The story of Kimhae Kim's clan was narrated in Samguk Yusa, a Korean text written by a monk, Iryon (1206 AD-1289
AD).
It is set in the Kaya kingdom in the first century CE. It says that the
area, in the south central Korean peninsula, was first ruled by nine elders,
but there was no king. One day a voice spoke from heaven at a place called Kujibong (means 'the
hill shaped like turtle' in Korean). A few hundred people gathered
there, along with nine elders. The voice instructed them to go to the top of
the mountain, dig up the land, dance and sing a song (now known as Kujiga).
They did as instructed and a plum-coloured cord descended from heaven.
They found a golden chest at the end of the cord and
when they opened it, they discovered six golden orbs. The elders brought the
chest home and the next day the orbs had
transformed into six baby boys. The boy
who came out first named Kim, Suro (Suro means came out first and Last name
Kim means Gold or Golden in Korean and Chinese) - who is the progenitor of Kimhae Kim's
clan. He came to the throne of the land that was named Kaya. After two years
he built his own palace and ruled from there. King Suro married to princess Huh Hwang Ok
from Ayuta (Ayodhia) in 49 CE and the queen
was greatly loved by all her subjects. She is said to have lived to the grand
old age of 156! The couple had 10 sons and two daughters. Two of the sons (2nd
and 3rd son) were
named Huh after their mother's family name and the rest were called Kim,
after King Kim Suro.
In the year 532 A.D., the last king of Kaya,
King Koo Hyung, acquiesced his land to the kingdom of Shilla in order to
prevent major warfare and further bloodshed for his people. They were allowed
to remain in one of six Kayan regions, called Karagguk, and his sons, Sae Jong;
Mu Deuk; and Mu Ryuk, were given positions within the royal court of Shilla.
General Kim Yoo Shin was the grandson of the
last king of Kaya, King Koo Hyung. His father was MuRyuk, the father-in-law to
the king of Shilla, King TaeJong Muyul. MuRyuk was also a famous general in
the kingdom of Shilla. General Kim Yoo Shin and King Muyul later unified all
three countries within the Korean peninsula, Shilla; Goguryo; and Baekjae,
creating Tong-il ("unified") Shilla. The Kim Hae Kim clan thrived and regained power
following General Kim Yoo Shin. There are now 148 different families within
the Kim Hae Kim clan.
