S6E10 - It's Re-Mago-ble: Haesik and Dalsun

stories featured in Greaking Out are usually original adaptations of classic Greek myths.

This week's story features animals dressing up like humans, people getting eaten, favorite celestial bodies, garlic breath, and a new beginning.

Okay, listeners, today is another field trip day, but this time we are headed on an overland journey for some exciting new mythologies and folklore traditions.

Hey, Oracle, isn't it cool how there are different types of stories from all over the world?

I cannot confirm the temperature of this concept, so I cannot say whether it is cool or warm.

I can confirm that every culture in the world has some type of mythology or folklore.

Okay, right, but even though the cultures are all different, the myths sometimes have some universal themes and elements that are present across a variety of countries and backgrounds.

This is referred to as a motif.

It is a concept that appears in many myths across many different cultures.

That's right.

Of course, it is right.

I know everything.

Well, maybe not everything, but.

Everything.

Oh, yeah?

So, you know what kind of myth we're talking about today?

We will be discussing two different myths from Korean culture.

Okay, fine, right again.

Historians have discovered written records of Korean myths from as early as the 12th century, but they've probably been passed down by word of mouth for much longer than that.

See, Korean mythology is known for introducing some pretty awesome mythological creatures, like the dokebi, which is similar to what we think of as a goblin.

Dokebi are mischievous creatures that are known for playing tricks on humans.

Yeah, Korean mythology has a lot of creatures like ghosts and goblins and dragons.

And like many types of mythology, Korean culture often uses these stories as a way to explain natural events or to complement history.

And in today's episode, we'll be talking about two different myths that help explain some of the natural wonders of the universe.

Now, our first myth today tells the story of the sun and the moon and how they came to be.

Two very important fixtures in our solar system.

Exactly.

But the story doesn't start in outer space.

In fact, it starts on the outskirts of a small village in Korea.

One day, a poor woman was walking home from a long day at work.

Her job was to sell rice cakes in the local village.

The woman was raising two children on her own, a son named Heshik and a daughter named Dausu.

Selling rice cakes was the only way she was able to provide for her family.

So every day, she made the trek into the village, but one evening, while she was heading home to see her children, a tiger darted out in front of her and blocked her path.

Hello there, the tiger said with a growl.

The woman was frightened.

She was no match for a dangerous tiger.

She was right.

Tigers are one of the jungle's fiercest predators and can weigh up to 600 pounds or more.

Oh, that is one big cat.

No wonder the woman was terrified.

She decided to give him one of her precious rice cakes and hoped it would be enough to keep him occupied while she ran away.

Here you go, she said to the tiger.

Enjoy.

The tiger gulped down the rice cake.

It was delicious.

Rice cakes are made from a combination of rice flour and tapioca starch.

They are chewy and can be eaten many ways, including in a spicy sauce or sweetened to make dessert.

Sounds yummy.

No wonder the tiger liked it.

But after eating the treat, the tiger saw that the woman had left and he hurried after her.

He ran around the woman quickly and waited for her at the bottom of the next hill.

I'm going to need more of those delicious, perfectly chewy rice cakes, he said.

The woman handed over the rice cakes with trembling hands.

She couldn't afford to give away any more of her precious rice cakes, but what choice did she have?

None.

As I said, tigers are very fierce predators.

Yeah, so the woman handed over the rice cakes and prayed it would be enough for the tiger to leave her alone.

But of course, it wasn't.

The tiger ate every last one of the rice cakes.

The woman was distressed, but she was also terrified.

She had nothing left to distract the tiger.

Please, she begged.

Please do not eat me.

I can make you more rice cakes, I promise.

But the tiger didn't care.

He was in the mood for something much bigger than rice cakes.

He gulped the woman down in a single bite.

That is not really what happened.

While tigers have approximately 30 teeth and large, powerful jaws, It still would have taken more than one bite to eat an average-sized woman.

Okay, fine.

He gulped her down in several bites.

Better?

Yes, thank you.

That is much more accurate.

When their mother didn't come back that afternoon, the children began to worry.

Where could she be?

What was taking her so long?

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door.

The children looked out the window.

It was their mother.

She was hunched over and hiding her face in her hands.

It's mother, the daughter Dao Tsun cried out.

Let her in, she said as she went to open the door.

Wait, cried Heschik, the son.

Something is not right.

Heshik was smart not to open the door because it was not their mother outside on the porch.

It was the tiger dressed up in their mother's clothes.

This story may sound familiar to anyone who has heard the story of Little Red Riding Hood,

which is a piece of folklore that goes back almost 2,000 years.

Yeah, I mean, it makes sense.

I mean, not so much the dressing up in a person's clothes part, but the being afraid of animals in the woods part.

Anyway, Dao Sun clearly had never heard of Little Red Riding Hood because she was convinced it was her mother on the other side of that door.

