The photo above is a temple dedicated to the chief deities of Gojoseon: Hwanin, Hwanung, and Dangun.
A tale of divine beginnings
The people of Gojoseon are believed to have participated in a primitive form of Shamanism that involved the worship of local deities that represented various elements of nature. Shamans played important roles in Gojoseon as sages, healers, and leaders. The first king of Gojoseon, Dangun personally held a connection to the chief Korean deities as the son of Hwanung. Dangun's birth and gifts to Gojoseon are detailed in the various Korean folktales.
The beginning of Gojoseon is illustrated in the mythical tale of Dangun, bear, and tiger. It starts with Hwanin, the Lord of Heaven's, son, Hwanung, wanting to come to Earth. In attempts to make his son happy, the Lord of Heaven allowed him to travel to the Taebaek mountain along with 3,000 followers including "minister" who would be in charge of wind, clouds, and rain. There he founded the city Sinsi, which means "city of God." When he first arrived on Earth, a tiger and bear begged Hwanung to be able to become human. Thus, Hwanung gave them a task. He told the two animals to live in a cave for 100 days away from the sun, eating only garlic and mugworth. Soon the tiger became impatient and left the cave, leaving the bear behind. On the 21st day, the bear turned into a woman. He named this bear Ungnyeo which translates as "bear-woman" Hwanung married the woman and she gave birth to her son Dangun. Dangun soon founded Gojoseon. However, records show that Dangun was also worshipped as a deity in Korean folk religion, with claims of Dangun becoming a guardian spirit of the mountain Asadal at age 1,908. This feeds the idea that all Korean people are descendents of Dangun, thus descendents of gods. Dangun is translated as "shaman" implying that he is the ruler of Gojoseon and the ritual officiant of the highest authority. This led to his deification as Josang (ancestral god) and Sansin (mountain god) of Gojoseon. Dangun is believed to have become a holy spirit on May 15. The Korean people follow Korean shamanism. This religion focuses on shamans', or as well call them mudang, individual experiences and ability to contact the spiritual world, where the gods preside. Most mudangs are known to be females. Korean shamanism focuses on the ritual of gut. It can be a private ritual to rid a person of ailment, ensure longevity, or promise a safe path to the after life. Gut can also be grand communal affair in which a village may hold a gut to ensure a good harvest or cure an epidemic disease. The shaman and audience interact together at such gatherings, with the shaman addressing her comments at the audience and the audience engaging in the singing and dancing of the gut. This shows that the people of Gojoseon are very religious and worship all aspects of nature. While one tribe worships the sky or heaven, the other worships the tiger and bear. In the south, religious rituals are conducted in sacred places like the mountains. Places are also known to create totem poles to exemplify the belief that nature controls spirits.
- Alan Z., Lena K.