The origin of the Korean people is not easily explained. However, since historical records show that Gojoseon (Old Joseon) was the first Korean kingdom, it can be taken as the origin of the Korean people. The life of Gojoseon's heroic founder is described in the Dan-gun myth.

In general, nation-founding myths emphasize the founder's divinity with descriptions of the founder's marvelous birth or childhood. Through the founder's divinity, the sacred nature of the founding dynasty is established, and this in turn identifies the descendants as a sacred people. This basic mythological structure is also evident in the Dan-gun myth.

Foundation myths usually appeared during the Bronze Age. Those who mastered the use of bronze, and in particular, bronze weapons, were readily able to conquer less advanced tribes in their area. Before long, large tribal confederations were formed. These political federations became the first nations.

The Dan-gun myth describes Dan-gun's birth from Hwan-ung, who came down from Heaven, and a bear-woman, who lived on Earth. As is generally true of mythology, this story is not some ungrounded fantasy, but is rather a means of explaining historical fact through the logic of symbols. Its symbolism is used to describe a historical fact, namely the political coalition that took place during Korea's Bronze Age. From ancient times, the Korean people have retained Dan-gun as the name of the hero who founded the first political federation of the Korean people. Dan-gun is apparently a historical person who lived during a specific stage of Korea's history, and to the extent that his memory remains within the national consciousness, he can be considered the ancestor of the Korean people.


Three Kingdoms Period (Goguryeo, Baekje, Silla)

The Korean people have, throughout their history, constantly been threatened by the tremendous military might of neighboring nations such as China, Manchuria or Mongolia. In this precarious position, Koreans have found strength in the sense of themselves as a unique people who are descended from Dan-gun. The ancient records that referred to Dan-gun were lost in the chaos of frequent wars and invasions. During the Three Kingdoms period when Goguryeo, Baekje and Silla vied for supremacy, the kingdoms found it difficult to promote the idea of a united people. Yet in the aftermath of Silla's unification of the Three Kingdoms in 668, Koreans' sense of themselves as a people was evident as Silla joined forces with the former subjects of Goguryeo and Baekje to drive away the Chinese Tang forces.

When Goryeo's territory was overrun by Mongolian forces in the 13th century, Iryeon included an edited account of the Dan-gun myth in the first section of his work Samgungnyusa (Memorabilia of the Three Kingdoms). By doing so, Iryeon hoped to restore the Korean people's pride and sense of identity. After this, every time the Korean people were in peril, the Dan-gun myth was given a new interpretation. This trend is readily apparent during the Joseon period, and is especially evident during the Japanese occupation of Korea (1910-1945). During the occupation, the Dan-gun myth spawned numerous religious movements. Among these, there were numerous religious and philosophical movements (many of which still exist today) that worshipped the three deities: Hwan-in, Hwan-ung and Dan-gun. Thus, Dan-gun has continued to be a historical force uniting the Korean people during times of crisis.

Based on the Dan-gun myth, Koreans have thus maintained a sense of themselves as a unique people; yet at the same time, they have actively borrowed from foreign cultures. The wall paintings of Goguryeo tombs provide ample testimony of this. For example, those paintings drawn in the sun and the moon motif, the sun figure holds the sun disk above its head, and within the sun, there is a three-legged black crow. Likewise, the moon figure holds the moon disk above its head and within the moon is a toad. These figures are from myths found in ancient Chinese texts; however, the aesthetic sense of the paintings is unique to Goguryeo. Although the paintings include Chinese stylistic elements, such as the lively lines found on the celestial figures and dragons, the Goguryeo murals have a strong and rigid feeling that makes the figures seem heavy. This demonstrates how the Goguryeo people actively adopted China's classical tradition, yet did not lose their own aesthetic feeling.

