Korean Ancient Myths

The origin of the Korean people is not easily explained.  However, since historical records show that Ko Choson (Old Choson), was the first Korean kingdom, it can be taken as the original of the Korean people.  The life of Ko Choson's heroic founder is described in the Tan-gun myth.

The Tan-gun mtyh describes Tan=gun's birth from Hwan-ung, who came down from Heaven, and a bear-woman, who lived on  Earth.  As is generally true of mythology, this story is not some ungrounded fantasy, but is rather a means of explaining historical fact through the logic of symbols.  Its symbolism is used to describe a historical fact, namely the political coalition that took place during Korea's Bronze Age.  From ancient times, the Korean people have retained Tan-gun as the name of the hero who founded the first political federation of the Korean people.  Tan-gun is apparently a historical person who lived during a specific stage of Korea's history, and to the extent that his memory remains within the national consciousness, he can be considered the ancestor of the Korean people.

The Korean people have, throughout their history, constantly been threatened by the tremendous military might of neighboring nations such as China, Manchuria or Mongolia.  In this precarious position, Koreans have found strength in the sense of themselves as a unique people who are descended from Tan-gun.  The ancient records that referred to Tan-gun were lost in the chaos of frequent wars and invasions.  During the Three Kingdoms period when Koguryo, Paekche and Shila vied for supremacy, the kingdoms found it difficult to promote the idea of a united people.  Yet in the aftermath of Shilla's unification of the Three Kingdoms in 668, Koreans' sense of themselves as a people was evident as Shilla joined forces with the former subjects of Koguryo and Paekche to drive away the Chinese Tang forces.

The Development of Buddhism and Confucianism in Korea

  
Classical Korean philosophy began during the Three Kingdoms period, and with Mahayana thought, bloomed around the time of Shilla's unification of the Three Kingdoms. With the introduction of Chinese, all Three Kingdoms actually studied Confucianism first; however the outstanding thinkers of the period were initially Buddhists. In particular, Buddhist culture was a leading force within the Shilla and Paekche Kingdoms.

Confucianism and Buddhism have had a decisive influence on the minds and thoughts of Koreans for at least 22 centuries. Both of these religious traditions have profound, religious world-views and intricate doctrinal systems which form an integrated whole. Consequently, neither of these systems could be introduced piecemeal, and the doctrinal content of Confucianism and Buddhism in Korea therefore did not change. In particular, the tradition of Neo-Confucianism (a philosophical movement that appeared in song China) was strictly maintained and developed in Korea. For this reason, modern scholars have often criticized Choson-period Neo-Confucian thinkers as dogmatic and cliquish. This evaluation appears valid if a particular thinker is seen in isolation, but if one considers all the great Neo-Confucian thinkers who lived during the late-Koryo and early-Choson periods, one realizes that this was a group of highly creative intellectuals. Even more impressive is the series of great thinkers one encounters when studying the long history of Korean Buddhist thinkers from the Three Kingdoms to the Choson period. In the sections below, we will look at such great thinkers, choosing five from the Buddhist tradition and five from the Confucian tradition. Through a brief examination of their thought, we will try to elucidate more precisely the uniqueness of the Korean character as it is manifest within the context of their respective traditions.

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