단군

The ancestor of Korea who established 고조선 in the Korean Peninsula region approximately 3,000 years ago.

His original name was 단(Dan, 檀), but his descendants, out of respect, added the character 군(Gun, 君), meaning king, which then became a proper noun, 단군(DanGun, 檀君).

Although Jacob’s son Dan passed away during his life as a slave in the land of Egypt, his descendants continued to use the name Dan, which is why the ancestor who settled in the Korean Peninsula via Mongolia and established 고조선 was also Dan.

During the migration of the Dan tribe, there were brothers who wished to remain and brothers who moved south, while the main group moved east and settled in the Korean Peninsula. As the northern army of Israel, the Dan tribe migrated after a long war with the Philistines, possessing the latest combat techniques and weapon systems made of bronze, which signified formidable military power.

The Dan tribe, whose status was that of Israel’s high priests, had dignity; they used bronze vessels, bronze spoons, bronze chopsticks, and other items made of bronze for sacrificial rites, and their skill in handling iron and metals was exceptional. Furthermore, when they resided along the Mediterranean coast, their shipbuilding skills were outstanding, and they exerted influence across the Mediterranean and into parts of Europe.

‘애비’ and ‘애미’ were honorifics used by Israel’s high priests to respectfully address their ancestors; no one could rudely utter titles like ‘애비’ or ‘애미’. In contrast, “엄마” and “아빠” are general terms for parents.

What they brought when they migrated east from what is now Zorah in Israel was the mugunghwa seed. Records from the ancient Three Kingdoms period also show mugunghwa being referred to as 근화(槿花) and used as a symbol for the nation, and to this day, mugunghwa is the national flower of the Republic of Korea; the origin of mugunghwa (샤론의 장미 = rose of sharon) is near Israel, in Lebanon.

The reason Koreans are particularly drawn to the Bible is because its contents are the stories of our ancestors, so the culture within the Bible resonates directly. For example, the Ten Commandments, the custom of wearing white clothes, wearing sackcloth and wailing, stoning those who commit 음란죄, a younger brother marrying his elder brother’s widow if the elder brother dies, and stories of serving as a servant to marry, and so on.

The most dramatic event is that Jacob, after being betrothed to Rachel, married her after seven years of servitude, but after the wedding and spending one night, he woke up in the morning to find it was Leah, not Rachel; this is a situation that a non-Korean person would not be able to understand at all.

In Korea, there was a culture where the 신랑 and 신부 could not see each other’s faces when marrying. If the 신랑 so much as tried to glance at the 신부, even out of the corner of his eye, the people guarding nearby would hit his eyes with a bundle of ashes, tie up his feet, and beat him mercilessly. Therefore, in ancient times, it was perfectly normal to marry without seeing each other’s faces.

The reason 단군(DanGun, 檀君)’s descendants were so extremely conservative in relationships between men and women is because their lineage was that of Israel’s high priestly family.