Korean Mythical Creatures 3

Korean Mythical Creatures
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There are a variety of mythical creatures associated with Korean culture.

Chollima
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A Chollima (also Qianlima or Senrima, literally “thousand-mile horse”), is a mythical winged horse which originates from the Chinese classics and is commonly portrayed in East Asian cultures. This winged horse is said to be too swift and elegant to be mounted (by any mortal man). Cheonmado or Cheonmadojangni is the only surviving picture from the Silla kingdom of Korea. It was excavated from Cheonmacheong (Heavenly Horse Tomb) in Gyeongju, old capital of Silla, South Korea. Cheonmado is designated as the 207th National Treasures of South Korea and exhibited in National Museum of Korea in Seoul.

Ungnyeo
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Ungnyeo was a bear that became a woman. She was featured prominently in the creation myth of the Korean nation. 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 and gave them 20 cloves of garlic, a bundle of mugwort and ordered them to stay out of the sunlight and eat only this food for 100 days. Due to hunger, the tiger left the cave after roughly 20 days, but the bear remained inside. After 21 days, she was transformed into a woman. Ungnyeo was grateful and made offerings to Hwanung. Her lack of a husband drove her to depression, and she began to pray beneath a sacred betula tree to be blessed with a child. Hwanung heard her prayers and was deeply moved. He took Ungnyeo as his wife and soon after, she gave birth to a son, Dangun, who would go on to found the nation of Gojoseon.

Cockatrice
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The Korean cockatrice is known as a gye-ryong, which literally means chicken-dragon; they do not appear as often as dragons. They are sometimes seen as chariot-pulling beasts for important legendary figures or for the parents of legendary heroes. One such legend involves the founding of the kingdom of Silla, whose princess was said to have been born from a cockatrice egg.

Five Symbols
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The Four Symbols are four mythological creatures in the Chinese constellations. They are the Azure Dragon of the East, the Vermilion Bird of the South, the White Tiger of the West, and the Black Turtle of the North. Each one of them represents a direction and a season, and each has its own individual characteristics and origins. They have been portrayed in many historical Chinese and Korean myths and fiction, and also appear in many modern manga and anime. The Four Symbols were given human names after Daoism became popular. The Azure Dragon has the name Meng Zhang, the Vermilion Bird was called Ling Guang, the White Tiger Jian Bing, and the Black Turtle Zhi Ming. A Han-dynasty pottery tile emblematically representing the five cardinal directions. These mythological creatures have also been synthesized into the 5 element system. The Azure Dragon of the East represents Wood, the Vermilion Bird of the South represents Fire, the White Tiger of the West represents Metal, and the Black Turtle of the North represents Water. In this system, the fifth element Earth is represented by the Yellow Dragon of the Center. In 1987, a tomb was found at Xishuipo in Puyang, Henan. There were some clam shells and bones forming the images of the Azure Dragon, the White Tiger, and the Big Dipper. It is believed that the tomb belongs to the Neolithic Age, dating to about 6,000 years ago.The Rongcheng Shi manuscript recovered in 1994 gives five directions rather than four and places the animals quite differently: Yu the Great gave banners to his people marking the north with a bird, the south with a snake, the east with the sun, the west with the moon, and the center with a bear. The four beasts represent a season each. The Azure Dragon of the East represents Spring, the Vermilion Bird of the South represents Summer, the White Tiger of the West represents Autumn, and the Black Turtle of the North represents Winter. The five symbols have been depicted in tomb murals of old Korean kingdoms like Goguryeo and Baekje.

Samjoko
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In Korean mythology, the three-legged raven is known as the Samjoko or Samjogo. In the Goguryeo kingdom, the Samjoko was a highly regarded symbol of power, thought superior to both the dragon and the Korean phoenix. It was also the symbol of Goguryeo and was depicted in a tomb mural.

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