#tangun

Haneulnim, or Hwanin is a sky deity originating from Korea. He was also considered a king of heaven, and associated with creation. His grandson, Tangun was said to be the first king of Korea.

To understand the relationship between the Korean people, we must to enter the Korean mythological history…

In the West, we believe that we descend from Adam & Eve -or at least, from one female & one male -or another for Greek—Yet, Koreans consider themselves heir to one character: DanGun (단군) – or Dangun Wanggeom.

According to the Korean legend, Hwanin(환인) – Lord of heaven- sent to earth his son Hwanung(환웅) at his request.

HwanUng built Sinsi (신시)  the “City of God” at the summit of mount named TaeBaek (Now, it names PaekTu).

 Along with his ministers of clouds, rain, and wind, he instituted laws and moral codes and taught humans various arts, medicine, and agriculture.

One day, who wish to become human, came to Hwanung. They bagged him to change them into human. Upon hearing their prayers, Hwanung gave them 20 cloves of garlic and a bundle of mugwort (aromatic herbs), ordering them to eat only this sacred food and remain out of the sunlight for 100 days. The tiger gave up after about twenty days and run away the cave. However, the bear remained and was transformed into a woman.

The bear-woman Ungnyeo (웅녀) lacked a husband, and soon became sad and prayed beneath a "Sindansu" (신단수) tree to be blessed with a child.

Hwanung, moved by her prayer, get married with her and soon she gave birth to a son, who was named Dangun Wanggeom.

Dangun created thereafter, the first dynasty of the kingdom “Ko-Choson”, whose capital was called Asadal (아사달) –situated near Pyongyang.

For Koreans, Tangun isn’t just a myth! For them, it is their self-esteem. Today, the notion of "nation formed from a single founder" unites the Korean and is based on the history of Tangun…

It has been a motor of movement for independence during the Japanese occupation and stays essential to understanding the bonds uniting the Korean people.

So - Yun ~

  Coucou tout le monde! Abordons maintenant la mythologie coréenne afin de saisir complètement les liens entre les coréens.

En occident, toute civilisation descendrait d’Adam et Eve- ou du moins de deux êtres (féminin, masculin ou autres pour les grecs par exemples) or, les coréens se considèrent héritier d’un seul personnage : Tangun  (단군) - ou Dangun Wanggeom.

Selon la légende coréenne, 2 333 années av. J.-C., Hwanin (환인), le dieu du ciel, envoya sur terre son fils Hwanung (환웅) à la demande de ce dernier. Hwanung fit construire la Cité Divine au sommet du mont Taebaek (aujourd’hui connu sous le nom de Paektu),

il y instaura les lois et les codes moraux et enseigna aux hommes les rudiments de l’agriculture, de la médecine etc.

Un jour, un ours et un tigre vinrent trouver Hwanung pour lui demander conseil car tous deux désiraient devenir humains. Hwanung leur donna 20 gousses d’ail et un bouquet d’armoise (herbes aromatiques) et les invita à ne consommer que ces deux seuls aliments pendant 100 jours, dans l’obscurité d’une grotte. Le tigre, mécontent de ce régime, ne teint pas le coup. Contrairement à l’ours qui endura l’épreuve pour voir son corps perdre sa fourrure et peu à peu se transformer en une ravissante jeune femme au bout de 100 jours.

La femme-ours, ne trouvant personne désirant l’épouser, pria alors Hwanung, sous l’arbre divin "Sindansu" (신단수), de lui donner un enfant.

Hwanung (qui selon les coréens prit forme humaine car il avait pitié d’elle) épousa sa créature qu’il baptisa Ungnyeo(웅녀).      De leur union naquit un garçon du nom de Dangun Wanggeom. Celui-ci fonda par la suite, la première dynastie du royaume de Ko-Choson dont la capitale fut nommée Asadal (아사달). 

Pour les coréens ce n’est pas un simple mythe, pour eux, c’est leur amour propre.

Aujourd’hui, la notion de « nation formée d’un seul fondateur » unit les coréens et est basée sur l’histoire de Tangun.

Elle a été un moteur du mouvement de l’Indépendance pendant l’occupation japonaise et reste un élément essentiel à la compréhension des liens unissant les coréens entre eux.

Tangun, the mythological progenitor of the Korean people and the founder of Old Choseon, the first state of Korea, is mentioned in a number of sources. This means the myth of Tangun has some actual historical foundation, though it was distorted in several version. We can find some clues to understanding of Korean's unconscious traditional unique conception.

Once upon a time, Heavenly God, Hwan-in, noticed that one of his sons, Hwan-woong, always had his heart set on the world of mortals below. God looked down upon it and found the Samwi-Taebaek mountain the most befitting place for human beings to live.

He gave his son three Cheon Bu-In (God-given seals of king) and let him go down to the earth to rule over the human beings. (Here, we can see the same name of "Cheon Bu-In" and "Cheon Bu Gyeong". So some scholars guess, the Cheon Bu-In of the myth might refer to Cheon Bu Gyeong in real history.)

Hwan-woong, with three thousand subordinates, took leave of his father and came down to the human world and held his ground under the Shindan-soo (sandalwood used to make an alter for God) on top of the Taebaek mountain. He named the place Shin-Si (divine city) and he had himself called Hwan-woong Cheon-wang (Divine king Hwan-woong). He gave people their first lessons in right living and ruled over them, taking care of human affairs of as many as three hundred sixty kinds, such as farming, death, disease, punishment and good and evil, with the three goods of Poong-baek (wind), Woo-sa (rain) and Woon-sa (cloud) under his command.

At this time it so happened that a bear and a tiger were living together in a cave. They always prayed to Divine king Hwan-woong that they be made human beings. Taking notice of their admirable wish, the divine king gave them a bundle of sacred mugworts and twenty cloves of garlic and said, "If you eat these and do not see sunlight for one hundred days you will become human beings."

The bear and the tiger immediately began to practice abstinence, living on the mugworts and garlics in cave. After twenty one days the bear became a woman, but the tiger, unable to endure the abstinence, violated the injunction of the divine king, and failed to become a human being.

Now the woman could not find any man to marry her, so she always prayed under the sandalwood to be given a child of her own. Hwan-woong took notice of her prayer, transformed himself into a man temporarily and married her. She gave birth to a son, who was to be Tangun-Wanggeum (Kin Wanggeum of Sandalwood).

In olden times, Hwanin’s son, Hwanung, wanted to live with humans instead of live above them in Heaven. Hwanin then decided to give Hwanung three heavenly seals and let him settle on Mount T’aebaek so that he could help the humans and rule over them. Hwanung, along with three thousand followers, settled by the Holy Altar on the mountain and called it the City of God. He became in charge of the rain, wind, clouds, agriculture, lifespans, and three hundred sixty other responsibilities.