There are also paintings of wrestlers wearing a waist-wrap. Not found in China, this form of wrestling was used in ancient martial arts competitions by the horse-riding peoples of Mongolia and the Steppes. Notably, the figures in these paintings have the pronounced nose characteristic of the Central Asian steppe. The pictures therefore suggest that Goguryeo had close contacts with these peoples. As Goguryeo was developing into a vast empire in southern Manchuria, China came under the control of nomadic Turkish tribes for several centuries. As a result, prior to the Tang Dynasty, China lacked a political force capable of challenging Goguryeo. China's enfeebled position also allowed Goguryeo to develop cultural exchanges with the civilizations across the vast grasslands of Central Asia.

The Buddhist art work of Silla and Baekje clearly shows that these kingdoms also actively introduced culture from the horse-riding cultures west of China. A good example of this art is Baekje's contemplative Maitreya. The figure's subtle smile deftly portrays the calm joy that is possible when the mind has been purified through religious practice. This fine example of the Baekje aesthetic represents one of the finest examples of world religious art. Silla also produced masterpieces such as the gentle and sedate Buddha figure at Seokguram. This stone figure masterfully expresses the Mahayana Buddhist ideal of harmony. Development of the statue's artistic style can ultimately be traced back to Greek sculpture which was introduced into the Gandhara region of India during Alexander's campaigns. This artistic style developed as it made its way eastward, culminating in this serene Seokguram Buddha, which sits on top of Gyeongju's Mt. Tohamsan facing the East Sea. In this sense, the Seokguram statue represents a synthesis of Eastern and Western cultural legacies.

Thus, during the Three Kingdoms period, the Korean people were actively acquiring classical cultural traditions of both the East and the West. Confucianism and Taoism were being introduced from China, and Buddhism from far away as India and Central Asia. As mentioned above, Chinese writing was adopted to facilitate political administration during the formation of the Three Kingdoms. Naturally, this also led to the introduction of Confucianism and Taoism. Chinese writing also formed the basis for a restructuring of the Three Kingdom's educational system, and as a result, Korea has been a literate civilization for more than 22 centuries. After Buddhism was introduced, the Silla kings eventually saw themselves as protectors of a "Buddhist realm." This shows the extent to which foreign culture had made inroads into Korea.

However, during the late Silla period, Choe Chi-won (857-?) stated that Korea had possessed, from times long past, its own religion, and that this religion was not inferior to foreign religions such as Confucianism, Buddhism or Taoism. Choe rose to fame while studying in China, and returned to Silla to become a prominent Silla thinker who stressed the Korean people's unique cultural traditions and identity.

As stated by Choe, Korea had its own unique philosophy and religion before the introduction of Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism. Before the advent of Chinese writing, the Bronze Age society of Gojoseon used to forge metal and created an accurate calendar required for agriculture. Such a technically advanced society is likely to have diverse forms of religious expression, thus it is no surprise to find numerous religious traditions in Korea before the introduction what is commonly known as the "Three Teachings" (Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism).

In the remote past, shamanism was found widely dispersed on the Eurasian continent. Shamanism has a dualistic world-view according to which the body and soul is viewed as separate. Thus, a particular soul or spirit can enter another body to create a phenomenon known as "possession." One particular characteristic of shamanism is that the medium perceives this possession physically. On the other hand, human beings cannot have contact, via the senses, with Hanullim ("Sky" or "Supreme Being",) the power that manages the periodic changes of the entire universe. For this reason, only through the indirect means of a religious rite can Hanullim communicate with a human being's spirit. In this sense, the religious experience of possession and the rites to Hanullim are seen to have a different meaning. As is evident from the mural pictures of wrestlers, another aspect of early Korean religion is the emphasis on mental and physical discipline as a means of perfecting the self. These diverse aspects of religious practice are still found in Korea today.

During the Three Kingdoms period, Koreans used Chinese writing to actively acquire the classical traditions of Confucianism and Buddhism. Yet at the same time, they sought, like Choe Chi-won, to transmit and develop the unique cultural traditions of ancient Korea. These contradictory attitudes have created an ongoing tension. The history of this tension is the history of the Korean character, and the attempt to establish a means of overcoming these conflicting attitudes has been the central concern of Korean thought. This characteristic feature of Korean thought is particularly evident in Buddhism and Confucianism, the two sources of classical Korean philosophy.