prolog

1.
A god of extraordinary strength

Strange story
A supernatural being of the Joseon Dynasty
Manpasikjeok of the Joseon Dynasty
National Gyeongju Museum and Manpasikjeok

2.
Manpasikjeok in Samguk Yusa

Samguk Yusa
Manpasikjeok
Questions about the Crown Prince

3.
682 AD

Kim Heum-dol's Rebellion
Other records
new marriage
Kim Heum-un's daughter who became queen
Age of the Enzyme King

4.
1st Manpasikjeok

King Munmu, who became a dragon
Gamsansa Temple and Igyeondae
The difference between one hand and two hands
King Munmu became a dragon and Kim Yu-sin became a god
Kim Yu-sin's people

5.
690 AD

On the bus
Unified Silla Gyeongju population
The newspaper king's reform policy
Geum Ip-taek
If the capital had been moved to Daegu

6.
Second Manpasikjeok

King Sinmun's Tomb
Enzyme King's supporters
King of Enzymes and Manpasikjeok

7.
Okdae myth

Towards King Jinpyeong's Tomb
quiet atmosphere
An object symbolizing authenticity
Construction period of King Jinpyeong's tomb

8.
Geumcheok Myth and Igyeondae

Gyeongju Amukafe
The myth of Yi Seong-gye's golden sword
The process of recognizing the great power of the god as history
Three Kingdoms folk music
dance, song, musical instrument

9.
Who created the myth?

Seolchong Tomb
Snow gun battle
Hwawanggye
Who created the Manpasikjeok story?

10.
The story after Manpasikjeok

Hwangboksa Temple Site Three-story Stone Pagoda
Hwangboksa Temple Site Gilt-bronze Sarira Box
The death of Queen Sinmok and King Hyoso
Directions to the National Gyeongju Museum
King Seongdeok's Divine Bell and King Seongdeok
King Seongdeok's Divine Bell and Manpasikjeok

Epilogue
References

The meaning of historically verifying a tale
Samguk Sagi vs. Samguk Yusa
Is Manpasikjeok a monstrous, chaotic deity or a sacred event for a great cause?

The story of Manpasikjeok is one that everyone has heard at least once, even if it is not as old as the Dangun myth.
The legend of Manpasikjeok is recorded and handed down in two documents, 『Samguk Sagi』 and 『Samguk Yusa』. Kim Bu-sik dismissed it in 『Samguk Sagi』 as “so strange that it is unbelievable,” but Iryeon, who wrote 『Samguk Yusa』, unlike general Confucian scholars, did not view the mysterious anecdotes of past heroes as supernatural powers, but interpreted them as sacred events for a great cause and left behind detailed records.
This holds great significance as a unique source for understanding Manpasikjeok today.

Author Hwang Yun also follows Il-yeon's lead in questioning why Koreans only attach meaning to Chinese mythology and attach importance to it. He pursues a journey through history with the intention of not ignoring even the most supernatural depiction of a god, but rather of tracing and reinterpreting the hidden meaning within it as much as possible.


What historical background did Manpasikjeok originate from? Where is the evidence to prove it? What message does it contain? Can it be simply dismissed as a monster of extraordinary strength, or should it be treated as a fragment of history? Compared to the era in which Ilyeon studied, the abundance of historical materials and the advancement of civilization have allowed him to continue recording Manpasikjeok from Samguk Yusa.

Traces of the dragon that stayed in Gyeongju
The pride of the unification of the three Koreas still resonates today

The Gyeongju tour begins at the world's first underwater tomb, the Tomb of King Munmu, which presents an enchanting sea and rock colors that change with each passing moment, much like the impressionist master Monet's 'Rouen Cathedral' series.
The traces of King Munmu, who became the first unified nation on the Korean Peninsula and then claimed to be a dragon to protect his country even after death, remain in Gyeongju to this day, as if they were legends or history.


From the dragon that appears in the first Manpasikjeok tale, to the second Manpasikjeok that appeared during the reign of King Hyoso, and even to the bamboo and dragon depicted in the dragon head of the King Seongdeok Divine Bell, there is a dragon in the series of processes that run through Manpasikjeok, and it catches two dragons of seriousness and fun by going back and forth between history and tales.
As you stroll through Gyeongju with author Hwang Yun, you will stop at places depicted in folktales such as Daewangam, Igyeondae, Gamsansaji, and Seongdeokdaewangsinjong, and encounter the storytelling of dragons that surround Gyeongju.