This is our mother out there.

Something is wrong with her.

She needs our help, she said.

Eventually, the tiger began to cry.

He sounded so much like their mother that even Hashik decided it was worth the risk.

He couldn't leave his crying mother outside on the doorstep.

Mother?

he asked as he opened the door a crack.

And just like that, the tiger pushed his way through the door and chased the brother and sister through the house.

That is definitely not mom,

yelled Dao-soon.

They managed to barricade themselves in the back corner of the room while the tiger tried to claw his way to them.

Quick, yelled Heshik.

Out the back window.

The brother and sister climbed out and ran to the forest as fast as they could.

They sprinted to the nearest tree and climbed up, desperately trying to get away from the tiger.

Heschick breathed a sigh of relief as they shimmied up the trunk.

Good thing tigers can't climb trees.

Actually, while they do not frequently climb trees, they are definitely capable of it.

They use their sharp, retractable claws.

to climb their way up tree trunks.

Once again, you are right, Oracle.

Heschick's relief turned to horror as he watched the tiger climb up the trunk after them.

The brother and sister climbed higher and higher, but eventually they reached the top of the tree.

There was nowhere left for them to go.

They were stuck, and the tiger was gaining on them.

Dalsum began to pray to the gods.

Please, please save us from this tiger.

And because Daosum and her brother were pure of heart, The gods sent down a strong rope from heaven for them to climb on.

The brother and sister climbed and climbed and climbed.

They kept climbing until they reached the realm of the gods.

They were safe.

When the tiger reached the top of the tree, he too began to pray.

Hey, I deserve a rope too.

Send one down for me.

But because the tiger was not pure of heart, In fact, he was pretty much the opposite of pure of heart, the gods sent down an old fraying rope.

The tiger began to climb, but did not make it very far before the rope split and the tiger fell to the ground below.

Tigers can survive falls from large heights, but this sounds like quite the distance.

Yeah, it's unclear whether or not the tiger survived, but it is clear that Dao Tzum and Heshik were safe in the realm of the gods.

The siblings decided to stay there and eventually became known as the sun and the moon.

At first, the gods assigned Dao Tsum to the role of the moon, but she asked Heshik to switch.

I'm afraid of the dark, she cried.

Can I be the sun instead?

And because Heshik was a kind older brother, he agreed and became the moon, while Dao Sum became the sun.

Legend has it that the children are still up there in the sky, chasing each other day in and day out, just like the moon chases the sun.

The moon does not chase the sun.

As Earth orbits the sun, the moon orbits earth.

I know you know that, but to ancient peoples, it looked different.

Now we have telescopes and satellites, but back then, they just had what they could see with their own human eyes.

And it's a cute story, isn't it?

It is.

The moon and sun are, in fact, my favorite celestial bodies.

So, what do you have a list or something?

Yes.

First is the moon.

Then the sun.

Then the earth.

Then the other planets in order of size, which are Jupiter, Saturn.

Okay, you know what?

That's great.

I get it.

I get it.

Mythology does a great job at explaining things we don't quite understand yet, or didn't at the time, anyway.

It took us a while to discover the true nature of the sun and the moon, and so people just came up with clever origin stories in the meantime, like the one we just heard.

The era of space travel did not officially begin until the late 1950s.

Exactly.

That's why these myths are so important.

They helped people understand and appreciate natural phenomenon that were unexplainable at the time.

Which leads me to our next myth of the day, the legend of the first kingdom of Korea.

And with that, I think this is a good place for a commercial break.

I mean, not that there's ever really a good place for a commercial break, but if there was to be a good place, this would probably be it.

Have you ever wondered who the Mary was from Bloody Mary?

If the Loch Ness monster was real, or if Ouija boards actually worked?

On each episode of the family-friendly Unspookable, we look at the histories and mysteries behind your favorite scary stories, myths, and urban legends to get the real stories behind the scares.

Want to solve your next mystery?

Find and follow Unspookable Now wherever you get your podcasts.

Okay, back to the story.

Our story begins with Huanin, the ruler of the realm of the gods.

Huanin is often referred to as the Lord of the Realm of the Gods.

He is one of the most powerful gods in Korean mythology.

Yes, and Huanin had a son named Huanun.

And while Huanun was powerful just like his father, he had a strong desire to leave the heavens and establish a kingdom on earth.

He spent every day admiring earth from heaven, wishing he was able to go down there.

Eventually, he worked up the courage to ask his father for permission.

Please, father, he asked, I want to live on earth and establish my kingdom.

Juanin was hesitant about his son leaving.

I'd prefer you stay here, he said.

But if this is what you truly desire, you have my blessing.

Juanun was ecstatic.

He gathered 3,000 followers to come with him on his journey.

He also invited several gods.

The gods of rain, wind, and clouds all decided to make the journey with him to Earth.

