The Four Gods
Ungnyeo, a bear with a noble spirit, saved the god of Earth, Hwanung, from losing his way like the other gods.
She taught him love, humility, and selflessness, and the fated mates watched over the Mortal Realm with generosity and benevolence.
Their happiness was complete when they were blessed with a son, Dangun, who was good, through and through.
But Hwanin, the god of Heavens, thought Ungnyeo—a mere mortal and a bear spirit—beneath his divine son and asked Hwanung to return to the Kingdom of Sky. He even offered to take in his half-blood grandson, as long as they left Ungnyeo behind. Hwanung refused.
The god of Heavens bitterly resented his son’s happiness with his mortal wife—called it obscene and wrong.
To justify his own vile heart, Hwanin convinced himself that Ungnyeo schemed to steal his son away from him—that she destroyed his family.
He spread his vitriol in the Realm of Four Kingdoms by convincing the Shinbiin that animal spirits were lying, deceitful creatures.
But even that proved insufficient to satisfy Hwanin’s hate. And the god of Heavens vowed to have vengeance on Ungnyeo.