View source for Haneunim

{{Short description|Sky god of Cheondoism and Jeungsanism}}
[[File:Korea-Samseonggung 11-07406.JPG|thumb|Hwanin represented at the ''[[Samseonggung]]''.]]
'''Haneunim''' or '''Hanunim''' ({{Korean|hangul=하느님|lit=Lord of Heaven; Heavenly Lord}}){{efn|also spelled '''Hanallim''' (하ㄴㆍㄹ님/하날님), '''Hanullim''' (한울님), birth name [[Śakra (Buddhism)|'''Hwanin''']] (환인; 桓仁 or 桓因), also called '''[[Shangdi|Sangje]]''' (상제; 上帝, "Highest Deity"), '''Sangjenim''' (상제님; 上帝任/[[Korean mixed script|mixed script]]: 上帝님, "Highest Divine Lord"), or '''[[Tianzhu (Chinese name of God)|Cheonju]]''' (천주; 天主, "Heavenly Lord"/"Lord of Heaven"), or known simply as '''''Haneul''''' (하늘 "Heaven"), '''[[Tian|''Cheon'']]''' (천; 天, "Heaven", in Sino-Korean), '''[[Chinese theology#Tian|''Cheonje'']]''' (천제; 天帝, "Heavenly Emperor"/"Emperor of Heaven", in Sino-Korean), or '''''Cheon-sin / Cheon-shin''''' (천신; 天神, "God of Heaven")}}{{sfnb|Hong|2009|p=39}} is the sky [[God]] of [[Cheondoism]] and [[Jeungsanism]].{{sfnb|Hong|2009|p=39}} In the more [[Buddhist]]-aligned parts of these religions, he is identified with '''[[Indra (Buddhism)|Indra]]'''. In the more [[Taoist]]-aligned parts of these religions, he is identified with [[Jade Emperor|Okhwang Sangje]] ({{Korean|hangul=옥황상제|hanja=玉皇上帝|labels=no|lit=[[Jade Emperor]]}}). Under that name, he is a [[deity]] in the Poncheongyo [[religion]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Okhwangsangje |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Okhwangsangje |access-date=2023-04-23 |publisher=[[Encyclopedia Britannica]] |language=en}}</ref>
==Dangun myth==
{{Further|Dangun}}
Dangun is traditionally considered to be the grandson of ''Hwanin'', the "Heavenly King", and founder of the Korean nation.{{sfnb|Lee|1981|p=13}} Myths similar to that of Dangun are found in [[Ainu people|Ainu]]{{sfnb|Lee|1981|p=20}} and Siberian cultures.{{sfnb|Lee|1981|p=21}}
The myth starts with prince [[Hwanung]] ("Heavenly Prince"), son of Hwanin. The prince asked his father to grant him governance over Korea.{{sfnb|Lee|1981|p=14}} Hwanin accepted, and Hwanung was sent to Earth bearing three Heavenly Seals and accompanied by three thousand followers.{{sfnb|Lee|1981|p=14}} The prince arrived under the ''sindansu'' ({{Korean|hangul=신단수|hanja=神檀樹|labels=no|lit=Holy Tree of Sandalwood}}){{sfnb|Lee|2010s|pp=10–13}} on the holy mountain, where he founded his holy city.{{sfnb|Lee|1981|p=14}}
At the time of his reign, [[Ungnyeo]]{{sfnb|Lee|2010s|pp=10–13}}—[[bear]]—and a [[tiger]] were living in a cave near the holy city, praying earnestly that their wish to become part of humankind might be fulfilled.{{sfnb|Lee|1981|p=14}} Ungnyeo patiently endured weariness and hunger, and after twenty-one days she was transformed into a woman, while the tiger ran away for it could not tolerate the effort.{{sfnb|Lee|1981|p=14}} The woman Ungnyeo was overjoyed, and visiting the sandalwood city she prayed that she might become the mother of a child.{{sfnb|Lee|1981|p=14}}
Ungnye's wish was fulfilled, so that she became the queen and gave birth to a prince who was given the royal name of Dangun: the "Sandalwood King".{{sfnb|Lee|1981|p=14}} Dangun reigned as the first human king of Korea, giving to his kingdom the name of [[Gojoseon|Joseon]], "Land of the Morning Calm", in 2333 BC.{{sfnb|Lee|1981|p=14}}
According to some scholars, the name ''Dangun'' is related to the Turko-Mongol [[Tengri]] ("Heaven"),{{sfnb|Lee|1981|pp=17–18}} while the bear is a symbol of the [[Big Dipper]] (i.e. [[Ursa Major]]), itself a symbol of the supreme God in many Eurasian cultures. Later in the myth, Dangun becomes the [[Sansin]], the "Mountain God" (metaphorically of civilising growth, prosperity).{{sfnb|Lee|1981|pp=16–18}}
==See also==
* [[Chinese theology]]
** [[Tao]]
** [[Three Pure Ones]]
** [[Tian]]—[[Shangdi]]
'''Counterparts of Haneullim in other Asian cultures'''
* [[Amenominakanushi]], the [[Japanese mythology|Japanese]] counterpart
* [[Indra]]/[[Trimurti]], the [[Hindu]] counterpart
* [[Jade Emperor]], the [[Chinese folk religion|Chinese]] counterpart
* [[Ông Trời]], the [[Vietnamese mythology|Vietnamese]] counterpart
* [[Śakra (Buddhism)|Śakra]]/[[Adi Buddha]], the [[Buddhist]] counterpart
* [[Tengri]], the [[Turkic mythology|Turko]]-[[Mongolian mythology|Mongolian]] counterpart
* [[Thagyamin]], the [[Culture of Myanmar|Burmese Buddhist]] representation of Śakra, a counterpart of the Jade Emperor
* [[Yuanshi Tianzun]], the [[Taoism|Taoist]] counterpart
==Notes==
{{Notelist}}
==References==
{{reflist}}
==Sources==
* {{cite journal|last=Didier|first=John C.|title=In and Outside the Square: The Sky and the Power of Belief in Ancient China and the World, c. 4500 BC – AD 200|journal=[[Sino-Platonic Papers]]|issue=192|publisher=Victor H. Mair|date=2009}} ''[http://sino-platonic.org/complete/spp192_vol1.pdf Volume I: The Ancient Eurasian World and the Celestial Pivot]'', ''[http://sino-platonic.org/complete/spp192_vol2.pdf Volume II: Representations and Identities of High Powers in Neolithic and Bronze China]'', ''[http://sino-platonic.org/complete/spp192_vol3.pdf Volume III: Terrestrial and Celestial Transformations in Zhou and Early-Imperial China]''.
* {{cite news|last=Lee|first=Chi-ran|year=2010s|title=The Emergence of National Religions in Korea|url=http://manak.org.in/wp-content/uploads/pdf-manak/The%20Emergence%20of%20National%20Religions%20in%20Korea.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140413124433/http://manak.org.in/wp-content/uploads/pdf-manak/The%20Emergence%20of%20National%20Religions%20in%20Korea.pdf|archive-date=13 April 2014}}
* {{cite book|last=Lee|first=Jung Young|title=Korean Shamanistic Rituals|publisher=Mouton De Gruyter|year=1981|isbn=9027933782}}
* {{cite book|last=Hong|first=Sung-wook|title=Naming God in Korea|publisher=Wipf & Stock|year=2009|isbn=978-1606086261}}
{{Names of God}}
[[Category:Korean gods]]
[[Category:Religion in Korea]]
[[Category:Dangun]]
[[Category:Indra]]
[[Category:Cheondoism]]
[[Category:Names of God]]
[[Category:Sky and weather gods]]