Founding legends of the Goryeo royal family
The founding legends of the Goryeo royal family is a mythical account of the ancestral family of Wang Geon, who united the Korean Peninsula during the Later Three Kingdoms period and founded the Goryeo dynasty of Korea. Legends. According to the "Pyeonnyeontongnok" () written by Kim Gwan-ui during the Goryeo period, the origin of the Goryeo royal family is from Goguryeo. Hogyeong, who called himself General Seonggol, came from Mount Baekdu and traveled far and wide, finally settling down in Songak (modern Kaesong) and starting a family. While hunting on Mount Pyeongna, he  met a widowed mountain spirit who asked for his hand in marriage and to become the king of the mountain. Gang Chung, a son of Gang Hogyeong, planted pine trees on Mount Songak so that rocks wouldn't be visible in order to fulfill a prophecy, based on feng shui, that his descendant would unite the "Sam Han" (), another name for the Three Kingdoms of Korea. He begot a son named Boyuk, whose daughter Jin-ui had a child named Jakjegeon with a member of the royal family of the Tang dynasty; according to the Goryeosa, which cites the "Pyeonnyeontongnok , the father of the child was Emperor Suzong. The union fulfilled a prophecy given to Boyuk by a sage that the Son of Heaven from the Tang dynasty would come to him and become his son-in-law. After reaching adulthood, Jakjegeon, who was described as courageous and exceptionally intelligent, set sail for Tang to meet his father Emperor Suzong. However, he was caught in a storm in the middle of the Yellow Sea and encountered a dragon woman () whom he brought back home and married. The Seongwonnok" () identifies the "dragon woman" as the daughter of a man from Pyongsan  County named "Dueunjeomgakgan" (), who is thought to be a member of the Pyongsan Park clan. Pyongsan County was called Pyeongju () during the Goryeo period, and was home to General Sin Sung-gyeom of the Pyongsan Sin clan, who sacrificed himself to save Wang Geon at the Battle of Gongsan. The dragon woman, known posthumously as Queen Wonchang, gave birth to Wang Ryung, whose son Wang Geon would become the founder of Goryeo. Interpretations. The Encyclopedia of Korean Culture interprets Jakjegeon being the son of Emperor Suzong of the Tang dynasty as a hagiography and his marriage to the dragon woman  from the Yellow Sea as symbolic of the maritime influence of Wang Geon's ancestors, who engaged in trade with China for generations. Likewise, the Doosan Encyclopedia agrees that the claim of Emperor Suzong being Wang Geon's great-grandfather was invented to increase the legitimacy of the Goryeo royal family by linking it to the Tang royal family. According to Bae Han-cheol, the father of Jakjegeon was a Korean merchant from one of the "Silla Quarters" () in China, which were autonomous settlements of Korean merchants in the Tang dynasty. Foreign accounts. Xu Jing (), an envoy from the Song  dynasty who went to Goryeo in 1123, documented in the "Gaoli Tujing" () that the ancestors of the Goryeo royal family were a great clan of Goguryeo. Sinchon Gang clan. The "daedongbo" (a compilation genealogy book of related clans) of the Sinchon Gang clan claims that Gang Hogyeong was the 67th generation descendant of Gang Hu (), a grandson of King Wen of the Zhou dynasty. However, the historical veracity of that claim cannot be verified. Furthermore, the true progenitor of the Sinchon Gang clan is considered to be Gang Ji-yeon, a 14th generation descendant of Gang Hogyeong, not Gang  Hogyeong himself. See also. Korean mythology