Ancient bond between Korea, India

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Ancient bond between Korea, India

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Ambassador N. Parthasarathi

India’s ambassador to Korea, N. Parthasarathi, thinks the connection between his country and Korea stretches back to a time when fact and myth intermingled on the peninsula. His 2007 novel, “The Silk Empress,” recounts an ancient love story that ties the two nations together.
Parthasarathi wrote the book in English, and it was translated and released in Korean. There has been so much interest in it that now the original English version is on track to be published within the next few months.
I spoke with the ambassador in his office in Hannam-dong, and he pieced together some of the historical and mythical cues he used as the basis for his book. “Two thousand years ago, a princess came down from heaven and married a king,” said Parthasarathi, recounting the legend of what he calls Korea’s “first international marriage.”
“Today, millions of Koreans believe they are their descendents.”
The king was Kim Su-ro, founder of the Gaya Kingdom, in the area around what is now Gimhae in South Gyeongsang. The princess, whose name was originally Suriratna, became Queen Heo Hwang-ok; the heaven she descended from was actually India. Parthasarathi pointed out that even today, Gimhae Kims and Heos don’t intermarry, as they trace their bloodlines back to the Gaya king and his silk empress.
Parthasarathi believes it is possible that Princess Suriratna came all the way to Korea from India, despite the distance making the journey unlikely for that time in history.
“The influence of India at that time on the world was extensive,” he said. “Hinduism and Buddhism pervaded the region into Southeast Asia and China. Never underestimate the possibility that if Alexander can reach India, it’s possible to travel that far.”
In recounting the story in person, as he does in his book, the ambassador slips easily between historical evidence and the legends that pervade the era. “It was a time when gods used to appear and lots of things happened,” he said. “What’s more important than what is reality is what could be.”
In building the case for the historical side of the book, Parthasarathi pointed to several “puzzle pieces” that suggest the connection between India and Korea. He spoke of the venerated monk Jangyoohwasang, supposedly the brother of the princess, and Chilbul Temple, or “The Temple of the Seven Buddhas,” said to have been constructed by King Su-ro in celebration of his seven Buddhist monk sons reaching Nirvana. To Parthasarathi, these are pieces of evidence indicating that Buddhism reached Korea far earlier than many believe, as the Gaya Kingdom existed around the turn of the last millennium. Current thinking goes that Buddhism came here from China in the fourth century A.D.
“It’s reasonable to assume Buddhism was here earlier,” said the ambassador.
The second puzzle piece is the name of the kingdom itself. “Why should the kingdom’s name be Gaya? The most famous place where Buddha was enlightened in India was Gaya,” he said. “I’m not saying that there is a link, but it could be there.”
I asked him if he feels he personally has a connection with Korea, perhaps through a past life, that led him to come here and study the country’s history. “Many things which appear accidental are not necessarily so,” he said. “You never know.”


[richard@joongang.co.kr]
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