As a descendant of Silla's founder Hyeokgeose, his surname was Park.
His title was Isageum, also recorded as Ijilgeum or Chijilgeum. This title is a change from Geoseogan (the first king Hyeokgeose) and Chachaung (second king Namhae). The actual Silla word is thought to be Itgeum[1]. Imgeum is the modern Korean word for "King".
Yuri was the son of Silla's second ruler, Namhae, and his queen Lady Unje. It is unclear how many siblings Namhae had, but he did have a sister. This sister, Princess Ani, was married to a non-Sillan man named Seok Talhae, who originated from an island nation called Tapana. Talhae became a very highly ranked official and Namhae seemed to prefer him as successor instead of his son. This is revealed on Namhae's deathbed, but Talhae insisted that the prince's rise to the throne would be righteous and allowed Yuri to become the next ruler of Silla.
According to the Samguk Sagi, the principal source for events of this period, Yuri centralized rule over the aristocracy by turning the six tribes into six official administrative divisions of Silla in 32. He is said to have granted surnames to each of the clans: Yi, Choe, Son, Jeong, Bae, and Seol.[4][5][6] He is also said to have created 17 bureaucratic rank levels. However, modern scholars doubt that these occurred so early in Silla's development.
In 37, When Muhyul (無恤) attacked Nakrang Kingdom and destroyed it, 5000 people of the Nakrang country surrendered. They were divided into Silla's six divisions. This is when the legend of Princess Nakrang occurred.[7]
Silla was attacked by Lelang commandery and other tribes, but made peace with Maekguk(貊國).[8][9]
The Samguk Sagi records that Silla conquered Iseoguk (present-day Cheongdo) in Yuri Isageum era[10]
During Yuri's reign, the Silla people celebrated a holiday during the 15th day of the 8th month, where two teams of women would compete in a contest. The losers of the contest would have to prepare songpyeon, rice cakes, meats, fruits, and other food, shared by everyone in a feast. This is said to have been the origin of the modern Korean holiday Chuseok.
Also during Yuri Isageum's reign was the rise of the Gaya confederacy as a military power in the region. Silla was under constant rivalry with Baekje(or maybe Mahan) already, but Gaya in the middle was even more of a direct threat.
Yuri Isageum had two sons, but his dying words were to make his brother-in-law, Seok Talhae, his successor to the throne.[11] Yuri Isageum died in 57 AD after 34 years of reign.
^This is presumed to have been granted to the existing six divisions of Saro that did not use surnames due to the emergence of Seok.
These surnames are believed to have imitated Chinese surnames that were frequently contacted.
^However, the actual appearance of the surname was the late Silla period.
^It is claimed that Korea's Silla was founded by Six-clans of Gojoseon people, an immigrant from the northern part of the peninsula. The Six-clans of Gojoseon appears in the Samguk Sagi Record, which was written in 1145 by Chinese Korean(Chinese Kim clan, not Korean Kim clan). But there are some suspicion about this record. The six-clans of Gojoseon are correspond to the Chinese surname distributed in northern China. If the six-clans existed from the early Silla period, they should exist from the early Japanese and Korean records. However, the first appearance of history books was in the 700s.
^三國史記 卷第一 新羅本紀 第一 儒理 尼師今 十三年 秋八月 樂浪犯北邊 攻陷朶山城: In 36, Nakrang invaded the northern frontier and occupied Tasan Fortress.
^三國史記 卷第一 新羅本紀 第一 儒理 尼師今 十七年 秋九月 華麗不耐二縣人連謀 率騎兵犯北境 貊國渠帥 以兵要曲河西敗之 王喜 與貊國結好: In 40, people from Hwaryeo and Bulnaeye joined forces to lead cavalry and invade the northern frontier. Maek was waiting in the west of the curved river using a military force and struck and defeated. The king rejoiced and established friendly relations with the Maek
^but Korean academic community think this appears to be a mistaken recording of an Yurye-era event.
