Religions have been significant and have influenced people of the past and present. Shamanism and Buddhism have remained well-known religions among Koreans due to their history. Women were more socially permitted than limited by those religious beliefs, Sulla's bone rank system was rigidly focused on innate rank more than gender. Women were prominent in shamanic visions such as totemism and spiritualism. Animals have often been metaphorized and played a role in Korean myths. Some shamanic factors, which are animals and heaven, were revealed in the myth of Tan'gun, who was the founder of ancient Chosŏn. According to the myth of Samguk Yusa, a bear and a tiger wished to become humans. Heaven ordered them to remain in their sunless caves for a hundred days and to eat only a few herbs. The bear eventually became a woman, married the son of heaven, and gave birth to Tan'gun (Kim 13). The bear woman and the son of heaven are metaphors for the different clans who worship the sky and bears, and their marriage is meant to symbolize the unification of these groups (Kim 13). Female shamans were also important in ancient Korea, even if the ruler was a male ruler. Female shamans first appeared in the Silla Dynasty, and the number of female shamans exceeded the number of male shamans (Kim 14). Shamans had three main roles: priestess, divination and healing. “As priestesses, they presided over national ceremonies such as those in which prayers for rain and blessing were offered” (Kim 14). Shamans performed ceremonies wishing good harvests because agriculture was the main industry. They played roles of mystics and fortune tellers. “Shamans were also diviners who predicted the future of the native class rather than the sons-in-law through Queen Sŏndŏk; however, according to Wŏnhyo's interpretation, Buddhism equalizes the law between men and women. Shamanic beliefs also allow women to participate in society. Throughout Korea's ancient history, women were social participants. They were priestesses, diviners and foretellers and supported by the Buddhist faith. Women gained social power and became more prestigious than men if born into a high social class. Works Cited Hwang, Kyung Moon. A History of Korea: An Episodic Narrative. Palgrave Macmillan. eBook.Kim, Yung-Chung. KOREAN WOMEN: A History from Ancient Times to 1945. Trans. Yung-Chung Kim Ewha Womans University Press: Seoul. eBook.Lee, Peter H., Wm. Theodore de Bary, Yongho Cho'oe and Hugh H. W. Kang. Sources of Korean tradition. 1. From the earliest times to the sixteenth century. eBooks.