8th Kup - Yellow Belt
Grading Requirements:
All patterns up to and including Dan Gun
3 Step Sparring: 1 - 3
Three Step Sparring (1-3)
History:
When heaven and earth were one and at a time when animals could speak like humans, the God Hwanin sent his son Hwang-Ung to the East to build a new country. Hwang-Ung settled in what is now North Korea, at the highest point on the peninsula, in the 25th reign of the Yao Emperor in China (roughly 2333 B.C.)
One day a tiger and a bear appeared in front of Hwang-Ung and asked to be made into human form. After great deliberation Hwang-Ung informed the animals that their wish could be granted, but it would be difficult and take much patience. The animals agreed that they would undergo whatever it took to become human.
Hwang-Ung gave the bear and the tiger 20 cloves of garlic and some mugworts. They were told to eat them, stay in a cave for 100 days, and pray earnestly.
After 20 days the tiger became hungry and could no longer persevere, so he left the cave in search of food. When the 100 days were almost at an end, the bear began to lose its fur and its back feet began to change, until at the end of the 100th day the bear was fully transformed into a beautiful woman. She became known as Ung-Yo, which means "the girl incarnated from a bear".
Hwang-Ung then married Ung-Yo, and she gave birth to a son, who was named Dan-Gun. This child gave rise to the first Korean Dynasty, called Chosun, literally meaning "Land of the Morning Calm", now known as Korea.