Samguk Yusa
Also known as: Memorabilia of the Three Kingdoms, Samguk Yusa (삼국유사), Samguk Yusa (三國遺事), Legends and History of the Three Kingdoms of Ancient Korea
A 13th-century Korean compilation of legends, foundation myths, miracle tales, and Buddhist hagiographies from the Three Kingdoms era and beyond, preserving stories absent from official histories.
Description
The Samguk Yusa, compiled by the monk Iryeon during the Goryeo dynasty, gathers foundational myths, saintly lives, inscriptions, and temple legends pertaining to Korea’s ancient states. Its scope complements the more annalistic Samguk Sagi by privileging wonder tales, Buddhist miracles, and origin narratives—most famously the myth of Dangun and stories of Silla’s kings, monks, and heroes. Structured in scrolls organized by themes (royal origins, divine signs, eminent monks, relics and temples), it preserves early strata of oral tradition alongside written materials from monasteries and courts. The work became a key reservoir for Korean mythic memory, local cults, and the religious imagination of medieval Korea.
Historiography
Compiled by Iryeon (1206–1289), the text likely circulated in temple circles before wider copying. Surviving forms derive from later Joseon-period prints and manuscript recensions, with some textual variance and lacunae noted by editors. It is explicitly Buddhist in perspective, often citing inscriptions, miracle records, and temple traditions. Scholars read it alongside the Confucian-oriented Samguk Sagi to triangulate early Korean myth, ritual, and historiography.
Date Notes
Compiled by the monk Iryeon late in the Goryeo period; draws on earlier legends, Buddhist hagiography, and court/temple records.
Archetypes
Major Characters
- Iryeon
- Dangun
- King Munmu
- Kim Yu-sin
- Wonhyo
- Uisang
Myths
- Dangun’s Foundation of Gojoseon
- The Legend of Cheoyong
- Princess Seonhwa and King Mu
- Jajang and the Nine-Story Pagoda
- Birth of Kim Alji
Facts
- The compiler Iryeon was a Seon (Zen) monk active in late Goryeo.
- The work preserves the earliest full version of the Dangun foundation myth.
- It complements the Confucian Samguk Sagi by privileging myths, miracles, and temple lore.
- Many entries cite inscriptions, relic records, and oral traditions from Silla and Goryeo monasteries.
- Stories of Wonhyo and Uisang shaped later Korean Buddhist folklore and ethics.
- Accounts of Hwangnyongsa’s nine-story pagoda link kingship with Buddhist protection of the realm.
- Narratives of royal omens and relics articulate a sacral theory of sovereignty.
- Legends such as Cheoyongga became part of protective ritual and popular performance.
- The text is a primary source for early Silla genealogies like the Kim Alji origin tale.
- Temple-foundation legends for Bulguksa and Seokguram combine history with miracle motifs.