Samseonghyeol Shrine
This garden contains three holes in the ground that, according to legend, are the origin of Jeju-do's inhabitants. The story goes that three demigods emerged from these three holes and became the ancestors to the three clans of the island -- the Goh, Bu, and Yang families. One day the clans found a box sealed in purple clay floating in the ocean. When they opened it, a messenger in purple appeared and said that he was sent by a king from the Byeoklang state. The king wanted his three daughters to marry the three demigods living on a western seashore of Jeju-do, and to create a new kingdom there. Then, the messenger flew away. Inside the box was another box in blue. When they opened it three princesses in blue dresses emerged, along with a calf, a pony, and five kinds of seeds. The three demigods married each of the three princesses and divided the island into thirds (who got which third was determined by where arrows shot by each of the three gods fell). The stone marker, known as the Samsaseok, where this archery supposedly took place, is near the Jeju Folklore Museum, just a few kilometers east of the Samseonghyeol.
Legend has it that the descendents of these three couples populated the island and ruled it as an independent kingdom called Tamna-guk until A.D. 937, when the people from the Goryeo Kingdom invaded and took control.
Every year, on the 10th day of the 4th and 10th lunar months, members of these three original families gather here to perform the jesa (ancestral honoring ceremony). On the 10th day of the 12th lunar month, they have a public ceremony, the Samseonghyeol-je, to celebrate the history of the island's founders.
There are marking stones and altars surrounding each of the three holes. The gate and walls were built in the 1920s and a newer museum building also sits in the gardens.
This garden contains three holes in the ground that, according to legend, are the origin of Jeju-do's inhabitants. The story goes that three demigods emerged from these three holes and became the ancestors to the three clans of the island -- the Goh, Bu, and Yang families. One day the clans found a box sealed in purple clay floating in the ocean. When they opened it, a messenger in purple appeared and said that he was sent by a king from the Byeoklang state. The king wanted his three daughters to marry the three demigods living on a western seashore of Jeju-do, and to create a new kingdom there. Then, the messenger flew away. Inside the box was another box in blue. When they opened it three princesses in blue dresses emerged, along with a calf, a pony, and five kinds of seeds. The three demigods married each of the three princesses and divided the island into thirds (who got which third was determined by where arrows shot by each of the three gods fell). The stone marker, known as the Samsaseok, where this archery supposedly took place, is near the Jeju Folklore Museum, just a few kilometers east of the Samseonghyeol.
Legend has it that the descendents of these three couples populated the island and ruled it as an independent kingdom called Tamna-guk until A.D. 937, when the people from the Goryeo Kingdom invaded and took control.
Every year, on the 10th day of the 4th and 10th lunar months, members of these three original families gather here to perform the jesa (ancestral honoring ceremony). On the 10th day of the 12th lunar month, they have a public ceremony, the Samseonghyeol-je, to celebrate the history of the island's founders.
There are marking stones and altars surrounding each of the three holes. The gate and walls were built in the 1920s and a newer museum building also sits in the gardens.
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