THE KOREAN TODAY

History Lives On

The Gojoseon Chronicle

Episode 2: Between Myth and History – How to Read the Dangun Story

In 753 BCE, Romulus, raised on wolf’s milk, killed his brother Remus and founded Rome. No one believes this myth as historical fact. Yet Romans proudly embraced this story, and the wolf became Rome’s symbol. So how should we read our story of Dangun, born of Hwanung and Ungnyeo in 2333 BCE, who founded Joseon?

The Dangun myth, recorded by monk Ilyeon in the Samguk Yusa citing ancient records (Gogi), tells one version. Just six years later, Yi Seung-hyu’s Jewang Ungi presents a completely different story. Why were such different tales transmitted in the same era, just years apart? Myths are not mere old stories. They are the cultural DNA carrying a nation’s identity.

◆ The Ancient Landscape

“The ancient record says: In olden times there was Hwanin, whose bastard son Hwanung often turned his thoughts to the world below and yearned for the human realm.”

– Samguk Yusa, Book 1, Gii Section 1, Gojoseon Entry

◆ Same Era, Different Worlds

 [Image: Ssireum Mural from Gakjeochong Tomb – 5th century Goguryeo tomb painting. Scene showing a bear and tiger sitting back-to-back under a large tree. Evidence that Dangun myth motifs continued into the Goguryeo period]

📜 Scene from That Day

“Beneath the sacred tree on Mount Taebaek, in a darkened cave. A bear and a tiger knelt before Hwanung. ‘Please make us human.’ Hwanung held out a bundle of mugwort and twenty cloves of garlic. ‘Eat only these for one hundred days and avoid sunlight.'”

“On the twenty-first day, the tiger roared and burst from the cave. ‘I cannot endure any longer!’ But the bear silently chewed the mugwort. And on the hundredth day, the bear transformed into a beautiful woman. This is not simply a story about animals. It’s about those who accept civilization and those who reject it.”

◆ Uncovering Historical Truth

What is the core of the Dangun myth? Lee Byeong-do interpreted Hwanung as a migrating group worshipping the sky, and Ungnyeo as an indigenous tribe with a bear totem. The tiger totem tribe failed to integrate and was pushed aside. But is this all?

Choe Nam-seon suggested ‘Dangun’ shares etymology with the Mongolian ‘Tengri’ (heaven), meaning priest. Indeed, bear worship culture was widespread across Siberia. Among the Manchu, Oroqen, and Hezhe peoples, myths persist of ancestors marrying mother bears. Even the Wushi shrine stone carvings in Shandong, China, feature scenes with bears and tigers, suggesting this myth spread throughout Northeast Asia.

Intriguingly, the Samguk Yusa and Jewang Ungi differ significantly. In Samguk Yusa, Hwanung unites with Ungnyeo, but in Jewang Ungi, Hwanung’s granddaughter unites with the Tree God (Dansusin). This shift from patrilineal to matrilineal descent in just six years shows multiple versions of the Dangun myth were transmitted even in the 13th century.

🔍 Academic Perspectives

◆ Speaking to Our Present

[Image: Modern reinterpretation – 1988 Seoul Olympics’ Hodori and Gomduri, 2018 PyeongChang Olympics’ Soohorang and Bandabi. The two animals from Dangun myth inherited as symbols of modern Korea]

📚 Diving Deeper

• Why Jewang Ungi limits Dangun’s stage to Mount Guwol rather than Pyongyang – influenced by Yi Seung-hyu’s personal relationship with Ryu Gyeong from Munhwa County
• North Korea’s 1993 Dangun Tomb excavation – claims bones dated 5,011±267 years old, South Korean scholars estimate Goryeo period tomb
• Bear and tiger in Wushi shrine stone carvings, Shandong, China – evidence of shared Northeast Asian mythological motifs

The Voice of Living History

Dangun may not have been one person. 47 Danguns, 1,908 years of reign. It was a title, a tradition, a spirit. Between myth and history, at that boundary, we ask: “Who are we?”

“More important than historical fact is the meaning these stories give us. Even after 4,357 years, we still dream of Hongik Ingan.”