History of Korea's National Foundation Day

The word Gaecheonjeol, roughly translates to the day the sky was opened.
The holiday dates back more than four-thousand years when the nation Dangun Joseon was founded.
To help us better understand Korea's mythological history, here's Kim Ji-yeon.
The story of Korea's founding begins with Hwanung, the son of a god who lived in the heavens but wanted to live on Earth.
Hoping to save the land of animals and humans, Hwanung opened the sky, and came down to Earth... to lay the foundation for Gojoseon, the oldest dynasty in Korean history.
During this time, two animals, a bear and a tiger, came and begged Hwanung to let them become human.
Hwanung agreed to grant their wish, but only if they endured 100 days without exposure to sunlight, with only garlic and ssuk, a type of mugwort, as their only form of sustenance.
The tiger gave up halfway through, but the bear persevered and became a woman.
She later bore Hwanung a son, who would be called Dangun.
To this day, Koreans commemorate the founding of the Korean nation by Dangun as Gaecheonjeol, or National Foundation Day, and his mixed ancestry of bear and deity has become a symbol for the Korean national identity.
Kim Ji-yeon, Arirang News.

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