Princess Pyeonggang

Princess Pyeonggang
Princess of Goguryeo
Statue of On Dal and Princess Pyeonggang at the Achasan entrance
Diedc.595
Kingdom of Goguryeo
SpouseOn Dal
HouseHouse of Go (also known as Hoengseong Go clan; by birth)
Geumgu On (by marriage)
FatherPyeongwon of Goguryeo
Korean name
Hangul
평강공주
Hanja
Revised RomanizationPyeonggang Gongju
McCune–ReischauerP'yŏngkang Kongchu

Princess Pyeonggang (died c.595) was a Goguryeo Princess as the daughter of King Pyeongwon and sister to King Yeongyang.[1] As told in popular folktales (versions of which exist in many different regions) she married a commoner, On Dal.[2]

According to legend, when Pyeonggang was a little girl and wouldn't stop crying, her father, King Pyeongwan, would jokingly threaten to marry her to Ondal, a beggar boy of low class known as a fool.[3] When Pyeonggang was 16, her father wanted her to marry a son of the noble Go family.[3][4] Pyeonggang refused, and insisted that she should be married to Ondal - because, she said, her father must keep his word, even to someone with extremely low status like Ondal.[3]

Thereupon, she left the palace and went to the house where Ondal lived with his mother, and insisted upon marrying him. He and his mother were quite confused and frightened, but Pyeonggang prevailed, and she and Ondal were married.[5] They were extremely happy together, and Pyeonggang used her gold to help the family, and taught her husband many useful skills, such as how to select a horse. Eventually, with Pyeonggang's help, Ondal became a renowned general.[4][5]

  1. ^ "평원왕[平原王,?~590]". Doosan Encyclopedia (in Korean). Retrieved September 10, 2021.
  2. ^ "온달(溫達)". Encyclopedia of Korean Culture (in Korean). Retrieved September 10, 2021.
  3. ^ a b c Korea), The National Folk Museum of Korea (South (2014-11-27). Encyclopedia of Korean Folk Literature: Encyclopedia of Korean Folklore and Traditional Culture Vol. III. 길잡이미디어. ISBN 978-89-289-0084-8.
  4. ^ a b Key-sook, Choe (2018-02-20). Classic Korean Tales with commentaries. (주)한림출판사. ISBN 978-1-56591-501-5.
  5. ^ a b Yi, Pae-yong (2008). Women in Korean History 한국 역사 속의 여성들. Ewha Womans University Press. ISBN 978-89-7300-772-1.