From time immemorial Koreans revered Mt Paektu as an ancestral and celebrated mountain with unrivalled scenery in the world.
The old book Thaebaekilsa described Mt Paektu as jinsan of the Korean paradise which occupies a vast area, boasting its magnificent appearance. Jinsan in Korean refers to the highest mountain in a village, county seat, provincial capital or country which the locals regarded as an object of worship in the olden times.
The following legends of Mt Paektu reflect the strong will and patriotic desire of the Korean people to praise and defend the majestic and dignified ancestral mountain that unfolds an endless variety of mysterious natural sights.
Typical are “Janggi Rock” and “Thunder over Lake Chon.”
According to “Janggi Rock,” there lived two spirits with a similar level of janggi (Korean chess) techniques, so their matches always came to a draw. Once they descended down on Mt Paektu for a match. Then the match ended in victory for one of them inspired by the magnificent and ever-changing appearance of the mountain. “Thunder over Lake Chon” deals with a story according to which the Japanese imperialist aggressors, not content with their occupation of Korea, went so far as to worm their way into the shore of Lake Chon on Mt Paektu in a bid to do harm to even the mountain worshipped by the Korean people, only to be scared to death by the majesty of the lake.
Legends include “Sosono” that has it that King Tongmyong, founder of Koguryo (277 BC-AD 668), could lay the foundation for a powerful country, which had existed for nearly a thousand years, as he was endowed with the spirit of the ancestral mountain, and “General’s sword in Lake Chon” and “An iron stake not driven into the ground” saying that a great man who would lead the Korean people will surely emerge and the local people’s spirit will never die out as long as there is Mt Paektu.
Other legends are “Taegak Peak and Yonji Peak,” about Taegak and Yonji who are determined to become eternal peaks of Mt Paektu to defend it, and “Palace of the Dragon King under Lake Chon” and “Tiger Rock” saying that nothing in the world is more magnificent and mysterious than the natural scenery of Mt Paektu.
Those old legends were registered as national intangible cultural heritage elements in November 2021.
Kim Myong, PhD, associate professor and head of Literature Department of Faculty of Korean Linguistics, Kim Il Sung University
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