Hwandan Gogi

Hwandan Gogi (Hangul: 환단고기; Hanja: 桓檀古記), also called Handan Gogi, is a fiction compilation of texts on ancient Korean history. It is a bound volume of four supposedly historical records: Samseonggi, Dangun Segi, Bukbuyeogi, and Taebaek Ilsa. According to its introduction, the text was compiled in 1911 by Gye Yeon-su (계연수, 桂延壽; died 1920) and supervised by Yi Gi (이기, 李沂; 1848–1909). The entire set of texts, of which the only extant version is a modern transcription by Yi Yu-rip published in 1979, is widely regarded as a forgery among academics. The four books comprising the Hwandan Gogi are: Samseonggi (two volumes), describing an ancient kingdom called Hwan-guk that lasted for 3301 years, and Hwanung's 1565-year rule of Baedalguk (倍達國). Dangun Segi (Hangul: 단군세기; Hanja: 檀君世紀), chronicling the history of Gojoseon through 47 generations of Dangun rulers. Bukbuyeogi, describing the six kings of Bukbuyeo (North Buyeo). Taebaek Ilsa, describing the histories of Hwan-guk, Baedalguk, Samjoseon, Goguryeo, Balhae, and Goryeo; also includes the text of Cheonbu-gyeong. Some historians view the Hwandan Gogi as worthy of further scholarly scrutiny, believing that it is at least partly based on historically valuable, ancient (if not literally accurate) texts. The astronomical record alleging five stars had been arranged in a straight line in 1733 BCE (오성취루, 五星聚婁) was confirmed by Professor Park Changbeom, who published his findings in a journal. He showed that the five stars would have been arranged in straight line in 1734 BCE, under the assumption that Gojoseon had been established in 2333 BCE. Law professor Junhwan Go offered several reasons as to why he found Hwandan Gogi worthy of consideration. The territory of Gojoseon described in Hwandan Gogi corresponds to the distribution area of the mandolin-shaped dagger culture in Korea. The distribution area of mandolin shaped daggers are advocated by Yoon et al. and Yi Pyong-do.