Kim Alji (김알지, 金閼智) was a historical figure in Korean history. His descendents formed the Kim royal clan of Silla, one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea.
His legendary birth is said to have occurred during the reign of Silla's fourth ruler, King Talhae of Silla. Though Kim Alji did not rule as King of Silla, his descendants did. Today, 1.7 million South Koreans are in the Gyeongju Kim clan, who trace their genealogy to Kim Alji.
Birth legend
The Samguk Yusa and Samguk Sagi both contain nearly the same story about Kim Alji's birth.
In the year 65 (9th year of Talhae's reign), King Talhae heard a rooster crowing in Sirim, west of Geumseong (Gyeongju, the Silla capital at the time). He sent his minister, Hogong, who was from Japan, to investigate, whereupon Hogong found a golden box hanging on a branch. Light was emanating from the box, and a white rooster was crowing under it.
Hearing this report, the king ordered the box brought to him. When the king opened the box, there was an infant inside. The king was very pleased and reared him. Because he was born from a golden box and was very clever, the king named him "Kim (金, meaning gold) Alji (meaning gold in native korean, with the hanja 閼智 supposed to be read phonetically)". The forest where the box was found was named Gyerim (rooster forest), which also was used as the name of Silla.
This legend is similar to the birth legend of the founder of Silla, Bak Hyeokgeose of Silla (who is said to have called himself Alji Geoseogan).
Modern interpreters have suggested that the Kim Alji may have been the chief of a "gold" (al) clan of northern Korea/Manchuria.
The Gyerim is a small woodland in Gyeongju National Park, Gyeongju, South Korea. The name literally means "rooster forest." The grove lies near the old site of the Silla kingdom palace in central Gyeongju. Nearby landmarks include the Banwolseong fortress, Cheomseongdae, the Gyeongju National Museum, and the Royal Tombs Complex.
History
The original name of Gyerim was Sirim (시림, 始林). However, according to the Samguk Sagi, a 12th-century Korean history, Sirim was the site where the child Kim Alji, founder of the Gyeongju Kim clan, was discovered. Found in a golden box accompanied by a rooster, he was adopted by the royal family. His descendants became the later kings of Silla and the forest where he was found was renamed Gyerim, "rooster forest." The Samguk Yusa, a 13th-century miscellanea of tales relating to the Three Kingdoms of Korea, gives a different origin of the term Gyerim. According to that text, the founder of Silla, Bak Hyeokgeose, was born at a stream called Gyejeong (계정, 鷄井), "rooster well," and that his future consort was born from a dragon that came to earth at another place called Gyeryongseo (계룡서, 鷄龍瑞), and for this reason the area was renamed Gyerim.
Based upon the legends of Silla's founding, Gyerim also became a sobriquet for that state. The earliest recorded reference we have of Gyerim being used to designate Silla is from the Chinese histories. The Book of Tang records that in 663 Tang Gaozong designated Silla as Gyerim Territory Area Command (Hangul: 계림도독부, Hanja:鷄林州都督府) and Silla's King Munmu the Gyerimju dodok, Commander-in-chief of Gyerim Territory. The early eighth-century Silla scholar Kim Daemun authored a no longer extant book of tales of Silla entitled Gyerim japjeon (계림잡전, 鷄林雜傳).[5]
Gyerim also appears in the title of the early 12th-century Chinese work Jilin Leishi, or Gyerim Yusa (계림유사, 鷄林類事), which provides one of the earliest sources of information on the pronunciation of the native Korean language.
Historical landmark
Being considered a holy place, a monument commemorating the birth legend of Kim Alji was built in 1803 the Joseon dynasty.Gyerim has been designated as historical landmark #19 from the Korean government since January, 1963. The grounds cover 7,300㎡ and has a dense forest of old oak, ash, zelkova, willow, Korean lespedeza, scarlet maple and locust trees.
