In the quiet of the forest, two sable emerged from the brush. The edge of the forest had hidden their presence, their dark fur helping them blend in perfectly with the terrain. A nearby stream offered additional camouflage as well as a source of water from which to drink and search for food. Sable, small, slender animals no more than sixty-five centimetres (25 in.) long and weighing on average less than a kilogramme (about 2 lb), are fast and nimble and spend most of their time catching and consuming rodents. Because of their agility and speed, they are able to elude wolves, leopards and tigers. This part of the forest, with very little human presence, was ideal habitat for sable. Nearby, a pack of them – twenty to thirty, probably mostly smaller females – foraged around the forest floor. As the pair of sable neared the stream's edge, suddenly one fell, struck by an arrow. Before responding, the other dropped, felled in one try. By afternoon, twenty more sable, most of the group, fell alongside these two, killed by the apex predator of the peninsula, King T’aejo.

This story is part of a fable told of King T’aejo hunting alone in the deep forest. As he was washing himself in a mountain stream, he spotted two sables (milgu; 蜜狗) wandering nearby. The king quickly, with no more than his bow and quiver, readied himself and fired two arrows striking them both. Twenty more sables emerged. He hit them all, his arrows thought to have been touched by the divine (sinmyo; 神妙). While hagiographic, this tale suggests some of the elements important to rulership. Spending time hunting alone in the wilderness and having the reflexive, most powerful ability to suddenly draw a weapon when most vulnerable – in the case of King T’aejo being absent his royal garb after taking a bath – all while commanding spiritual forces through the use of the mystical arrows, represent the characteristics necessary for leadership. Here too is the religious aspect: after a ritual cleansing in a mountain stream, the king possessed divine powers over his weapons.