Person
Dangun Wanggeom
Legendary founder of Gojoseon, whose story is told in the Samguk yusa
According to the Samguk yusa, Hwanung, son of Heaven, came down with three thousand followers beneath the sacred sandalwood tree on Mount Taebaek to "broadly benefit humankind" (hongik ingan). He married Ungnyeo, a bear who had become a woman, and their son Dangun Wanggeom founded a state called Joseon. "Dangun" means a priest and "Wanggeom" a political ruler, pointing to a society in which religious and political authority were one. The bear-and-tiger tale is read as an alliance with a bear-worshipping tribe (totemism). The story also appears in the Jewang ungi, the geography section of the Annals of King Sejong and the Dongguk yeoji seungnam.