KOREA'S INDIAN QUEEN : PRINCESS FROM AYODHYA
Korea's most famous expatriate though is Queen Huh Wang Ock of Gaya. After King Suro had become the ruler of Geumgwan Gaya, the courtiers approached him & told him that it was regrettable that the King had no wife. They advised him to choose a beautiful & virtuous woman from his domain & make her his queen. King Suro denied their request & told them, "I was sent down from heaven to rule this land & so my spouse will also descend from heaven at divine command.Sail towards Mangsando in the south & see what happens."
So as his commands they sailed out towards Mangsando, where they encountered a ship with a red sail & red flag. On it, they found a beautiful princess who they hurried to King's court.
when the courtiers requested that the princess enter the King's court,she replied,"You are strangers,I cannot follow you,nor can I be so unmaidenly as to enter the palace without due ceremony."
The courtiers conveyed these words to King Suro & at once he was struck by her modesty & dignity. He thus had a tent pitched in front of her palace & waited for her arrival.The princess arrived with her 2 courtiers, their wives , and 20 slaves carrying gold, silver, jewels, silk & tablewear.
The princess declared that her name was Heo Hwangok & that she was 16 years old.She had sailed from Ayuta(in India)because her parents had seen a god in their dreams that had ordered them to send her to be King's Suro's wife.
Her tomb is located in Kimhae & there is a stone pagoda in front of the tomb. The pagoda is built with stones, which princess is said to have brought with her from Ayodhya. They have engravings & red patterns. They are belived to have a mysterious power to calm stormy seas. The Kimhae Kingdom's influence is still felt in modern-day South Korea. Kimhae Kims & Kimhae Huhs trace their origins to this ancient kingdom.