Dangun

The bear-woman prayed under a sandalwood tree because she could find no husband and wanted a child. Hwan-ung heard her prayers and married her. She conceived and bore a son called Tangun Wanggom, the King of Sandalwood. His birth joined the prayer beneath the tree to the royal story that followed.

In the fiftieth year of the reign of T'ang Kao, in the year called Kyong-in, Tangun came to P'yongyang. He set up his royal residence there and gave his kingdom the name Chosun. The account places the foundation in a named city and makes Tangun the person who establishes the royal centre.

Later Tangun moved the capital to Asadal on T'aebaek-san. He ruled for 1,500 years, so the story stretches his reign across a time far beyond an ordinary human lifetime. His rule ended when King Wu of Chou placed Kija on the throne. Tangun did not disappear when Kija arrived. He moved to Changtang-kyong and then returned to Asadal.

At the age of 1,908, Tangun became a mountain god. The story therefore changes his place rather than ending with his removal. He begins as the child of the bear-woman and Hwan-ung, becomes the king who names Chosun and moves its capital, and finally returns to Asadal as a divine figure attached to the mountain.

Samguk Yusa - Stories and Legends of the Three Kingdoms of Ancient Korea gives the sequence in a single founding account. The bear-woman prays, Hwan-ung marries her, Tangun is born, Chosun is established and the long reign ends with Tangun's transformation.