October 3rd is the National Foundation Day in Korea, which is called Gaecheonjeol in Korean. The first name of Korea was Gojoseon and it was founded in 2333 B.C. The Chinese characters for Gaecheonjeol can be translated into the ‘day that the heaven was opened.’
Koreans harvest crops of the year in October and prepare rituals and harvest events by using the newly harvested grains. These events were conducted to express gratitude, and because of this reason, October became a special month to Koreans. Back in time, Koreans also viewed the number 3 as a good number, and thus designated October 3rd as the National Foundation Day.
There is a famous myth about the foundation of Korea. Hwanung, who was the son of the lord of heavens Hwanin, wanted to save the human world. So, he came down to the Earth with 3,000 of his followers. The place where he settled was the Taebaeksan Mountain area and he started to rule the world there. One day, a bear and a tiger came to Hwanung and asked him to make them humans. Hwanung told them that in order to become humans they should stay away from sunlight for 100 days and eat only mugwort and garlic for food. The tiger failed, but the bear succeeded. Finally the bear became a woman and married to Hwanung. After all, they gave a birth to Dangun, who is known as the founder of Gojoseon.
This is a story that all Koreans know. We hope that this story has gratified your curiosity on how Korea was founded. :) Starting 2021, the National Foundation Day is included in the list of substitute holidays. Since October 3rd, 2021 falls on a Sunday, October 4th, which is a Monday, will be designated as a holiday. Remember that public institutes, banks, etc. will be closed on this day!
Post a Comment