Hae Geumwa () was the second ruler (48–7 BCE) of

Dongbuyeo Eastern Buyeo, also rendered as Dongbuyeo or Eastern Fuyu, was an ancient kingdom that developed from Northern Buyeo (Northern Fuyu), until it was conquered by Goguryeo. According to the ''Samguk Sagi'', it was established when the Buyeo king ...

(East

Buyeo Buyeo or Puyŏ (Korean: 부여; Korean pronunciation: u.jʌ or 扶餘 ''Fúyú''), also rendered as Fuyu, was an ancient kingdom that was centered in northern Manchuria in modern-day northeast China. It is sometimes considered a Korean ki ...

), an ancient kingdom of

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

. His story is recorded in ''

Samguk Sagi ''Samguk Sagi'' (, ''History of the Three Kingdoms'') is a historical record of the Three Kingdoms of Korea: Goguryeo, Baekje and Silla. The ''Samguk Sagi'' is written in Classical Chinese, the written language of the literati of ancient Korea, ...

'', ''

Samguk Yusa ''Samguk yusa'' () or ''Memorabilia of the Three Kingdoms'' is a collection of legends, folktales and historical accounts relating to the Three Kingdoms of Korea (Goguryeo, Baekje, and Silla), as well as to other periods and states before, duri ...

'' and ''Book of King Dongmyeong''.

Birth and background

Geumwa (金蛙 or 金蝸) was the son of

Hae Buru Hae Buru (; 86 – 48 BCE) was king of Bukbuyeo and founder of Dongbuyeo (86 BCE – 22 CE), an ancient Korean kingdom. Hae Buru took the throne and became the king of Bukbuyeo. Hae Buru led his followers and some of Bukbuyeo people to the cit ...

, who was the king of

. According to the ''

Samgukyusa ''Samguk yusa'' () or ''Memorabilia of the Three Kingdoms'' is a collection of legends, folktales and historical accounts relating to the Three Kingdoms of Korea (Goguryeo, Baekje, and Silla), as well as to other periods and states before, duri ...

'', Hae Buru was old and without an heir, when he found a gold-colored frog-like (or a gold-colored snail-like) child under a large rock near Lake Gonyeon. Hae Buru named the child ''Geumwa'', meaning golden frog (or golden snail), and later made him crown prince. Hae Buru established

when he moved the capital east to Gaseopwon () by the

Sea of Japan The Sea of Japan is the marginal sea between the Japanese archipelago, Sakhalin, the Korean Peninsula, and the mainland of the Russian Far East. The Japanese archipelago separates the sea from the Pacific Ocean. Like the Mediterranean Sea, it h ...

(East Sea).

Reign

Jumong's departure

Geumwa became king after Hae Buru's death. At Ubal river (), south of Mount Taebaek, Geumwa met

Lady Yuhwa Habaengnyeo () or Habaengnyeorang () was the daughter of Habaek (), and the mother of Chumo the Holy of Goguryeo, the founder of the kingdom of Goguryeo. She was also given the name Yuhwa () in ''Samguk Sagi'' and ''Samguk Yusa''. Mythological ...

(), the disowned daughter of

Habaek Habaek () is the Goguryeo god of the Amnok River or, according to an alternative interpretation, the sun god Haebak (). According to legend, his daughter Yuhwa married Haemosu and gave birth to Jumong, the founder of Goguryeo. Mythological overvi ...

(), the god of the

Amnok River The Yalu River, known by Koreans as the Amrok River or Amnok River, is a river on the border between North Korea and China. Together with the Tumen River to its east, and a small portion of Paektu Mountain, the Yalu forms the China–North Ko ...

or, according to an alternative interpretation, the sun god Haebak (), and brought her back to his palace. She was impregnated by sunlight and conceived

Jumong Chumo (Hangul: 추모, Hanja: 鄒牟), posthumously Chumo the Holy (Hangul: 추모성왕, Hanja: 鄒牟聖王), was the founding monarch of the kingdom of Goguryeo, and was worshipped as a god-king by the people of Goguryeo and Goryeo. ''Chumo ...

. Geumwa's two sons resented Jumong, and so did he. He attempted numerous times to destroy Jumong when he was a teen, but later gave up, as the boy was indestructible. Jumong later ran away to

Jolbon Holbon () was the first capital of Goguryeo, which arose in the north of the Korean Peninsula. Holbon is thought to have been in modern Wunü Mountain, Liaoning. In 37 BC, Jumong had fled from Dongbuyeo to avoid death at the hands of Dongbuyeo's ...

, or former Bukbuyeo, where he later established

Goguryeo Goguryeo (37 BC–668 AD) ( ) also called Goryeo (), was a Korean kingdom located in the northern and central parts of the Korean Peninsula and the southern and central parts of Northeast China. At its peak of power, Goguryeo controlled most ...

Mother of Goguryeo

, Jumong's mother, died. Geumwa gave her the burial of a Queen Mother (Queen Mother of Goguryeo), despite the fact that she had never been a queen. Jumong sent numerous gifts to Geumwa in gratitude of caring for his mother, and peace was seemingly restored between the two kingdoms.

Death

Geumwa died, and the throne was passed to his eldest son

Daeso Hae Daeso (; 60 BCE – 22 AD, r. 7 BCE – 22 AD) was the third and last ruler of the ancient Korean kingdom Dongbuyeo. Early life Daeso was the first son of King Geumwa, and the grandson of Dongbuyeo's founder and first ruler, Hae Buru. As t ...

. King Daeso attacked Goguryeo during the reign of its second ruler,

King Yuri King Yuri (38 BCE – 18 CE, r. 19 BCE – 18 CE) was the second ruler of Goguryeo, the northernmost of the Three Kingdoms of Korea. He was the eldest son of the kingdom's founder Chumo the Holy. As with many other early Korean rulers, the e ...

. Goguryeo's third ruler King Daemusin attacked

and killed Daeso. After internal strife, Dongbuyeo fell, and its territory was absorbed into Goguryeo.

Popular culture

* Portrayed by

Jun Kwang-ryul Jun Kwang-ryul () is a South Korean actor. He is best known for his roles in the television series '' Hur Jun'', ''Jumong'' and '' King of Baking, Kim Takgu''. Filmography Television series *''Jinxed at First'' (2022) *'' Kingmaker: The Chan ...

in the 2006-2007 MBC TV series ''

''.