Today marks national foundation day in Korea, and a plant-based diet is a key element of the nation’s foundation myth.
A tiger and a bear are said to have lived together in a cave, and prayed to Hwanung, the Lord of Heaven, to become human. Hwanung gave them 20 cloves of garlic and some mugwort, and ordered them eat nothing else and stay out of the sunlight for 100 days. After 20 days of garlic and mugwort, the tiger decided being human wasn’t likely to be that great, but the bear stuck at it and transformed into a woman.
This was fine, but she didn’t have a husband, so started to pray by a sacred birch tree for a child. Hwanung decided to take her for a wife, and she ended up giving birth to Dangun, who would go on to found the nation of Korea in a tale that isn’t going to get the telling it deserves in a couple of paragraphs.
It’s now celebrated as a national holiday in South Korea, so happy national birthday to Koreans.
How to Play
Six plants fill each row
each column, each box of six
no bloom may repeat
Tap an empty cell
then choose your plant from below
watch the garden grow
Or pick a plant first
then tap the cells where it goes
faster hands plant more
Red borders will warn
when two alike share a line
rethink and replant
Ticked plants rest complete
all six placed in rightful soil
fewer choices left
The clock starts to run
the moment your first plant falls
how swift is your hand?
Select a plant, then tap cells
Two ways to play: Tap an empty cell then pick a plant, or select a plant below then tap cells to place it.
Cover image: Artemisia princeps by gieun moon CC BY-NC