They decided to camp on a mountain called Tebek.

In the present day, it is called the Bakdu Mountain.

located on the border between North Korea and the Manchurian region of China.

Exactly.

And this is where Huanun decided to set up a city and rule over Earth and its people.

Well, all the excitement of Huanun and his kingdom caught the interest of two nearby animals, a bear and a tiger.

These animals were impressed.

They had never seen a god before, and they wanted to get in on the action.

After all, this was way more interesting than all of the usual animal things they did.

So they prayed to Huanun and asked if they could become human and be a part of his new kingdom.

I feel contractually obligated to point out that this is not scientifically possible.

Yeah, we know Oracle, it's just a myth, remember?

Anyway, Huanun was flattered.

These were the first creatures to ever express interest or devotion to his plans, so he decided to grant their wish.

I will allow you to become human, he said.

But first, you have to follow these strict instructions.

Huanun told the bear and the tiger that they had to avoid sunlight for a hundred days and only eat garlic and mugwort.

Mugwort is a plant commonly used in herbal medicine.

It is a cousin of ragweed and is commonly found in the US today.

It is sometimes used in perfumes where they call it by its Latin name, Artemisia, named for Artemis.

And apparently it can turn animals into humans.

There is no scientific evidence to support that claim.

Well, the bear and the tiger were up for the challenge.

They retreated into a nearby cave to wait out the 100 days of darkness.

But after only 21 days, the tiger gave up.

Okay, this is just too hard, he said.

I need to stretch my legs and lounge in the sun.

That's all this garlic is really making my breath stink.

Garlic includes sulfur compounds, which contributes to the scented breath.

Yeesh, I didn't even think of that.

Must have been a smelly cave.

But stinky breath or not, the bear managed to persevere.

She followed the rules to a T, and when a hundred days were over, Huarun kept his promise and turned her into a human.

The bear's new name was Ungyo.

Ungnyo is loosely translated as bear, woman.

Straightforward, I like it.

And things were going well for Ungyo.

She was enjoying life as a human and had never regretted her decision to leave the animal world behind.

But one thing was starting to bother her.

She wanted to be a mother.

Please, Ungyo prayed.

Please bring me a son.

Huanun was fond of Ungyo and he wanted her to be happy.

So he decided he would turn himself into a human and marry her.

The two were a perfect match and they were very happy together.

It wasn't long before Ungyo gave birth to a son named Dangun.

Korean legend says that Tangun invented acupuncture, which is the practice of using needles to treat various medical conditions.

Well, that's what they say.

Now, Dangun is commonly thought of as the first human king.

His kingdom was called Josun, and it is the first kingdom of Korea.

It is now referred to as Kochun, or ancient Josun.

Yes, and it's still a very big deal today in Korean culture.

There is a holiday called Keichunso to commemorate Dangun's founding of Go Josun.

Right, and this story isn't just important because it tells the tale of the first kingdom.

The myth also indicates a link between the first king of Korea and the gods from above.

In fact, some versions state that Dangoon remained a human for 1,908 years.

When he finally passed away, he turned into the mountain god San Jinyung to keep an eye on his kingdom.

San Shi Jung loosely translates to mountain spirit.

See, Oracle, even though you know everything, isn't it nice to just relax and be told a story once in a while?

Yes, it is nice.

Right, and people have been telling stories since the beginning of time.

That is not true.

There were no people at the beginning of time.

There was only a rapid expansion of matter from a state of extremely high density.

Okay, okay, you know what?

My bad.

Sorry, sorry, my bad.

What I meant to say was, I'm just glad you like the story.

And while this season of Greaking Out is over, the first season of Nat Geo Kids' How We Explore starts next week on June 10th.

We're going to drop the first episode in the feed next Friday so you can listen.

In How We Explore, two National Geographic Explorers talk to scientists and explorers from around the world and learn about their journeys.

Like, how did they become an explorer?

What do they do all day?

What challenges do they face in the field?

You can find it wherever you get your podcasts.

And of course, Greaking Out will be back in the fall with a new season and some fun surprises.

Greaking Out.

That's it for this season of Greaking Out.

We hope you enjoyed our story of the Trojan War.

See you in October.

Listen, and you'll see it.

skin out.

This episode of National Geographic Kids Greaking Out was written by Kenny Curtis and Jillian Hughes and hosted by Kenny Curtis with Tori Kerr as the oracle of Wi-Fi, audio production and sound design by Scotty Beam, and our theme song was composed by Perry Gripp.

Rebecca Cuss and Gracie Kim were our subject matter experts.

They are the editor and author of The Last Fallen Star, which is based on Korean mythology.

Emily Everhart is our producer.

This episode was sponsored by the Gifted Clan series, which includes The Last Fallen Star and The Last Fallen Moon, available wherever books are sold.