Samguk yusa
collection of legends, folktales and historical accounts relating to Goguryeo, Baekje, Silla and other ancient Korean states, compiled by Iryeon
Samguk yusa (Korean: 삼국유사; Hanja: 三國遺事; lit. 'Memorabilia of the Three Kingdoms') Korean pronunciation: [sʰam.ɡuk̚.ju.sa]) is a collection of legends, folktales, and historical accounts relating to the Three Kingdoms of Korea (Goguryeo, Baekje, and Silla), as well as to other periods and states before, during, and after the Three Kingdoms period. It was compiled by the Buddhist monk Il-yeon in the late Goryeo dynasty, around 1280, and was originally written in Classical Chinese. It is the earliest extant record of the Dangun legend, which records the founding of Gojoseon as the first Korean nation. Samguk yusa is National Treasure No. 306.
Samguk yusa is a history record composed of five volumes divided into nine parts. It documents various tales and legends which are categorized into two parts: historical events and Buddhist narratives. The text contains various historical narratives such as tales of the Three Kingdoms period, myths, legends, genealogies, histories, and Buddhist tales, which have helped maintain folklore from medieval Korea. "Yusa" is a term used to describe a text that is supplementary to an earlier work.
The public source identifies “Samguk yusa” as collection of legends, folktales and historical accounts relating to Goguryeo, Baekje, Silla and other ancient Korean states, compiled by Iryeon. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Samguk, yusa and legends.
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Contemporary correspondence, administrative files and participant testimony can test how later narratives organized the event or institution. The source revision retrieved here is dated May 2, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q485538. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1280.
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This entry incorporates text from “Samguk yusa” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.