Seol was the son of the prominent Buddhist figure Wonhyo and the Silla princess Yoseok, the daughter of King Muyeol.
Seol Chong is best remembered for regularizing the idu and gugyeol scripts, which were the first systems for representing the Korean language in Chinese characters.
The idu script had been in use previous to Seol Chong, but had lacked rigorous principles.
This parable is either repeated or paraphrased in the Samguk Sagi, and influenced later writers of the Joseon period.
A typically Confucian text, it criticizes monarchs for valuing pleasure-seeking over righteous rule.