Korean
Hwanung and Ungnyeo
A bear who becomes a woman, in Korea's founding story.
In the founding myth of Korea the heavenly prince Hwanung comes down to earth. A bear and a tiger ask to become human, and the bear, Ungnyeo, patiently stays in a cave eating only garlic and mugwort for a hundred days and becomes a woman. Her son, Dangun, is the legendary founder of the first Korean kingdom.
The tale is recorded in medieval Korean histories.