Hyegong (758–780), personal name Kim Kŏn-un, was the 36th ruler of the

Korea Korea is a peninsular region in East Asia consisting of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and smaller islands. Since the end of World War II in 1945, it has been politically Division of Korea, divided at or near the 38th parallel north, 3 ...

n kingdom of

Silla Silla (; Old Korean: wikt:徐羅伐#Old Korean, 徐羅伐, Yale romanization of Korean, Yale: Syerapel, Revised Romanization of Korean, RR: ''Seorabeol''; International Phonetic Alphabet, IPA: ) was a Korean kingdom that existed between ...

. Being the only child between King Gyeongdeok and Lady Manwol ( Queen Gyeongsu), Hyegong was the last descendant of

King Muyeol King Taejong Muyeol (603–661), born Kim Ch'un-ch'u, was the 29th ruler of Silla, one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea. He is credited for leading the unification of Korea's Three Kingdoms. Background King Taejong Muyeol was born with the "sac ...

to sit on the throne. Because of this, Hyegong's reign is often regarded as the end of the middle period of the

state. Hyegong became king at the age of 8, and did not adapt well to the role. According to the ''

Samguk sagi ''Samguk sagi'' () is a historical record of the Three Kingdoms of Korea: Goguryeo, Baekje, and Silla. Completed in 1145, it is well-known in Korea as the oldest surviving chronicle of Korean history. The ''Samguk sagi'' is written in Classical ...

'', Hyegong's dissolute life as a young monarch kept the palace in disarray. They faced rebellions led by high officials ( Kim Daegong and others) in 768, 770 and 775. Faced in 780 with another rebellion led by his ''ichan'' Kim Chi-jŏng, the monarch dispatched '' sangdaedeung'' Kim Yang-sang to put down the uprising, but the rebel forces managed to storm the palace and assassinated Hyegong and other royal family members. Kim Yang-sang, who was an eleventh-generation descendant of King Naemul, then took the throne as King Seondeok. Records show that Hyegong's behaviour was effeminate and showed either

homosexual Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between people of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" exc ...

bisexual Bisexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior toward both males and females. It may also be defined as the attraction to more than one gender, to people of both the same and different gender, or the attraction t ...

tendency. Records have traditionally described the monarch as "a man by appearance but a woman by nature". In ''

Dongsa Gangmok ''Tongsa kangmok'' (''Compendium of the eastern history'') is a Korean history book written by Ahn Jeong-bok (1712–1791). It is composed of 20 volumes and describes from Gojoseon to Goryeo Goryeo (; ) was a Korean state founded in 918, ...

'', Ahn Jeong-bok described Hyegong's reign as "peculiar, for it was said that the king became a man as a woman, and for the king played with girl's toys as a child." Today's historians often speculate that Hyegong was a

trans woman A trans woman or transgender woman is a woman who was assigned male at birth. Trans women have a female gender identity and may experience gender dysphoria (distress brought upon by the discrepancy between a person's gender identity and their ...

Family

* Grandfather:

Seongdeok of Silla Seongdeok Daewang (; reigned 702–737) was the thirty-third king of the ancient Korean kingdom of Silla. He was the second son of King Sinmun, and the younger brother of King Hyoso. In 704 Seongdeok married Lady Baeso 陪昭夫人 (Qu ...

(reigned 702–737) * Grandmother: Queen Sodeok (), of the

Kim Kim may refer to: People and fictional characters * Kim (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Kim (surname), a list of people and fictional characters ** Kim (Korean surname) *** Kim dynasty (disambiguation), several dynas ...

clan * Father:

Gyeongdeok of Silla Gyeongdeok (景德王; 723~724–765) was the 35th ruler of Silla and son of Seongdeok of Silla, King Seongdeok (reigned 702–737). He succeeded his elder brother, King Hyoseong, the 34th ruler of Silla. His reign is considered a golden age in ...

* Mother: Queen Gyeongsu, of the Kim clan * Wife: **Queen Wi, of the Wi clan () **Queen Changchang, of the Kim clan ( 창창부인 김씨), daughter of Kim Chang ()

References

Silla monarchs 780 deaths 758 births 8th-century Korean monarchs Historical figures with ambiguous or disputed gender identity {{Korea-hist-stub

Family

See also

References