Queen Heo Hwang-ok of Korea was honoured by the city of Ayodhya in India in December 2025 with a majestic bronze statue unveiled in the memorial park. It traces a 2,000-year-old connection that began with an Indian princess. Later, it grew into a shared heritage for millions of modern Koreans.
According to the legend of Samguk Yusa (a 13th-century Korean chronicle); a 16-year-old princess named Suriratna arrived by boat in Korea in 48 AD. Upon arrival, she married King Kim Suro and became Queen Heo Hwang-ok of South Korea. The 12th President of Republic of Korea Moon Jae-in celebrated the India-Korea relations. He visited India to watch a play telling the story of a princess from the ancient Indian kingdom of Ayuta; who traveled to Korea and became Queen Heo Hwang-ok of the Gaya kingdom.
In Ayodhya, the Queen Heo Hwang-ok Memorial Park and bronze statue stand as a powerful symbol of the ancient civilizational bond between India and Korea. Legend has it Heo Hwang-ok or Queen Suriratna was an Indian princess from Ayodhya.
In Ayodhya, the Queen Heo Hwang-ok Memorial Park and bronze statue stand as a powerful symbol of the ancient civilizational bond between India and Korea. The majestic bronze statue was unveiled by the Mayor of Ayodhya, Mahant Girishpati Tripathi as the memorial attracts Korean visitors and international delegations; reinforcing Ayodhya’s role not only in Indian history but also in early global connections between South Asia and East Asia. Mayor Tripathi emphasised, “Ayodhya is very special for India & South Korea international relations”.
About Queen Heo Memorial Park of Ayodhya
The Queen Heo Memorial Park in Ayodhya inaugurated by UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath during Deepotsav celebrations on Diwali eve on October 23, 2018 in the presence of a high-level South Korean delegation; including 1st lady of South Korea Kim Jung-sook. The revamped park, with its king and queen pavilions, commemorative stone and symbolic pond evoking her legendary sea voyage; has been envisioned as a landmark of friendship, tourism and soft‑power diplomacy between India and the Korea.
The park has come up on the bank of the Saryu River with a budget of Rs 21 crore.
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