Samguk yusa (Memorabilia of the Three Kingdoms)

Record summary

Compiled by the Buddhist monk Iryeon, the Samguk yusa combines royal histories, Buddhist traditions, foundation legends, miracle narratives, inscriptions, poems, and excerpts from earlier works. It is especially important for comparing how local origin stories and imported Buddhist materials were preserved in a late-Goryeo literary framework. Researchers should distinguish cited or lost sources from Iryeon’s editorial arrangement and later manuscript transmission. The text’s legendary episodes are valuable evidence for religious memory and genre formation, not straightforward reports of supernatural events.