A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.
Overview
In the story told by the fictional Grandma Kim, Korea rises from the sea at creation in the form of a dragon. Its spine, loins and tail become the country’s mountainous backbone, and its lifted head is the northern White Mountain. The summit’s blue Dragon’s Pool feeds boundary rivers.
The dragon breathes through a night until clouds fill the heavens, preparing the descent of the heavenly prince Whanung. At sunrise the cloud becomes brightly colored. These are the landscape and cloud-making actions of this specific literary telling; no personal dragon name is supplied, and the passage does not establish a geological account or an independently documented universal Korean tradition.
Origins & earliest records
Korean tale in an English literary retelling
Records & interpretation
Full relevant tale and collection preface directly read.
In the literature
“in the form of a dragon.”
Prince Sandalwood, the Father of Korea, printed p.20
Grandma Kim describes the land’s emergence as a dragon.
Selected bibliography
Documented works and useful reading. This is not a list of every appearance.
- 01
Korean Fairy Tales
Prince Sandalwood, the Father of Korea, pp.17–23, especially20–21
- 02
Korean Fairy Tales — Prince Sandalwood, the Father of Korea
NewYork:ThomasY.Crowell selected edition with copyright1911 and1922 explicitly printed; year1922 describes selected historical witness, not ancient origin. Full selected tales3/4/7/14/16/20 plus introductory note read independently. William Elliot Griffis is English reteller, not a documented individual Korean narrator. His fictional Grandma Kim/Mrs.Crinkles frames are distinguished from oral-source evidence.
Family & connections
A source-supported family tree or inspiration record has not yet been compiled for this profile. Related reading below indicates a connection in subject matter, not a proven lineage or creative influence.
Primary records and illustrations
William Elliot Griffis, Korean Fairy Tales (1922)
Prince Sandalwood. Prince Sandalwood, the Father of Korea, pp.17–23, especially20–21
Complete chapter directly read. Griffis literary framing and absence of documented individual narrator retained; original paraphrase of public-domain-US historical witness. No original-language names or image verification invented.
Located primary passages
Specific passages supporting details in this entry, grouped by their published witness.
Korean Fairy Tales
NewYork:ThomasY.Crowell selected edition with copyright1911 and1922 explicitly printed; year1922 describes selected historical witness, not ancient origin. Full selected tales3/4/7/14/16/20 plus introductory note read independently. William Elliot Griffis is English reteller, not a documented individual Korean narrator. His fictional Grandma Kim/Mrs.Crinkles frames are distinguished from oral-source evidence.
- Fictional Grandma Kim tells children of a bear and tiger seeking humanity: the tiger leaves after eleven days, the bear completes twenty-one and becomes a woman. Whanung receives Korea from his heavenly father. The country emerges as a dragon whose spine, loins and tail form mountains, with its head at White Mountain and Dragon’s Pool. Its breath makes clouds for the prince’s descent; he marries the transformed bear. Their son becomes Prince Sandalwood, a civilising ruler.
Prince Sandalwood, the Father of Korea, printed pp.17–23, complete tale, dragon passage20–21
No named personal dragon, geological demonstration or claim that Grandma Kim is an independently documented informant. The reteller’s hierarchy of civilisation and animal moral categories remain attributed, not adopted.
References
Sources supporting this profile. Linked pages have their own scope and editorial standards.
- Historical English literary retellingGriffis, Korean Fairy Tales, Prince Sandalwood, the Father of Korea, pp.17–23, especially20–21Research access: 2026-10-05
Image credits
A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.