Heo Hwang-ok, also known as Suriratna, is a legendary queen mentioned in Samguk Yusa, a 13th-century Korean chronicle. According to Samguk Yusa, she became the wife of King Suro of Geumgwan Gaya at the age of 16, after having arrived by boat from a distant kingdom called "Ayuta". More than six million present day Koreans, especially from Gimhae Kim, Heo and Lee clans, trace their lineage to the legendary queen as the direct descendants of her 12 children with King Suro. Her native kingdom is believed to be located in India or less likely, Thailand. There is a tomb in Gimhae, South Korea, that is believed to be hers, and a memorial in Ayodhya, India built in 2020. Origins The legend of Heo is found in Garakguk-gi (the Record of Garak Kingdom) which is currently lost, but referenced within the Samguk Yusa. According to the legend, Heo was a princess of the "Ayuta Kingdom". The extant records do not identify Ayuta except as a distant country. Written sources and popular culture often associate Ayuta with India but there are no records of the legend in India itself. Kim Byung-mo, an anthropologist from Hanyang University, identified Ayuta with Ayodhya in India based on phonetic similarity. Grafton K. Mintz and Ha Tae-hung implied that the Korean reference was actually to the Ayutthaya Kingdom of Thailand. However, according to George Cœdès, the Thai city was not founded until the year 1350, after the composition of Samguk Yusa. Others theorize that the Ayuta Kingdom (Hangul: 아유타국, Hanja: 阿踰陁國) is a misinterpretation of Ay Kingdom, a vassal to the Pandyan Empire of ancient Tamilakam as some sources allude to her coming from Southern part of India. Despite numerous theories and claims, Queen Heo's true origin is yet to be discovered. Marriage to Suro After their marriage, Heo told King Suro that she was 16 years old. She stated her given name as "Hwang-ok" ("Yellow Jade", 황옥, 黃玉) and her family name as "Heo" (허, or "Hurh" 許). She described how she came to Gaya as follows: the Heavenly Lord (Sange Je) appeared in her parents' dreams. He told them to send Heo to Suro, who had been chosen as the king of Gaya. The dream showed that the king had not yet found a queen. Heo's father then told her to go to Suro. After two months of a sea journey, she found Beondo, a