South Korea, Uttar Pradesh govt building park in Ayodhya, to open on Diwali: Envoy

In an interesting development, South Korea's envoy to India Shin Bongkil revealed that his country is building a park in Ayodhya in collaboration with the Uttar Pradesh government. Speaking to the media on Wednesday, he stated that the park is being built in memory of Queen Huh Hwang-ok who originally hailed from Ayodhya. Delving into the fascinating history of the same, he mentioned that at least 10% of Koreans hailed from the clan of King Kim Suro who married the Ayodhya princess over 2000 years ago. Bongkil also indicated that the Yogi Adityanath-led government will formally open this park during Diwali. 

South Korea's envoy Shin Bongkil remarked, "2000 years ago, Ayodhya princess travelled to Korea and married a Korean king- King Kim Suro. Kum Suro's descendant is the biggest clan in Korea. Almost 10% of Korea has the name 'Kim'. That means that at least 10% of Koreans are related to Indians from ancient times- 2000 years ago. We want to make it symbolic emphasising the long relationship between Korea and India."

"Korea has already built a Korean pavilion there. Even though this is a difficult time at the beginning of this year, Koreans visited Ayodhya, stayed there for a couple of months, and built this beautiful pavilion. The park is almost finished. As far as I know, the UP government is going to open it officially during Diwali time," he added. 

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Ayodhya park collaboration

As per the legend, Princess Suriratna of Ayodhya went to Korea in 48 AD, married King Kim Suro and was known as Queen Huh Hwang-ok. During PM Modi's visit to South Korea in May 2015, he signed an MoU with President Moon Jae-in for the expansion and beautification of the existing memorial of Queen Huh Hwang-ok, on the banks of the Saryu. On November 6, 2018, South Korean First Lady Kim Jung-sook visited Ayodhya and laid the foundation stone for the memorial park.

Reportedly, it is being built using Korean Korean architectural elements and landscaping and will be located in the vicinity of Ram Katha Park. The state government has allocated nearly Rs.24 crore for the project. This is expected to not just boost tourism in the region but also foster the bilateral ties between the two countries. 

(With ANI inputs)