The journey that began at the tomb of King Munmu ends in front of the Divine Bell of King Seongdeok, and the author's gaze lingers on the dragon rope depicting a dragon and bamboo.
Dr. Hwang Su-yeong (1918-2011) believes that the Manpasikjeok myth was designed on the bell. The dragon's shape with its legs swinging back and forth and the bamboo engraved on the sound tube are enough to remind one of the bamboo flute that appears in the Manpasikjeok.
Every time the bell rang with its majestic sound, the Silla people would have thought of King Munmu's achievements and felt proud of the unification of the three kingdoms they had achieved. This was also a scene where King Munmu's will to become a guardian dragon, a dragon that protects the country even after death, and uphold Buddhist law came true.
Although we often encounter Western dragons these days, the dragons of the 8th century Unified Silla period, while harboring noble undertakings, were present in everyday life everywhere, and they continue to fly in various forms throughout Gyeongju to this day.

The immersive thrill of archaeology
The joy of verifying folktales with history

The joy of traveling through history with Hwang Yun is the pleasure of participating in the process of examining and comparing each piece as if the reader were an archaeologist himself.
This journey, which began with the legend of Manpasikjeok, also has some points that you would regret missing.

*The reason the ownership of the royal tomb in Gyeongju changed

First, it is interesting to discover that while unraveling the secret of Manpasikjeok, the royal tombs of King Sinmun and King Hyoso were designated as the wrong places during the reign of King Yeongjo of Joseon due to a search for the tomb's owner based on incorrect grounds.
According to historical records, the current King Sinmun's tomb is King Hyoso's tomb, and King Sinmun's tomb is also the current King Jinpyeong's tomb.
This is a part where you can experience the true joy of archaeology, showing the search for the true owner of the Gyeongju royal tombs, which only author Hwang Yun could write, after tracing it through a long period of effort and research.

*The time when King Sinmun met the dragon in Manpasikjeok was 682 vs. 690.

According to the Samguk Yusa, the time when King Sinmun met the dragon on a small mountain that appeared in the East Sea is divided into 682 or 690.
In other words, it is divided into whether it is immediately after the King of Newspaper ascended to the throne or near the end of his reign.
At this time, Il-yeon recorded both points in time that appear in different sources, but added his personal opinion that the record from 690 was incorrect.

Regarding this, author Hwang Yun points out that if the time of encountering the dragon on the small mountain that appeared in the East Sea is considered to be 682, right after King Sinmun ascended to the throne, then the crown prince was only 6 years old based on the record in Samguk Yusa, and if the record in Samguk Sagi, which is trusted by the majority of academics, is used, then he was not even born.
To be exact, it's minus 5 years.
On the other hand, if we consider the time when the dragon was encountered on the small mountain that appeared in the East Sea to be 690, the last year of King Sinmun's reign, then the crown prince would have been 14 years old based on the Samguk Yusa record and 4 years old based on the Samguk Sagi record.
In the end, the story itself is impossible to establish unless it takes place in 690, as the prince is depicted as an adult in Manpasikjeok, riding a horse towards the King of Newspaper from afar and boldly asserting his claims.
At that time, people were considered adults from the age of 15.
Because there are errors like this connected to the age of the crown prince, a reasonable suspicion gradually arises that “wasn’t it possible that the first Manpasikjeok story, set in 682 with King Sinmun as the main character, was newly added to the story with the crown prince set in 690?”

*An eye for viewing stone pagodas through the evolution of design
Examining the diplomatic and political power of the time through the characteristics of relics.

In this trip, we will personally see the three-story stone pagodas of Gamsansa Temple and Hwangboksa Temple and learn about the evolution of stone pagodas and their characteristics.
Regarding the three-story stone pagodas of Gamsansa Temple and Hwangboksa Temple, the author said, “If the three-story stone pagoda of Gamsansa Temple gives the impression of a general in uniform who has been through thick and thin, the three-story stone pagoda of Hwangboksa Temple gives the impression of an idol in a historical drama wearing silk clothes.”
Starting with the Stone Pagoda at Gamsansa Temple, it spread to the Three-story Stone Pagoda at Goseonsa Temple, then to the Three-story Stone Pagoda at Hwangboksa Temple, and then to the Seokgatap at Bulguksa Temple, and further spread throughout the Korean Peninsula. We will also look at the process and design changes, adding to our perspective on the pagodas.

In addition, through explanations of the gilt-bronze sarira casket and the Buddhist statue inside it discovered during the dismantling and repair of the three-story stone pagoda at Hwangboksa Temple Site, we will learn not only about its artistic characteristics but also about the independent diplomacy and political power of Silla during the reign of King Munmu.