This year in January my long wish was fulfilled when I visited Ayodhya, for darshan of Shree Ram Janambhumi. However, my eyes were searching for the Korean Monument, which is built at the birthplace of Queen Huh. It has a script written on a black stone in Korean and English, which reads:
“According to Sam Kuk Yusa, an old history of Korea, Queen Huh, wife of King Suro who founded the ancient Karak kingdom, was born in the city of Ayodhya. Queen Huh was a princess of the kingdom of Ayodhya. Her Father, the King of Ayodhya, on receiving a divine revelation, sent her on a long sea journey to the Karak kingdom in Southern Korea to marry King Suro.
Today Queen Huh’s descendants number more than 6 million, including the Kim Hae Kim, Huh and Inchon Lee clans. Among her famous descendants are General Kim Yoo-shin, who first united the Korean kingdoms in the 7th century, as well as contemporary Korean President Kim Dae-jung and Prime Minister Kim Jong-pil.
In December 2017, I went to Gimhae to see the tomb of Queen Heo (Huh) and the King Suro. I saw the pagoda which princess carried with her on boat journey from India (Bharat) to Gimhae. The stone of pagoda has worn out because sailors had the belief that it will protect them from sea storm the Chinpungtap (Wind Calming Pagoda). The pagoda is made of a sand stone from Cheonchuk, as the local people called India, at that time. She had carried with her a herb also, which is very popular still in that region and it is believed that its leaves and flowers can cure any sickness of cough, cold, flue, fever including fatigue. An emblem with a pair of fish called Ssangeomunalos was carried by her. It was the national emblem of Garakguk and a symbol of religious belief as auspicious.
Queen Heo’s full name was Heo Hwang –OK in Korea. When Princess Suriratna of Ayodhya was 16 years’ old in 48 AD, she sailed to Garak Kingdom and married with King Suro, the founder of the Garak Kingdom. In 189 AD she passed away. Many million Koreans believe that their great grandmother came from Ayuthya, India from Rama family.
Both Koreas were one country and families have suffered a lot by the partition after Korean War in 1950. It was not their choice to divide; rather it was imposed on them by the two superpowers. Now Koreans want to decide their fate. India is trusted by both countries and can play a very strategic role in realizing the dream of unification of Koreas When President Roh moo-Hyun visited to Delhi, he said the “we are cousins”. The meeting of PM Modi and President H.E. Mme. Park Geunhye, South Korea in 2018, issued a joint press statement on May 18, which states: “The two leaders underlined the paramount importance of peace and stability on the Korean peninsula. PM Modi expressed support for President Park’s efforts to build trust in the Korean peninsula and to lay the groundwork for peaceful reunification of the Korean peninsula.”
Several initiatives are taken. However, there is no leader like Gandhi, Mandela or Martin Luther King to lead this civil right movement.
It is a Korean dream so the leader should come from among them and acceptable by majority of Koreans. The Chairman of Global Peace Foundation (GPF) of Dr. Hyun Jin Moon can play a very strategic role in uniting families on both sides. The GPF is convening a Global Peace Leadership Convention GPLC) in early 2023 in New Delhi, to promote ‘Vasudhav Kutumbakam’ which will unite the humanity as one family. This is a unique opportunity for Korean people.
I would like to end with the prophesy from the first Nobel Laureate for Literature from Asia, Rabindranath Tagore: “ In the Golden Age of Asia/ Korea Was One of the Lamp-Bearers/ That Lamp Awaits to be lighted Once Again/ For the illumination of the Earth.”
