South Korean delegation pays homage to their royal ancestor in Faizabad

FAIZABAD - A 50-member South Korean delegation recently visited the monument dedicated to Queen Heo Hwang-Ok, their royal ancestor and paid homage to her at Faizabad city of Uttar Pradesh.

Artistes from India and Korea took part in cultural activities to celebrate the ninth anniversary of this memorial.

Two thousand years ago, Heo Hwang-Ok, a 16-year-old princess from Ayodhya sailed to the Kaya kingdom which is now known as Kimhae city in Korea and married the ruler of the place, King Kim Suro, founder of the ancient Korean kingdom of Karack.

“Heo Hwang-Ok, she is our traditional girl. In 48 CE, she married one of our Kings, King Suro. She was one of his wives, and she came to Korea from India,” said Kim Jung Kil, former Minister of Justice, Korea.

According to the legend, Heo’s parents had dreamt of King Suro that he had not yet found a Queen. So her parents told her to go to the King, and marry him.

She was the first queen of Geumgwan Gaya, and is considered an ancestor by several Korean lineages. It is believed that Queen Heo’s descendants number more than six-million, including the former South Korean President - Kim Dae Jung.

A memorial was built in 2001 in Faizabad, to pay homage to the Queen. Since then every year Queen Heo’s descendants come to India to pay homage to their royal ancestor.

“Since I was excited, I went for Busan Asian Games in Korea I came to know that an Indian princess was married to a King of Korea. I went to Gimhae and I was welcomed heartily there. I prayed at King’s and Queen’s tomb,” said Brigadier N B Singh, Director General, Sports Council and Advisor for Commonwealth Games at Edinburgh.

Archaeologists discovered a stone with two fish kissing each other, a symbol of the Gaya kingdom that is unique to the Mishra royal family in Ayodhya.

The Koreans regard Mishra as the descendent of Hwang-Ok because his family, like the Kaya royal family, has two fishes as the insignia. (ANI)