Princess Seonhwa, which according to the ''

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 ...

'', was a

Silla Silla or Shilla (57 BCE – 935 CE) ( , Old Korean: Syera, Old Japanese: Siraki2) was a Korean kingdom located on the southern and central parts of the Korean Peninsula. Silla, along with Baekje and Goguryeo, formed the Three Kingdoms of K ...

Royal Princess as the third daughter of King Jinpyeong and Lady Maya, younger sister to Princess Deokman and Princess Cheonmyeong. She was also the queen consort of

Baekje Baekje or Paekche (, ) was a Korean kingdom located in southwestern Korea from 18 BC to 660 AD. It was one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, together with Goguryeo and Silla. Baekje was founded by Onjo, the third son of Goguryeo's founder Jum ...

since 600 CE as the wife of King Mu. However, her existence is controversial due to the discovery of evidence that points to

King Uija Uija of Baekje (599?–660, r. 641–660) was the 31st and final ruler of Baekje, one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea. His reign ended when Baekje was conquered by an alliance of the rival Korean kingdom Silla and China's Tang dynasty. Backg ...

's mother as being Queen Sataek and not Seonhwa as indicated by historical records. There is also a theory said that Seonhwa married to King Dongseong, not King Mu, which made various hypotheses about her status, such as the princess of Baekje, a noblewoman (귀족), even a daughter of a local noble (호족) instead of Silla's princess.

Biography

The Prince of

, Seodong who loved her went to

Gyeongju Gyeongju ( ko, 경주, ), historically known as ''Seorabeol'' ( ko, 서라벌, ), is a coastal city in the far southeastern corner of North Gyeongsang Province in South Korea. It is the second largest city by area in the province after Andong, ...

, the capital city of Shilla and he taught and made the children in there to sing a nursery rhyme which made by himself while provided

Korean yam ''Dioscorea polystachya'' or Chinese yam ( zh, s=山药, t=山藥), also called cinnamon-vine, is a species of flowering plant in the Dioscoreaceae, yam family. It is sometimes called Chinese potato or by its Korean name ''ma''. It is a perennia ...

s for them in reward for good performance of it. The children's song is called ''Seo Dong Yo'' (서동요, 薯童謠), which tells a secret love story of a Princess Seonhwa sneaking out to get together with Seodong every night. Soon, hearing the news of all the children in the whole city going around singing the song, the King Jinpyeong goes through the roof and expels the Princess Seonhwa out of Gyeongju. On her way to a place of exile, the Princess Seonhwa met Seodong and fell in love with him, ending up go over to Baekje to live with him. Later, Seodong became the

King Mu of Baekje King Mu of Baekje (580–641) (r. 600–641) was the 30th king of Baekje, one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea. He was the 4th son of King Wideok. Background During his reign, the Three Kingdoms (Goguryeo, Baekje, and Silla) were at war with e ...

, and Princess Seonhwa his wife. Princess Seonhwa asked the King Mu to build

Mireuksa Mireuksa was the largest Buddhist temple in the ancient Korean kingdom of Baekje. The temple was established in 602 by King Mu and is located 36.012083 N, 127.031028 E, modern Iksan, North Jeolla Province, South Korea. The site was excavated in ...

Iksan Iksan ( ko, 익산; ) is a city and major railway junction in North Jeolla Province, (commonly transliterated as Jeollabuk-do or Chollabuk-do) South Korea. The city center and railway junction was formerly called "Iri" (), but merged with Iksan C ...

North Jeolla Province North Jeolla Province (; ''Jeollabuk-do''), also known as Jeonbuk, is a province of South Korea. North Jeolla has a population of 1,869,711 (2015) and has a geographic area of 8,067 km2 (3,115 sq mi) located in the Honam region in the southwest ...

. And she and the King Mu had a son who was destined to be the last King of Baekje Dynasty,

Uija of Baekje Uija of Baekje (599?–660, r. 641–660) was the 31st and final ruler of Baekje, one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea. His reign ended when Baekje was conquered by an alliance of the rival Korean kingdom Silla and China's Tang dynasty. Backg ...

In popular culture

* Portrayed by Choi Sulli and

Lee Bo-young Lee Bo-young (; born January 12, 1979) is a South Korean actress. She is best known for starring in the television dramas ''My Daughter Seo-young'' (2012), ''I Can Hear Your Voice'' (2013), ''Whisper'' (2017), ''Mother'' (2018), ''When My Love ...

in the 2005–2006 SBS TV series ''

Ballad of Seodong ''Ballad of Seodong'' () is a South Korean television series starring Jo Hyun-jae, Lee Bo-young, and Ryu Jin. It aired on SBS from September 5, 2005 to March 21, 2006 on Mondays and Tuesdays at 21:55 for 55 episodes. The period drama is based ...

''. * Portrayed by

Shin Eun-jung Shin Eun-jung (born January 3, 1974) is a South Korean actress. She has played supporting roles in television dramas such as '' The Legend'' (2007), '' East of Eden'' (2008) and ''Faith Faith, derived from Latin ''fides'' and Old French ''fe ...

in the 2011 MBC TV series ''

Gyebaek Gyebaek, or Kyebaek (died 20 August 660In Lunar calendar, he died on 9 July 660.), was a general in the ancient Korean kingdom of Baekje during the early to mid-7th century. Little else is known of his personal life—including the year and locat ...

''.

Biography

In popular culture

See also