Park Hyeokgeose and the Egg

Long ago, in the valleys of southern Korea, six village chieftains gathered to seek a virtuous king who could unite their people. During their meeting, they witnessed a brilliant, celestial light shining near the Na-jeong well at the foot of Mount Yangsan. Upon investigating, they discovered a majestic white horse bowing deeply toward a large, iridescent purple egg. As the chieftains approached, the horse let out a long neigh and ascended into the heavens on a streak of light. The egg soon cracked open, and out stepped a radiant young boy whose body shimmered with the glow of the sun. The villagers bathed the child in the nearby Dong-cheon stream, and the heavens celebrated; the sun and moon grew brighter, and wild animals danced in joy. The chiefs named him Park, because the egg resembled a gourd, and Hyeokgeose, meaning 'ruling with a bright light.' At age thirteen, the boy was crowned the first king of Silla, beginning a legendary dynasty that would endure for nearly a thousand years.