Queen Heo Hwang-ok | 27 Oct 2021

Why in News

Recently, on the banks of the Sarayu in Ayodhya, the Ram Katha Park has been renovated which will be renamed as Queen Heo Hwang-ok memorial park. The Korean queen is believed to have had Indian roots.

In 2000, India and South Korea signed an agreement to develop Ayodhya and Gimhae as sister cities.
Earlier, in March 2021 Indian Defence Minister and his South Korean counterpart inaugurated the India-Korea Friendship Park in a ceremony at the Delhi Cantonment.

Key Points

About:
- She was a Korean queen who is believed to have been born Princess Suriratna of Ayodhya, daughter of King Padmasen and Indumati.
  - Padmasen ruled the ancient kingdom of Kausala (Kosala), a region that extended from present-day UP to Odisha.
  - The memorial park now comprises Queen and King pavilions with their busts in place, and a pond to represent Princess Suriratna’s journey.
- Her story is described in Samguk Yusa (Memorabilia of Three Kingdoms).
  - It is a 13^th-century collection of legends, folktales and history of Korea’s three kingdoms — Goguryeo, Baekje and Silla — and some other regions.
- In 48 BC, the princess travelled to Korea from the ancient land of ‘Ayuta’ and married Kim Suro, founder and King of Geumgwan Gaya in south-eastern Korea.
  - There is no consensus among historians on the location of 'Ayuta' as some historians believe that the princess could actually be from Thailand ’s Ayutthaya kingdom.
  - While in the popular imagination, it is associated with Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh, there is no Indian account of the legend.
Princess Journey From India to Korea:
- She travelled by boat along with an entourage, having been sent by her father, who is said to have had a dream about her marrying king Suro.
- A pagoda, believed to have been brought by the queen from India to calm the ocean gods, is placed next to the tomb.
- According to the legend, the princess had taken a golden egg to Korea, and the park includes an egg made of granite.

Source: IE