Hello, everyone. Welcome to “Korean Folktales.” This Monday corner takes you into the world of interesting Korean folk stories. I’m Jinny Na. Today, I’ll talk about the origin of the caldera lake of Cheonji on top of Mt. Baekdu.

Mt. Baekdu holds great symbolic significance in Korea. As the tallest mountain on the Korean Peninsula, it has been regarded as the sacred origin of the Korean people. It is little wonder that the spiritual, divine mountain inspired various myths and folktales. One of the most widely known among Mt. Baekdu legends is about the origin of the scenic Cheonji Lake, located in the crater at the top of the mountain.

A long time ago, there lived a black dragon in a high mountain. The mean-spirited dragon, which had been expelled from heaven, harassed and even harmed people in the mountain village. He told the villagers to build a large palace on top of the mountain and bring him precious treasures and delicious food. The terrified villagers did not dare to oppose the ferocious animal and did everything in their power to please him. The evil dragon went as far as ordering them to offer young boys and girls as a sacrifice to him. This time around, people resisted the awful demand as they couldn’t bear to see their beloved children die. The angry dragon brought a hillside down, causing a huge pile of earth to cover the rivers and streams nearby. As a result, water couldn’t flow into the village, causing the wells and fields to dry out. Trees, plants, and crops in the fields began to wither away, and people were short of water to drink. The miserable people prayed desperately that the god would bring them rain and punish the wicked black dragon.

A hundred days later, a blue dragon came down from the sky as if the god answered their prayers. The blue dragon shouted in a thunderous voice. “Black dragon, you had already committed a sin in heaven and fell down here. But you are showing no signs of remorse and are only harassing innocent people.” The black dragon shouted back. “I’m king of the world here. Anyone who challenges me will be killed.” With these words, the black dragon breathed out blazing fire. The blue dragon quickly made it rain to put out the fire.

The two dragons continued to fight fiercely against each other, and the fiery showdown lasted for days. At last, they lay down on the ground, wounded and completely exhausted. It was the blue dragon who managed to rise up, as he heard people crying bitterly. The good dragon called up his last reserves of strength and shouted, “Lightning! Crash down on the evil dragon!” The black dragon was struck by the lightning and died, never to rise again.

The blue dragon tore down the dead dragon’s palace and created a large, beautiful lake instead. Living near the lake on the mountain, the blue dragon provided clean and cool water from the lake so the streams and wells in the village would never dry up. Later, people called this lake “Cheonji,” meaning “Heaven Lake.” Legend has it that once in a while, people saw the blue dragon soaring up from the lake.

That’s it for today’s “Korean Folktales.” Tune in again next time for another interesting Korean folk story. Thank you for listening. I’m Jinny Na. Goodbye, everyone.