The Legend of Tan'gun

It happened a long long time ago. . . The heavens were ruled by King Hwan-
In. He had a son named, Hwan-Woong. Hwan-Woong often looked down
below, to observe the people living on the land. But the sight only made him
sigh with worry. One day the King asked his son, "My son, why do you look
so anxious, you are the prince of the heavens and soon you will inherit my
kingdom. What is there to worry about?" Hwan-Woong replied, "Father, I
have seen how the people live on the land and I see that they are becoming
more and more deceiving. Such a sight upsets me. Permit to descend down,
so that I can help these people, father." And he pleaded sincerely. On hearing
his plea, the king was proud of his son. Yet at the same time he felt wistful
and sad. Nevertheless, Hwan-Woong was granted his wish from the heavens.
And he landed on the most important spot of all, in the east - the land that is
known as Korea today. When he came down, he brought the wind, cloud and
the rain gods with him, along with 3000 subordinates. The King Hwan-In
gave his son the rights of heaven together with his blessing. The rights of
heaven is like a treasured world stamp given by the king. Hwan-Woong
formed the capital city near Shin-Dan-Su and named it Shin-Si. His reign on
the land encouraged the disappearance of fights and all bad things that had
existed before. The animals too became very docile. One day, a tiger and a
bear came to Hwan-Woong. They wanted to become humans. Hwan-Woong
carefully explained to them that it would require immense patience and that
the experience would be too harsh and draining. Yet the tiger and the bear
remained reluctant to submit. They told Hwan-Woong that they could
sustain any kind of pain if only it meant that they could become human
beings. He thought for a while. Then he gave the tiger and the bear twenty
garlic pieces and a bunch of crown daisies each. "Eat these and pray to the
gods for a hundred days. You must pray with all your heart. You are not
allowed to see daylight for the hundred days. Do you understand?" The tiger
and the bear walked into a cave, contented, with the thought of becoming a
human. For a few days, they prayed to the gods, eating only garlic and the
crown daisies. They prayed, "Gods above please hear my prayer. Let be
become a human being." Few more days passed by. Let us peep inside to see
what the two of them are doing. . . Tiger: I am so hungry that I think I am
going crazy! Bear: Gods above hear my plea; let me be a human being.
Tiger: How can you pray in these conditions! Do you have enough strength
left to ask to be granted with your wish? What's the point, we are going to
die anyway! Bear: Hear my prayer; let me become a human being. Tiger:
Dear bear! I cannot stand this any longer! Are you going to continue praying
like an idiot?! Bear: I know that we will be granted with our wish. Please be
patient, tiger. You can become a human; it just takes some time. . . Tiger:
Dear bear, you do it. I cannot go on like this any longer. I am leaving you.
Goodbye! Bear: Gods in heaven, Tiger! Tiger! Come back!
The tiger left without being able to sustain the hardship of becoming a
human being. Bear: (With tears rolling down its face) How can you leave
like this, tiger. . . The bear is feeling very sad. Oh no! Bear: Tiger could not
do it, but I must go on till the end. Twenty days passed. All the hairs on the
bear's body began to fall off gradually. At long last, one hundred days
passed! Something strange was beginning to happen inside the cave. The
bear was transformed into a woman. And a beautiful one too! Hwan-Woong
named this beautiful woman Woong-Nyo. And he married her. Do you think
that this is a little strange? Hwan-Woong must have respected Woong-Nyo's
patience and became attracted to her beauty and her kindness. Anyway, they
wed and they lived happily ever after. The story does not end here. A son is
born to Hwan-Woong and Woong-Nyo. This brought joy to the two people.
A healthy son born to follow his father's footsteps. This child is the ancestor
to all Korean people - he is the famous Tangun. Tangun grew up to succeed
his father. He rules Shin-si. Later, he changed the capital to the banks of
Baek-Ak Mountain, near Pyongyang( was known as ASADAL, in those
times). He named the country CHOSUN. The first ever country to be formed
in the Korean Peninsula, B.C. 2333. According to Tangun, " We are the
descendents of the kingdom of heaven. The heavens sent their son to aid and
give to the people. So that they can live in fortune and prosperity. Moreover,
I was told to spread the heavens' brilliant ray evenly amongst our land. I will
put this into practice." Hence our nation was found and it was devoted to the
welfare of its people. Tangun cared about his people and the people were
devoted to him. They referred to him, as Tangun the Much-Respected -
Tangun-Wang-Gum. This is the first ever Korean Myth.
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