Myth of Jumong (Foundation Myth of Goguryeo)

1. Introduction

The myth of Jumong is a foundation myth about the birth of Jumong and his foundation of the Goguryeo Kingdom. It is also called the myth of King Dongmyeong after the regal name of Jumong, the progenitor of Goguryeo. The myth depicts how Hae Mo-su, the son of a heavenly god, and Yuhwa, the daughter of the river god Habaek, get married as well as how Jumong, who was born from an egg, overcomes challenges through heroic acts and founds Goguryeo.

2. History and Transmission

The myth of Jumong appears in several ancient documents among which the account in “Goguryeobongi” (高句麗本紀 Records of Goguryeo) in Samguk sagi (三國史記 History of the Three Kingdoms) is most detailed and rich in mythological elements because it is an amalgamation of diverse oral traditions associated with Jumong. The variation with the most amount of content is an account in Gusamguksa (舊三國史 Old History of the Three Kingdoms), which was cited in Dongmyeongwangpyeon (東明王篇 Saga of King Dongmyeong). This account contains mythical storylines, including a Taoist magic duel between Hae Mo-su and Habaek. In Samguk sagi and later historical books, such irrational story elements have been reduced, although these books still maintain the basic storyline of the myth.  

3. Plot

Cheonje (Heavenly Emperor) sends his crown prince Hae Mo-su to the former capital of Buyeo. The land used to belong to King Haeburu, but he, at the command of Cheonje, has relocated his country to Gaseobwon by the East Sea. Hae Mo-su descends from heaven to earth on a five-dragon carriage, along with a hundred of his subjects riding swans. He wears a hat made of crow feathers and a sword known as Yonggwanggeom (Dragon Light Sword) on his waist.

One day, Hae Mo-su sees the three daughters of Habaek playing at a stream and becomes smitten with them. He attracts the three girls by building a beautiful copper house and makes love to Yuhwa, Habaek’s first daughter. When Hae Mo-su meets Habaek to receive permission to marry his daughter Yuhwa, Habaek suggests a duel of transformation magic, saying that if Hae Mo-su beats him, Hae Mo-su will be granted the permission. After winning the duel, Hae Mo-su is final granted the marriage permission. Habaek holds a party, and Hae Mo-su becomes intoxicated. Worried that Hae Mo-su may abandon his daughter, Habaek places the drunken Hae Mo-su and Yuhwa together in a leather sack, has it loaded onto a dragon carriage, and sends it to heaven. However, Hae Mo-su soon sobers up, tears the sack with Yuhwa’s golden hairpin and ascends to heaven by himself. Infuriated by the return of his daughter, Habaek banishes her to Ubalsu.

In Ubalsu, Yuhwa makes a living by catching fish. Then she gets caught in a fisherman’s net and is taken to King Geumwa of Dongbuyeo. Realizing that Yuhwa is the wife of Hae Mo-su, the king has her stay in a secondary palace. Later, a ray of sunlight keeps following Yuhwa, and this impregnates her. She gives birth to a big egg from her left armpit. King Geumwa tries to throw away the egg, but animals and birds give protection to it. The king tries breaking it himself, but to no avail, so he is obliged to return the egg to its mother. Yuhwa wraps the egg and keeps it in a warm place, where a boy is hatched from the egg. He is talented and particularly good at archery, so people call him Jumong which means a “good archer.” However, the seven princes of King Geumwa become jealous and attempt to kill him.

In response, Yuhwa uses a ruse, whereby Jumong comes to own the best royal horse and is able to escape from a murder attempt. During his escape, he reaches a river he cannot cross. Then, Jumong says toward the water, “I am the son of Cheonje (Heavenly Emperor) and the grandson of the river god. What can I do about the chase now?” Then a school of fish and a bale of turtles create a bridge, allowing him to escape from the chase.

Jumong gets away to the south and ends up arriving in Jolbon. He builds a small house, laying the foundation for his new kingdom called Goguryeo. Before leaving Dongbuyeo, he has packed some crop seeds. However, he has forgotten to pack some barley seeds, so Yuhwa sends them through a pigeon. Jumong shoots it with an arrow, cuts open its belly to retrieve the seeds, and then revives the pigeon by spraying water on it. Since Jumong has founded his kingdom right next to Biyuguk, he and King Songyang of Biyuguk come to fight for dominance. Jumong beats him in an archery duel and, by using a ruse, takes his drum and bugle, and finally makes his land flooded with water, thereby receiving surrender from King Songyang. Later the Goguryeo Kingdom, founded by Jumong, becomes a dominant nation in the region.

