• Journal of Korean Society of Archives and Records Management
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• v.1 no.2
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• pp.57-79
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• 2001

[Go-Choseon], the first volume of Samgukyusa, is composed of two parts, the part of myth and that of history. There are very similar divinities between Hwanwoong in the myth of Dangun and YanDi-ShenNong of China: the solar divinity essential for survival of mankind and agriculture, the agriculture divinity said to have taught fanning, the medicine divinity said to have taught the characteristics of herbs and how to prevent diseases, the cultural hero who delivered civilization, and son on. During the transition from the age of myth to the age of history, the roles of gods had changed from the creation of the world to civilization and rule. The roles of Hwanwoong and YanDi-ShenNong were civilization and it was related with their divinities. Hence, regardless of a little difference, the myth of Hwanwoong and that of YanDi-ShenNong were created at the same stage of spiritual and material civilizations of Korea and China. This paper looks at the essence of [Wiseo] and the age of Hwanwoong through historical records. In my opinion, [Wiseo] is not a chinese history' book. The record, "According to [Wiseo] there had been Dangun-Wanggum 2,000 years ago" indicates the time [Wiseo] was written. 'Wi' means Wlman-choseon. Going back about 2,000 years from Wiman-choseon, the historical dates of the establishment of [Go-Choseon] almost dovetails to the age of King 'lao. So, there is a possibility that [Wiseo] is a history book of Wiman-Choseon dynasty which was written to prove the legitimacy of the dynasty by showing it succeeded to the Dangilll-Choseon dynasty. The sentences, "governed the country for 1,500 years" and "conferred Gija the position of king of Choseon" are very important records showing the age of the establishment of Dangun-Choseon. Gija came to Choseon in B.C 1122 when Yin replaced Zhou in the Choinese Continent. From the fact that Dangun had governed Choseon, we could reason out that Go-Choseon was established in B.C. 2622 that is much eariler than the era of king Yao, and that corresponds 'With the era of HuangDi(B.C 2698-2358). Hence, the era of Hwanwoong, the father-god of Dangun, might be later than B.G 3000 which conforms to the era of YanDi-ShenNong(B.C 3218-2600). Therefore, this paper contends lhat Hwanwoong and YanDi-ShenNong played the role of civilization in the same era [Go-Choseon], the first volume of Samgukusa is philologically very valuable material for research on the origin of Korean nation and its ancient history.