TALE OF AN INDIAN PRINCESS WHO BECAME A KOREAN QUEEN
When we discuss the India-Korea relationship today, we’re quick to think of brands like Samsung, LG Electronics, Hyundai, Kia Motors, and POSCO. Yet, we might not realize that a historical bond was established between these nations over 2000 years ago, when an Indian Princess named Suriratna married Gim Suro, the legendary founder of the Geumgwan Gaya kingdom in southeastern Korea. Did you know that more than six million Koreans today trace their lineage back to her?
Let’s delve deeper into the love story of King Suro and Princess Suriratna, a bond that led to the creation of the Garak/Karak dynasty.
Marriage between King Suro and the Indian Princess Suriratna and the origin of Garak/Karak dynasty
The fascinating union of King Suro and the Indian Princess Suriratna is the origin story of the Garak/Karak dynasty. Their tale is chronicled in the “Samguk Yusa” or “Memorabilia of the Three Kingdoms”, a 13th-century Korean document that records legends, tales, and historical accounts involving the three kingdoms of Korea: Baekje, Goguryeo, and Silla.
King Gim (or Kim) Suro was one of six princes born from eggs that descended from heaven in a golden bowl wrapped in red cloth. These princes grew to become the six kings who founded the early kingdoms of Korea. Suro, the eldest, ruled over Geumgwan Gaya (Silla), a powerful early kingdom in southeastern Korea, existing between 42 CE and 562 CE.
Legend has it that when his courtiers urged King Suro to choose a wife from the maidens they’d present to him, Suro declared that his choice of a wife would be dictated by the heavens. He sent an officer, Yuchon-gan, to an island called Mangsan-do, south of the capital. Yuchon-gan spotted a ship there with a red sail and a red flag. He guided it to the shores of Gaya, present-day Kimhae/Gimhae.
Onboard the ship was a breathtakingly beautiful princess, Suriratna, from the Ayuta kingdom in India. When she arrived in Gaya, King Suro welcomed her, revealing that he too knew of her coming, which is why he hadn’t married any of the maidens his courtiers had suggested. In 48 CE, King Suro married Princess Suriratna, gave her the name Queen Heo Hwang-ok, meaning ‘Yellow Jade’, and they began the Garak/Karak dynasty.
After their marriage, Queen Heo told King Suro that she was 16 years old. She described how she came to Gaya as follows: “The Heavenly Lord Sang Je appeared in her parents’ dreams and told them to send Heo to Suro, who had been chosen as the king of Gaya. The dream showed that the king had not yet found a queen. Heo’s father then told her to go to Suro. After two months of a sea journey, she found Beondo, a peach which fruited only every 3000 years.
King Suro and Queen Heo Hwang-ok had 12 children.
Kim is a very common surname in Korea and is believed that King Kim Su-ro is the father of the Kim clan. Traditionally children in the Korean peninsula take the surname of their father. But legend says the queen Heo Hwang-ok was upset that her children could not bear her surname and then after, the king allowed two of their sons to take her name (Heo) which is used till this day.This is why men and women having Gimhae Kim or Heo as their family name cannot get married.
Legendary genealogical records trace the origins of the Gimhae Heo to these two children.The Gimhae Kims trace their origin to the other eight sons, and so do some people of Incheon. The other two were female and were married respectively to a son of Talhae and a noble of Silla.
The legend states that the Queen Heo died at the age of 157 and the King Suro died at the age of 199.The tombs believed to be that of Heo and Suro are located in Gimhae, South Korea. A pagoda traditionally held to have been brought to Korea on her ship is located near her grave. The Samguk Yusa reports that the pagoda was erected on her ship in order to calm the god of the ocean and allow the ship to pass. The unusual and rough form of this pagoda, unlike any other in Korea, may lend some credence to the account.
More than six million Koreans trace their lineage and are considered to be the descendants of Queen Heo. They consider that India is their maternal Home. Every year, people who claim to be from the queen’s lineage come to Ayodhya to pay tribute to the princess at her motherland.
In 2001, more than 100 historians and government representatives, including the North Korean ambassador to India, unveiled Queen Hwang-ok’s memorial on the west bank of the River Saryu.
In 2016, a Korean delegation sent a proposal to the Indian government to further develop the memorial. As part of her visit from 4 to 7 November, the first lady will attend a ceremony that marks a start on the upgrade of the monument — a joint project between South Korea and India.
Professor Kim Do-young, an expert on Korean studies based in Delhi, believes this shared history started being acknowledged in India after diplomatic and economic relations between the two countries strengthened. According to him, this shared history, whether factual or legend, reduces the mental or spiritual gap between people, fostering a common cultural ground. It’s fascinating to contemplate this ancient bond between the two nations. Queen Hwang-ok’s story is a foundation for building better relations between South Korea and India.
Queen Hwang-ok’s story has been and can be the “foundation for building better relations” between South Korea and India.
Though the Queen is from India there are many controversies as,
1. Kingdom Ayuta is actually Ayutthaya Kingdom in Thailand
2. Kingdom Ayuta is Ayodhya, the birthplace of the Hindu God Ram, in Uttar Pradesh, India
3. Kingdom Ayuta is actually a part of the Pandya dynasty who was ruling the southern part of India.
Let’s discuss these controversies in my next post.