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The Legend of Jeju´s Origin

The Legend of Jeju’s Origin
Creation Myth Grandmother Seolmundae and the Five Hundred Generals The Myth of Three Family Names
  • A song of yearning that echoes in the beautiful island of woes,
  • Grandmother Seolmundae and the Five Hundred Generals

  • Grandmother Seolmundae and the Five Hundred Generals

    Once upon a time there lived a grandmother named Seolmundae who was unimaginably gigantic and strong. This mystical grandmother shoveled huge mounds of earth and in only seven tosses of her shovel, created Mount Halla. The dirt that fell through her tattered skirt formed each of the more than 360 unique secondary parasitic cones known as oreum. Grandmother Seolmundae gave birth to as many as 500 sons. One day, while all her sons were out hunting a tragedy occurred when Seolmundae, by accident, fell into a gigantic pot of soup she was making to feed her sons. After a while, the sons returned home and hurriedly ate the soup, not knowing their mother was part of it. When they learned the truth, they were so sad that they cried bitter tears and hardened into rocks through the grief they felt for their mother. Their blood and tears shed revive every spring and make Mount Halla bloom in bright color as the royal azaleas blossom.