King Yuri grew up without a father, even though his father, Jumong, was the first king of the Goguryeo Dynasty. It was not until Yuri was in his late teens that he met his father for the first time in his life. He belatedly became crown prince and he suffered a conflict with his half-brothers. It is assumed that he wasn’t very happy during his youth. Yuri managed to succeed to the throne, but his personal life as king in his later years was as turbulent as his younger days.

King Yuri’s first wife, Lady Song, died only a year after she got married. The king then remarried two women. One was Hwa-hui, a native of Goguryeo, and the other was Chi-hui, who was a Chinese woman from the Han tribe. Once, while the king was away hunting, the two women fought and Chi-hui left the palace, crossing the river to go back to her home country. The king came back from hunting to find that Chi-hui was gone, and lost no time following her to persuade her not to leave.

Unfortunately, Chi-hui had already crossed the river when the king got there. He was frustrated and depressed. While staring blankly at the other side of the river, the king heard a pair of nightingales chirping merrily on a tree. On the spot, he composed a song, which was later known as “Hwangjo-ga,” meaning “The Song of Yellow Birds.” The lyrics were, “The male and female nightingales flutter affectionately… Thinking how lonely I am… I wonder with whom I should return.”

Looking at the paired birds flying off, the king was obviously expressing his deep sorrow and loneliness after the parting from his beloved wife. The famous lyrical song was created in the fifth year of King Yuri’s reign in 17 B.C., and it has survived to this day to be included in some Korean language textbooks.

King Yuri had six sons. He loved his first son, Do-jeol, who suddenly died at the tender age of 18. After the death, the second son, Hae-myeong, was designated as the crown prince, the next in line for the throne. But the king found this cheerful prince to be too reckless and defiant. The prince was under suspicion of having plotted a rebellion. As a result, the king ordered him to kill himself. Hae-myeong obeyed his father’s order and committed suicide. He was 21 years old. But the tragedy didn’t end there. The king’s fourth son, Yeo-jin, was drowned to death, breaking the king’s heart. Apparently, Yeo-jin’s death was a great shock to his father. The grief-stricken father became sick and died in the same year of his son’s death. His third son, Muhul, succeeded King Yuri to become King Daemusin, the third monarch of Goguryeo.

King Yuri had an unhappy childhood even though his father was the founder of the Goguryeo kingdom. He went through many ups and downs, including a power struggle with his half-brothers, before finally ascending to the throne. After he became king, he lost his first wife and had to let go of the woman he loved so dearly. He was a miserable father who saw three of his sons die before him, even killing one of them himself. Indeed, the king’s personal history was a string of hardships and misfortunes.