4. Features and Significance

The son of a heavenly god (Hae Mo-su) and the daughter of a river god (Habaek) have tied the knot and given birth to Jumong. This is a typical storyline in a sky-father and earth-mother myth. The fact that Jumong is the son of Hae Mo-su can be interpreted as the act of drawing on the power of the Hae clan who worship a heavenly god and its authority. Similarly, through his mother Yuhwa, Jumong also draws on the power of Habaek’s clan who worship the water god of the Amnokgang River (Yalu River). A sky-father and earth-mother myth, the myth of Jumong is significant also in that it symbolically represents how northern nomads, whose worldview is centered on the heavens, become settlers and take up agriculture.[1]

In both prehistoric and ancient societies, the command of archery was the core sign of a hero. As a child, Jumong was exceptionally good at archery, enough to kill a fly with an arrow, thereby receiving the name “Jumong.” As an adolescent, he showed unparalleled hunting capabilities, enough to cause jealousy among other princes. After leaving Dongbuyeo, he also obtained barley seeds by shooting a pigeon, which was dispatched by Yuhwa, with an arrow. After founding a kingdom, he hit a ring with an arrow from a distance of 100 yards, thereby forcing King Songyang of Biryuguk into surrender. In this way, the arrow of Jumong symbolizes his military capabilities and his bow, religious capabilities. When Jumong was in a crisis and hit the river with a bow, fish and turtles gathered together to form a bridge. Also, he hit a pigeon with an arrow, and then revived it by spraying water on it. These two storylines are related to his shamanistic capabilities. In this regard, the myth of Jumong portrays him as both military and religious hero, suggesting to us what capabilities were required of kings in ancient times.[2]

5. Other

The myth of Jumong has a main storyline where the protagonist, who had a mysterious birth, suffers from adversity but overcomes obstacles, thereby eventually achieving greatness. Such narrative matches the characteristics of a hero commonly shared by myths around the world.[3]

The myth of Jumong was made into a TV epic miniseries in Korea entitled “Jumong” (2006)[4], gaining huge popularity. It was also adopted into an opera called “King Jumong.” (2015)[5] and performed by the Korea National Opera.

6. Text

National Institute of Korean History. “Samguk yusa (Memorabilia of the Three Kingdoms) Vol. 13 Chapter 1 Goguryeo bongi (Records of Goguryeo) Sijo Dongmyeong seongwang (Holy King and Founder Dongmyeong).” http://db.history.go.kr/id/sg_013r_0020_0010.

References

[1] Encyclopedia of Korean Folk Culture. “Myth of Jumong, written by Jo Hyeon-seol.” http://folkency.nfm.go.kr/kr/topic/detail/5395.

[2] Encyclopedia of Korean Folk Culture. “Myth of Jumong, written by Jo Hyeon-seol.” http://folkency.nfm.go.kr/kr/topic/detail/5395.

[3] Encyclopedia of Korean Culture. “Myth of King Dongmyeong, written by Kim Yeol-gyu.” http://encykorea.aks.ac.kr/Contents/Item/E0016436.

[4] Wikipedia. “Jumong (TV series).” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jumong_(TV_series).

[5] Korea National Opera. “Opera Jumong.” http://www.nationalopera.org/Pages/Perf/LastPerf/Detail.aspx?idPerf=300506.

Doosan Encyclopedia. “Dongguk isang gukjip (Collected Works of Minister Lee of the Eastern Kingdom).” http://www.doopedia.co.kr/doopedia/master/master.do?_method=view&MAS_IDX=101013000736481.

Encyclopedia of Korean Culture. “Dongguk yeoji seungnam (Geographical Survey of the Territory of the Eastern Kingdom), written by Choi Yeong-jun.” http://encykorea.aks.ac.kr/Contents/Item/E0033401.

Encyclopedia of Korean Culture. “Dongmyeongwangpyeon (Saga of King Dongmyeong), written by Hwang Byeong-guk.” http://encykorea.aks.ac.kr/Contents/Item/E0016437.

Encyclopedia of Korean Folk Culture. “Myth of Jumong, written by Jo Hyeon-seol.” http://folkency.nfm.go.kr/en/topic/detail/5395.

Encyclopedia of Korean Culture. “Myth of Jumong, written by Kim Yeong-gyu.” http://encykorea.aks.ac.kr/Contents/Item/E0016436.

Wikipedia. “Samguk yusa.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samguk_yusa.

Wikipedia. “Habaek.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Habaek.

Wikipedia. “Binyeo.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Binyeo.

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