Korea is a country with a very long and interesting history. Much has been published about famous places, culture and people in Korean history. But this corner is dedicated especially to Korean kings and queens. Here, I’ll introduce you to monarchs throughout Korean history in chronological order. The figure in our first installment of “Kings and Queens of Korea” is Dangun, the founding father of the ancient Korean kingdom of Gojoseon.

While the history of the modern Republic of Korea is rather short, ancient Korean history dates all the way back to some four thousand years ago. The first Korean kingdom, Joseon, is believed to have been founded in 2333 B.C. But we generally call this ancient kingdom Gojoseon, which means “old Joseon,” to differentiate it from the Joseon Dynasty that emerged a few thousand years later. Gojoseon covered an area that includes parts of today’s Manchuria as well as the whole Korean Peninsula. The founder of this kingdom was Dangun, the first king of Korea.

As with many founding legends, Dangun’s story begins before his birth. The Dangun legend is entertaining for anyone of any age, even if they have no knowledge of Korean history. The legend begins with Hwan-woong, who was the son of Hwan-in, the lord of heaven. Hwan-woong wanted to live on Earth, and he came down to the peak of Taebaeksan Mountain on what is now the Korean Peninsula. He established his sacred city there and ruled over humans with the noble aim of benefiting mankind.

Then, two animals—a bear and a tiger—came to Hwan-woong and begged him to transform them into humans. Hwan-woong gave them garlic and fragrant mugwort, which still remains a popular ingredient in many Korean dishes today. He said that their wishes would come true if they ate only these two things for 100 days while staying in a cave without seeing sunlight. The impatient tiger gave up midway and ran out of the cave. The bear, on the other hand, managed to stay in the dark cave with much endurance, only eating garlic and mugwort, as instructed. On the 100th day, the bear finally became a woman. Her name was Ung-nyeo, meaning “bear woman.” After becoming a human, though, Ung-nyeo wasn’t pleased because she did not have anyone to marry. Under a sacred tree, she prayed to the heavens that she may at least have a baby. Hearing her prayers, Hwan-woong took pity on her. He briefly turned himself into a human to marry her. Ung-nyeo soon gave birth to a baby boy, and this son was Dangun, who later became the founder of Korea’s very first kingdom of Gojoseon.

Dangun established his capital in the area that is now Pyongyang in North Korea. Legend has it that he ruled for 1,500 years before he became a mountain god. Some historians estimate that the Gojoseon kingdom lasted until 108 B.C., ruled by 47 generations of the Dangun lineage, before being conquered by the Han Dynasty of China. The Three Kingdoms period followed. The subsequent Goguryeo Kindgom, one of those three kingdoms, adopted the Dangun legend as a way of highlighting its sovereignty as a kingdom with a coherent identity.

Despite some inconsistencies among historical records, Dangun is generally considered the founder of ancient Korea. Today, Dangun is celebrated in a big way on National Foundation Day on October 3.