Cheonbuin (Three Heavenly Seals)

Heaven's tokens

The Samguk Yusa says only that Hwanin gave Hwanung 'three heavenly seals' (cheonbuin samgae) and sent him down to rule. The text does not say what they were. The word bu means a tally or token of authority and in a seal, and the three objects mark Hwanung's rule as delegated by heaven.

Interpretations

Scholars have proposed that the three seals reflect the ritual regalia of early Korean or northeast Asian rulers and shamans, commonly identified as a bronze mirror, a bronze sword, and a bronze bell or rattle, objects found together in Bronze Age burials of the Korean peninsula and Manchuria. The comparison with the three imperial regalia of Japan (mirror, sword, and jewel) is also often made. These identifications are modern hypotheses; the myth itself names no objects.

In modern tradition

Daejonggyo and other Dangun-centered movements treat the three seals as symbols of the heavenly mandate, and they appear in modern art depicting Hwanung's descent.