Haneunim or Hanunim () is the sky god in

Korean mythology Korean mythology () is the group of myths told by historical and modern Koreans. There are two types: the written, literary mythology in traditional histories, mostly about the founding monarchs of List of monarchs of Korea, various historical k ...

. In the more

Buddhist Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

-aligned parts of these religions, he is identified with

Indra Indra (; ) is the Hindu god of weather, considered the king of the Deva (Hinduism), Devas and Svarga in Hinduism. He is associated with the sky, lightning, weather, thunder, storms, rains, river flows, and war. volumes Indra is the m ...

. In the more

Taoist Taoism or Daoism (, ) is a diverse philosophical and religious tradition indigenous to China, emphasizing harmony with the Tao ( zh, p=dào, w=tao4). With a range of meaning in Chinese philosophy, translations of Tao include 'way', 'road', ...

-aligned parts of these religions, he is identified with Okhwang Sangje (). Under that name, he is a

deity A deity or god is a supernatural being considered to be sacred and worthy of worship due to having authority over some aspect of the universe and/or life. The ''Oxford Dictionary of English'' defines ''deity'' as a God (male deity), god or god ...

in the Poncheongyo

religion Religion is a range of social system, social-cultural systems, including designated religious behaviour, behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, religious text, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics in religion, ethics, or ...

Dangun myth

Dangun is traditionally considered to be the grandson of ''Hwanin'', the "Heavenly King", and founder of the Korean nation. Myths similar to that of Dangun are found in Ainu and Siberian cultures. The myth starts with prince

Hwanung Hwanung (Korean language, Korean for the "Supreme Divine Regent") is an important figure in the Korean mythology, mythological origins of Korea. He plays a central role in the story of Dangun Wanggeom (단군왕검/), the legendary founder of G ...

("Heavenly Prince"), son of Hwanin. The prince asked his father to grant him governance over Korea. Hwanin accepted, and Hwanung was sent to Earth bearing three Heavenly Seals and accompanied by three thousand followers. The prince arrived under the ''sindansu'' () on the holy mountain, where he founded his holy city. At the time of his reign,

Ungnyeo Ungnyeo () was a bear who became a woman according to the creation myth of the Korean nation. Story In the tale, a tiger and a bear lived together in a cave and prayed to the divine king Hwanung to be made human. Hwanung heard their prayers an ...

—

bear Bears are carnivoran mammals of the family (biology), family Ursidae (). They are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans. Although only eight species of bears are extant, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats ...

—and a

tiger The tiger (''Panthera tigris'') is a large Felidae, cat and a member of the genus ''Panthera'' native to Asia. It has a powerful, muscular body with a large head and paws, a long tail and orange fur with black, mostly vertical stripes. It is ...

were living in a cave near the holy city, praying earnestly that their wish to become part of humankind might be fulfilled. Ungnyeo patiently endured weariness and hunger, and after twenty-one days she was transformed into a woman, while the tiger ran away for it could not tolerate the effort. The woman Ungnyeo was overjoyed, and visiting the sandalwood city she prayed that she might become the mother of a child. Ungnye's wish was fulfilled, so that she became the queen and gave birth to a prince who was given the royal name of Dangun: the "Sandalwood King". Dangun reigned as the first human king of Korea, giving to his kingdom the name of

Joseon Joseon ( ; ; also romanized as ''Chosun''), officially Great Joseon (), was a dynastic kingdom of Korea that existed for 505 years. It was founded by Taejo of Joseon in July 1392 and replaced by the Korean Empire in October 1897. The kingdom w ...

, "Land of the Morning Calm", in 2333 BC. According to some scholars, the name ''Dangun'' is related to the Turko-Mongol

Tengri Tengri (; Old Uyghur: ; Middle Turkic: ; ; ; ; ; ; ; Proto-Turkic: / ; Mongolian script: , ; , ; , ) is the all-encompassing God of Heaven in the traditional Turkic, Yeniseian, Mongolic, and various other nomadic religious beliefs. So ...

("Heaven"), while the bear is a symbol of the

Big Dipper The Big Dipper (American English, US, Canadian English, Canada) or the Plough (British English, UK, Hiberno-English, Ireland) is an asterism (astronomy), asterism consisting of seven bright stars of the constellation Ursa Major; six of them ar ...

(i.e.

Ursa Major Ursa Major, also known as the Great Bear, is a constellation in the Northern Sky, whose associated mythology likely dates back into prehistory. Its Latin name means "greater (or larger) bear", referring to and contrasting it with nearby Ursa M ...

), itself a symbol of the supreme God in many Eurasian cultures. Later in the myth, Dangun becomes the

Sansin Mountain Gods () are Asian tutelary deities associated with mountains. They are related to landlord deities and tudigongs and City Gods. They are well-known in Korea and some prominent Chinese mountains have shrines to similar deities in the D ...

, the "Mountain God" (metaphorically of civilising growth, prosperity).

Notes

References

Sources

*
Volume I: The Ancient Eurasian World and the Celestial Pivot
',
Volume II: Representations and Identities of High Powers in Neolithic and Bronze China
',
Volume III: Terrestrial and Celestial Transformations in Zhou and Early-Imperial China
'. * * * {{Names of God Korean gods Religion in Korea Dangun Indra Cheondoism Names of God Sky and weather gods

Dangun myth

See also

Notes

References

Sources