Mugwort and Garlic in the Dangun Account
쑥과 마늘
The two foods named in the bear-and-tiger episode of the Samguk Yusa account; this note stays with that passage rather than assigning them a universal ritual meaning.
Research note · see sources and scope belowOne-Sentence Definition
In the Samguk Yusa passage retold here, mugwort and garlic are the foods Hwanung gives the bear and tiger during their attempt to become human.
What the Text Says
The selected account names mugwort and twenty cloves of garlic, instructs the animals to avoid sunlight for one hundred days, and then says they fast for three periods of seven days. Only the bear remains in the cave and becomes a woman. This entry follows the wording and sequence of that passage; it does not claim the plants had one fixed meaning across Korean tradition.
Read the Version Carefully
The episode is part of a foundation narrative preserved in a medieval compilation. It is not independent evidence that the narrated events occurred as history. The passage’s stated hundred-day instruction and its narrated twenty-one-day duration also differ.
Sources
- Samguk Yusa, Gi-i 1, “Gojoseon / Wanggeom Joseon” (selected passage and Korean translation).
- Academy of Korean Studies, “Dangun Myth” (comparison with the distinct Jewang Ungi maternal-origin account).