The Legend of Tangun
During the ancient times of Korea, Hwanin was worshipped as the God of the Heavens. He had many sons, and one of which, Hwanung had a strange ambition to live amongst the primitive humans upon the earth. Hwanin, being a kind and caring father, granted his son's wish and surveyed the land for a suitable place for his son and his followers to "set up camp", so to speak. Discovering the great T'aebaek Mountain to the east, near Shindansu, a divine tree, Hwanin granted his son three heavenly seals and sent him to the earth to rule over the inhabitants.
Descending from the heavens with a mighty procession of thee-thousand of his closest followers, Hwanung settled at the Holy Altar of Mount T'aebaek, and, with a flurry of excitement, pronounced the land as Shinshi, "The City of God" or "Divine City", and himself as "Heavenly King Hwanung".
Working closely with the Earl of Wind, Master of Rain, and Master of Clouds, Hwanung revolutionized over three-hundred and sixty areas of enlightenment, including, but no limited to, human lifespan, illness, punishment, agriculture, and good and evil. The people entered an age of enlightenment unlike any other, as Hwanung taught them the ways and culture of the Heavens.
On a fine day, a female bear and a tiger approached Hwanung at Shinshi and requested that they become humans, a great desire of theirs. Understanding and emphasizing with their plight, Hwanung instructed them to pray within a cave for one hundred days, never seeing the sunlight, and eating only garlic and mugwort, and once they had completed this task, they would be granted human physiques. Unfortunately, the tiger, with his short temper, could not endure the taboo for long, and broke Hwanungs mandate, and thus was not granted his body. The bear, however, was able to concentrate and complete the task, and subsequently recieved her body, transforming into a beautiful and wise woman.
Many man shunned the bear-woman, knowing of her ancestry and heritage, and refused to take her as a wife, despite her beauty or knowledge. One day, while she prayed at Shindansu, Hwanung appeared, and offered her his divine hand in marriage. Quickly accepting, she bore him a child, Tangun Wanggom.
Tangun Wanggom, whose name meant "King who presides over Ancestral Rituals", created the walled city of P'yongyang as the capital to his newly formed country, Choson, in the fiftieth year of Emperor Yao's grand rule. Later, he would move the capital from P'yongyang to Asadal on Mount Paegak, known to many as Mount Kunghol, and began a 1500-year rule.
In Kimyo, 1122 B.C., King Wu of Chou granted the land known as Choson to Chi Tzu, and since Tangun could do nothing about this, he moved to Changdangyong, a nearby province. Later he would return to his homeland and hide within Asadal at the age of 1,908 as a Mountain God.
Author: Kamahamahe