Old Joseon (Wanggeom Joseon)古朝鮮〔王倹朝鮮〕

Old Joseon 〔Wanggeom Joseon (王儉朝鮮)〕 The Book of Wei (魏書) says: "Two thousand years ago there was Dangun Wanggeom (壇君王儉). He set up his capital at Asadal (阿斯達)〔The Gyeong calls it Muyeopsan and also Baegak. It lies in the land of Baekju. Some say it lies east of Gaeseong; the present Baegak Palace is the place.〕, opened a state, and called it Joseon (朝鮮). This was in the same age as Emperor Yao (堯)."

The Gogi (古記) says —

Long ago there was Hwanung (桓雄), a son of a lesser wife (庶子) of Hwanin (桓因)〔This means Jeseok.〕. He often set his mind on the world below and longed for the human realm. The father knew his son's wish. He looked down on Samwi Taebaek (三危太伯) and saw that it could bring wide benefit to mankind. So he gave him three heavenly seals (天符印) and sent him down to govern it.

Hwanung led a company of three thousand and came down beneath the sacred altar tree (神壇樹) on the summit of Mount Taebaek〔That is Taebaek, the present Mount Myohyang.〕. He called that place Sinsi (神市), and this was Hwanung Cheonwang (桓雄天王). He led the Master of Wind (風伯), the Master of Rain (雨師), and the Master of Clouds (雲師), and took charge of grain, of life span, of sickness, of punishment, and of good and evil. In all he took charge of more than three hundred and sixty human affairs, dwelling in the world and governing and transforming it.

At that time a bear and a tiger lived in the same cave. They always prayed to the divine Hwanung (神雄), wishing to become human. Then the god gave them a bundle of sacred mugwort and twenty cloves of garlic and said, 'If you eat these and do not see sunlight for a hundred days, you will at once gain human form.' The bear and the tiger took them and ate them. They kept the taboo for three sevens of days (twenty-one days). The bear gained the body of a woman, but the tiger could not endure it and did not gain a human body.

The bear-woman (熊女) had no one to marry, so she always prayed beneath the altar tree (壇樹) to conceive a child. Hwanung then changed his form for a while and married her. She conceived and bore a son. He was named Dangun Wanggeom (壇君王儉).

In the gyeongin year, the fiftieth year after Emperor Yao ascended the throne〔The first year after Tang Yao ascended the throne was a mujin year, so the fiftieth year would be a jeongsa year, not a gyeongin year. It seems this is not a fact.〕, he set his capital at Pyongyang Fortress (平壤城)〔This is the present Seogyeong.〕 and first called the state Joseon. Then he moved the capital to Asadal on Mount Baegak. It is also called Mount Gunghol (弓忽山)〔Some copies have 'Bang (方)'.〕, and also Geummidal (今旀達). He ruled the state for one thousand five hundred years.

In the gimyo year, when King Wu (武王) of Zhou (周) ascended the throne, he enfeoffed Gija (箕子) in Joseon. Dangun then moved to Jangdanggyeong (藏唐京), and later returned and hid himself at Asadal, becoming a mountain god (山神). He was one thousand nine hundred and eight years old.

The Biography of Pei Ju (裴矩傳) of Tang (唐) says: "Goryeo (高麗) was originally the state of Guzhu (孤竹國)〔This is the present Haeju.〕. Zhou enfeoffed Gija there and called it Joseon. Han divided it and set up three commanderies, called Xuantu (玄菟), Lelang (樂浪), and Daifang (帶方)〔This is North Daifang.〕." The Tongdian (通典) agrees with this account.〔In the Book of Han there are four commanderies, Zhenfan, Lintun, Lelang, and Xuantu. Now it says three commanderies, and the names also differ. How is this?〕