Behind the Myth: The Three Founders of Jeju

On Jeju Island, one can visit a shrine and complex in the heart of Jeju City centered around three holes in the ground, known as Samseonghyeol. According to legend, this is the site where three demi-gods emerged in the era before the island was inhabited. The three, referred to with the honorific title eulla, “head of clan,” are known as Go, Yang and Bu, and are also seen as the progenitors of those three family names, which remain prominent on the island today. The legend continues that the three lived by hunting and gathering until the arrival one day of a ship onto the beach. Within were three princesses from the Kingdom of Byeongang, who were to be brides for the demi-gods. The princesses brought with them cattle and horses as well as five different seeds to help establish agriculture on the island. From that time on the families established Jeju’s Tamna Kingdom and an agriculturalist way of life.

A picture of the famous locationNo solid evidence establishes the time of these legendary events, but they have been conjectured to have coincided with the Three Kingdoms Period on the mainland (57 BCE – 668 CE). Other legendary history lends support to the idea, as three brothers – including a certain Go-Hu, also known as Go Deuk-jong – were purported to have been received by the Silla court. They are said to be 15th generation direct descendants from Go Eulla, and it was at this time that the name of Tamna was officially recognized.

The title used for the three demi-gods, eulla, might provide another indication as to the antiquity of the legend. The word comes from the language of the Buyeo kingdom, which existed from the 2nd century BCE up to 494 CE, pre-dating the Three Kingdoms Period.

However, maybe we can draw more significance from the story’s symbolism. The tale seems to be a fairly straightforward allegory, a microcosm of the transition from a hunter-gather lifestyle to that of sedentary agriculturalists which the vast majority of humanity has undergone since the Neolithic. Note also how the emergence of the three brothers from the earth to marry seaborne women clearly reflects the maritime geography of the island, diverging from the mainland’s more typical identification of men with the sky and women with the earth.

In the end, perhaps the purpose of this legendary history is simply to reflect and justify the position of a few prominent families on the island. If we compare the frequency of the three family names with the mainland, we see that even today Go, Yang and Bu are far more represented on Jeju. Even today, they continue to collectively own and operate the Samseonghyeol shrine, where rites are held every spring and autumn.

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