 days. "I’m leaving. I don't care about becoming a man after all. If I wait another 80 days, I will have starved to death anyway."
From that day on, the tiger became man’s most feared enemy. Alone in the cave, the bear reminded herself of her wish to be human. “It can’t be that hard - after all, I spend all winter hibernating.” She prayed often and put up with her hardship. Then, during the night of the 100th day, an amazing thing happened. As dawn broke, the bear turned into a lovely young woman, She stepped out of the cave and went immediately to thank Hwan-ung for his blessing. Hwan-ung was stunned by the beautiful young woman and named her Ung-yo, meaning ‘the girl who was once a bear’. Then he asked her to marry him. She gave birth to a boy whom she named Dan-Gun, meaning ‘Lord of the Sandalwood Trees’. When he grew up, Dan-Gun became a wise and powerful leader and he formed the first kingdom in Korea in 2333BCE. Dan-Gun called his kingdom Choseon, meaning ‘Land of the Morning Calm’.
According to the legend, Dan-Gun was the man who formed the first Korean kingdom in 2333 BCE. His story goes like this: Long ago, Hwan-ung moved from heaven with his people to live on Earth and formed his new nation on the slopes of Mount Paektu, a rugged peak in northern Korea.
Nearby on the mountain, a bear and a tiger were living together in a cave. They saw how the humans lived so happily and wanted to become human too. So they went to ask Hwan-ung how they could do this. Hwan-ung told the two animals that to become human they had to stay in their cave for 100 days without sunlight and nothing to eat but garlic and mugwort. They agreed to do this, but it was not long before the hungry tiger lost interest. "I’ve had it," he grumbled after about 20 days. "I’m leaving. I don't care about becoming a man after all. If I wait another 80 days, I will have starved to death anyway."
From that day on, the tiger became man’s most feared enemy. Alone in the cave, the bear reminded herself of her wish to be human. “It can’t be that hard - after all, I spend all winter hibernating.” She prayed often and put up with her hardship. Then, during the night of the 100th day, an amazing thing happened. As dawn broke, the bear turned into a lovely young woman, She stepped out of the cave and went immediately to thank Hwan-ung for his blessing. Hwan-ung was stunned by the beautiful young woman and named her Ung-yo, meaning ‘the girl who was once a bear’. Then he asked her to marry him. She gave birth to a boy whom she named Dan-Gun, meaning ‘Lord of the Sandalwood Trees’. When he grew up, Dan-Gun became a wise and powerful leader and he formed the first kingdom in Korea in 2333BCE. Dan-Gun called his kingdom Choseon, meaning ‘Land of the Morning Calm’.