Princess Seonhwa () was a

Silla Silla (; Old Korean: wikt:徐羅伐#Old Korean, 徐羅伐, Yale romanization of Korean, Yale: Syerapel, Revised Romanization of Korean, RR: ''Seorabeol''; International Phonetic Alphabet, IPA: ) was a Korean kingdom that existed between ...

royal princess as the third daughter of King Jinpyeong and Lady Maya, younger sister to Princess Deokman and Princess Cheonmyeong, 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, d ...

''. She was also the

queen consort A queen consort is the wife of a reigning king, and usually shares her spouse's social Imperial, royal and noble ranks, rank and status. She holds the feminine equivalent of the king's monarchical titles and may be crowned and anointed, but hi ...

Baekje Baekje or Paekche (; ) was a Korean kingdom located in southwestern Korea from 18 BCE to 660 CE. It was one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, together with Goguryeo and Silla. While the three kingdoms were in separate existence, Baekje had the h ...

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'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 (), even a daughter of a local noble () instead of Silla's princess.

Biography

The Prince of

, Seodong who loved her went to

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

, 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 yams for them in reward for good performance of it. The children's song is called ''Seo Dong Yo'' (), 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, 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 excavat ...

Iksan Iksan (; ) is a Administrative divisions of South Korea, city and major railway junction in North Jeolla Province, South Korea. The city center and railway junction was formerly called "Iri" (), but merged with Iksan County (''Iksan-gun'') in 19 ...

North Jeolla Province North Jeolla Province, officially Jeonbuk State (), is a Special Self-governing Province of South Korea in the Honam region in the southwest of the Korean Peninsula. Jeonbuk borders the provinces of South Chungcheong to the north, North Gyeo ...

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

Uija of Baekje Uija (595?–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. Background Dur ...

. A tomb in Iksan is believed to belong to her.

In popular culture

* Portrayed by

Sulli Choi Jin-ri (; March 29, 1994 – October 13 or 14, 2019), known professionally as Sulli (), was a South Korean singer and actress. She first made her debut as a child actress, appearing as a supporting cast member on the Seoul Broadcasting Sy ...

and

Lee Bo-young Lee Bo-young (; born January 12, 1979) is a South Korean actress, model and beauty pageant titleholder. She is best known for starring in the Korean drama, television dramas ''Seoyoung, My Daughter'' (2012–2013), ''I Can Hear Your Voice'' (2 ...

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 base ...

''. * 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 is confidence or trust in a person, thing, or ...

in the 2011 MBC TV series ''

Gyebaek Gyebaek, or Kyebaek (died 20 August 660In the Korean calendar (lunar), 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 ...

''.

References

Royal consorts of Baekje Princesses of Silla Queen Seondeok of Silla 7th-century queens consort 7th-century Korean women 7th-century Korean people {{Korea-hist-stub

Biography

In popular culture

See also

References