Queen Hur HwangOk  

Hur HwangOk (or Hur Hwang-ok ), also known as Suriratna (or Sriratna), is a legendary Queen mentioned in Samguk Yusa, a Korean chronicle. According to Samguk Yusa, she became the wife of King Suro of Geumgwan Gaya at the age of 16, after having arrived by boat from a distant kingdom called "Ayuta"; making her the first Queen of Geumgwan Gaya. Her native kingdom is believed to be located in India. There is a tomb in Gimhae, South Korea, that is believed to be hers, and a memorial in Ayodhya, India.

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Marriage to Suro

After their marriage, Hur (or "Heo" 許) told King Suro that she was 16 years old. She stated her given name as "Hwang-Ok" (means "Yellow Jade") and her family name as "Hur" (or "Heo"). She described how she came to Gaya as follows: the Heavenly Lord (Sang-Je) appeared in her parents' dreams. He told them to send Hur to Suro, who had been chosen as the king of Gaya. The dream showed that the king had not yet found a queen. Hur'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 3.000 years.

According to the legend, the courtiers of King Suro had requested him to select a wife from among the maidens they would bring to the court. However, Suro stated that his selection of a wife will be commanded by the Heavens. He commanded Yuch'ŏn-gan to take a horse and a boat to Mangsan-do, an island to the south of the capital. At Mangsan, Yuch'ŏn saw a vessel with a red sail and a red flag. He sailed to the vessel, and escorted it to the shores of Kaya (or Gaya, present-day Gimhae). Another officer, Sin'gwigan went to the palace, and informed the King of the vessel's arrival. The King sent nine clan chiefs, asking them to escort the ship's passengers to the royal palace.

Princess Hur stated that she wouldn't accompany the strangers. Accordingly, the King ordered a tent to be pitched on the slopes of a hill near the palace. The princess then arrived at the tent with her courtiers and slaves. The courtiers included Sin Po (or Sin Bo, 申輔) and Cho Kuang (or Jo Gwang,  趙匡). Their wives were Mojong (慕貞) and Moryang (慕良) respectively. The twenty slaves carried gold, silver, jewels, silk brocade, and tableware. Before marrying the king, the princess took off her silk trousers (mentioned as a skirt in a different section of Samguk Yusa) and offered them to the mountain spirit. King Suro tells her that he also knew about Hur's arrival in advance, and therefore, did not marry the maidens recommended by his courtiers.

When some of the Queen's escorts decided to return home, King Suro gave each of them thirty rolls of hempen cloth (one roll was of 40 yards). He also gave each person ten bags of rice for the return voyage. A part of the Queen's original convoy, including the two courtiers and their wives, stayed back with her. The queen was given a residence in the inner palace, while the two courtiers and their wives were given separate residences. The rest of her convoy were given a guest house of twenty rooms.

Cut to India, where Huh HwangOk was a princess in 'Ayuta' (Ayodhya?). In Iryon's text, the princess says that she was 16 years old when she reached Gaya, that her family name was Huh (or Hur) and her name, HwangOk (yellow jade in Korean). The princess narrates the circumstances leading to her marriage to King Suro thus: "In May this year, my father and mother said, 'We had a dream last night, in which we saw a God who said, I have sent down Suro to be king of Gaya. Suro is a holy man, and is not yet married. So send your daughter to become his queen'. Then he ascended to heaven. My daughter, bid farewell to your parents and go'."

Other accounts of the text, however, say that it was HwangOk who got the dream.
 

Pasa stone pagoda at the bottom of the tomb of Queen Hur
출처 : The Korea Post (http://www.koreapost.com)

[고려사이버대 고려특강] 김수로왕과 허황옥 공주 - 김병모 고려문화재연구원 이사장
[Goryeo Cyber University Special Lecture] King Kim Su-ro and Princess Hur HwangOk
Kim Byung-mo, President of the Goryeo Cultural Heritage Research Institute

Journey of Queen Heo Hwang-ok_ India to Korea.wav