Hogong[1] was a minister of
Silla in the age of nation-building. It is recorded that he was originally from the
Wa people of
Japan, though his family name or clan name was unknown to the compiler of the
Historical Records of the Three Kingdoms.[2] He was called Hogong (meaning "Duke Bottle Gourd") because he was wearing one or more
bottle gourds on his waist when he first came across the sea. He was a very important person in initial Silla because he appeared in stories of primogenitors of all royal families.
In 20 BC,
Hyeokgeose of Silla (박혁거세) dispatched him to
Mahan confederacy. The king of Mahan scolded him on account of the fact that Silla had not sent tribute, but Hogong criticized the king's impoliteness with fortitude. The king became angry at Hogong and tried to kill him, but surrounding subordinates stopped the king, and he was permitted his homecoming.
In 58, he assumed the position of the minister's first rank.
In 65, he discovered
Kim Alji, who would become primogenitor of the Kim royal clan of Silla, in the forest of
Gyerim.
^Sino-Korean 瓠 ho '
calabash' is a synonym of native Korean 박 bak. Sino-Korean 公 gong is from Chinese 公 gōng 'duke; husband; male; public, communal; fair, equitable.'