About this myth
Legend of Dangun is a Creation myth originating from the Korean Shamanism belief system. The main deity depicted in this myth is likely Dangun. Others include Hwanin, and Hwanung.
In a nutshell
Myth summary
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Attested: Unknown
Created: Unknown
Main deity: Dangun
Belief system: Korean Shamanism
Origin: Asia › Eastern Asia › South Korea
Belief system
Dangun
Main deity
Dangun (Hangul: 단군) was the founder of Korea’s first kingdom, Gojoseon (2333-108 BCE), according to Korean folk religion. He was later deified.
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Background
The Legend of Dangun is a creation narrative derived from the belief system of Korean Shamanism (a.k.a. Korean folk religion).
According to David Leeming, the Dangun Legend is a creation myth involving Dan'gun, the semidivine king, Hawnung, and Hwanin:
"There is also a story of a bear living
in a cave, who wanted desperately to become
human. Hwan-ung heard the bear's
prayers and gave him garlic and mugwort
and ordered him to eat this food and to
remain hidden in the cave for 100 days.
After the 100 days, the bear became a
woman and Hwan-ung became her husband.
Before long the bear-woman gave
birth to Tan-gun (Dan'gun), the first
king of the Choson Kingdom, with its
capital in what is now P'yongyang. At
the age of 1908, after many centuries of
glorious rule, Tan-gun retired to Mount
T'aebaaeksan as a god."
It seems to Leeming that Dangun lived to be 1908 years old; and, he was likely the first formal man who retired after almost two-thousand years of service to his people.
Texts related to this myth
See full texts of this myth via related artifacts. Where available, a translation is included.
All texts
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