NEW DELHI: The pran pratishtha of Ayodhya Ram Temple is fast approaching. On January 22, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will open the Ram Temple to the public. Apart from India, there is another country that is waiting for the Ayodhya temple. It's not a nation that we share our border. It is South Korea, and there are a few reasons for that.
Ayodhya and South Korea have some historical ties. An ancient history book of Korea says that an Indian princess married the Korean King Kim Suro. History books say that this princess is from 'Ayuta', which the Koreans claim is present-day Ayodhya.
According to South Korean history, Princess Suriratna (Indian name) or Heo Hwang-OK (Korean name) went from India to Korea. It is said that the couple had a total of 12 children and their lineage is associated with Ayodhya and there are antiquities of Ayodhya in the tomb of King Kim Suro.
This relationship was revived under the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government in 2000-01 as the government decided to develop Ayodhya as a sister city with Kimhae. According to this, the two countries have signed an agreement in 2001. A memorial has been erected near the Sarayu River in Ayodhya to commemorate the queen who left India for Korea. In 2018, the first lady of South Korea, Kim Jung Sook, visited here. Even today thousands of Koreans consider Ayodhya as their maternal land and the Ram temple in Ayodhya is very special for Koreans for this reason.