History of Korea - E-book - ePub

With a history so vast it is difficult to preserve the traditionsand cultures from the olden times yet Korea seems to havemaintained it despite the many invasions and situations that itwent through. Nationalism and patriotism is reflected in all theKoreans. Every country has their own mythology and belief of how theirpeople came to be and Koreans have their too. The Koreanmythology speaks of a demigod Hwan Woong who came downon earth on Taebak Mountain which is now the Gangwon-doProvince in South Korea.
The demigod met a bear and tigerliving in a cave who wished to become humans. The demigodasked them to eat 20 cloves of garlic and refrain from sunlightfor 100 days if they wished to become man. The tiger failedthe test as it couldn't withstand the dark but after 21 days thebear became a woman. Since there was no one for thewoman to procreate Hwan Woong turned himself into a mantemporarily creating the Korean race.
Maybe this is why theKoreans love garlic and use it extensively in their cooking. While the mythology seems too fun to hear the history ofKorea speaks of something else. Korea happens to be one ofthe most culturally homogeneous countries across the globe. They show very few physical and cultural differences amongthem. Koreans have great respect for their ancestors andelders. Confucian culture dominates the area and it is seen inother factors of life as well where age and marital status of aperson gives him or her certain seniority.
The Koreans aresimple people today with an extensive history of their ancestors.