Jinheung (534–576; reign 540–576) was the 24th monarch 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 ...

, one of the

Three Kingdoms of Korea The Three Kingdoms of Korea or Samhan (Goguryeo, Baekje and Silla) competed for hegemony over the Korea, Korean Peninsula during the ancient period of History of Korea, Korean history. During the Three Kingdoms period (), many states and statele ...

. He followed King Beopheung (r. 514–540) and was followed by King Jinji (r. 576–579). Jinheung was the nephew / grandson of King Beopheung. Jinheung of Silla was one of the greatest kings of Silla, and was responsible for expanding Silla territory immensely. He and King

Seong Seong (), also spelled Song or Sung, is an uncommon Korean family name. Overview The family name Seong is written with only one hanja character, meaning "succeed" or "accomplish" (). The 2000 South Korean Census found 167,903 people with this f ...

26th king of Baekje, struggled with each other over the Han River valley. Jinheung won this struggle and expanded Silla's territory immensely.

Rise to the throne

Jinheung of Silla rose to the throne at a young age when his predecessor and paternal uncle / maternal grandfather, Beopheung, died. Since he was too young to rule a kingdom at the time, his mother Queen Jiso acted as regent. When he became of age, he began to rule independently. One of his first acts as true king of Silla was to appoint a man named

Kim Isabu Isabu () was a military general and politician of Silla during the 6th century. According to ''Samguk Sagi'', he is the fourth generation descendant of Naemul of Silla. He was also known as Taejong. He is best remembered today for his role in su ...

as Head of Military Affairs, which occurred in 541. Jinheung adopted a policy of peace with the neighbouring kingdom of

Baekje Kingdom Baekje or Paekche (; ) was a Korean kingdom located in southwestern Korea from 18 BCE to 660 CE. It was one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, together with Goguryeo and Silla. While the three kingdoms were in separate existence, Baekje had the h ...

. In 551, he allied with Baekje so that he could attack the northern Korean kingdom of

Goguryeo Goguryeo (37 BC – 668 AD) (; ; Old Korean: Guryeo) also later known as Goryeo (; ; Middle Korean: 고ᇢ롕〮, ''kwòwlyéy''), was a Korean kingdom which was located on the northern and central parts of the Korea, Korean Peninsula an ...

. The result of this allied attack on Goguryeo was the conquest of the Han river estuary. The kingdoms of

Baekje Baekje or Paekche (; ) was a Korean kingdom located in southwestern Korea from 18 BCE to 660 CE. It was one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, together with Goguryeo and Silla. While the three kingdoms were in separate existence, Baekje had the h ...

and

agreed on splitting the conquered territory equally between themselves.

Expansion

During the reign of King

Seong of Baekje Seong (c. 504 – 554) was the 26th king of Baekje, one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, reigning from 523 to 554. He was a son of Muryeong of Baekje and is best known for making Buddhism the state religion, moving the national capital to Sabi ...

, King Jinheung allied with

and launched an attack on the Han River valley during the year 553. In a secret agreement between Silla and Goguryeo, Silla troops attacked the exhausted Baekje army in late 553. Feeling the betrayal from Silla, King Seong attacked during the year 554, but was caught in an ambush led by a Silla general and was assassinated along with those who were accompanying him. King Jinheung guarded the new territory with a firm hand for seven years before sending General Kim Isabu to conquer Daegaya in 561. King Jinheung constructed a monument in his newly conquered territory and established provinces in the area. He subdued all rebellions and continued to develop culture in his kingdom. In 576, the

Hwarang Hwarang () were an elite warrior group of male youth in Silla, an ancient kingdom of the Korean Peninsula that originated from the mid 6th century and lasted until the early 10th century. There were educational institutions as well as social clu ...

was established, and they would later play a huge role in the unification of the

Death and succession

King Jinheung died in 576 at the age of 51. His 37-year rule of Silla was characterised by conquest and advancement. King Jinheung was succeeded by his second son, Prince Geumryun, who became King Jinji of Silla.

Family

*Father: '' Galmunwang'' Ipjong () **Grandfather: King Jijeung of Silla (; 437 – 514) **Grandmother: Queen Yeonje of the Miryang Park clan () *Mother: Queen Jiso (; ? – 574) **Grandfather: King Beopheung of Silla (; ? – July 540) **Grandmother: Princess Bodo of Silla ()

Consorts and their respective issue(s)

# Queen Sado of the Park clan (; ? – February 614) ## Crown Prince Dongryun (; ? – 572) ## King Jinji of Silla (; ? – 24 August 579) ##Kim Gu-ryun () ##Princess Taeyang () ##Princess Ayang () ##Princess Eunryun () ##Princess Wolryun () #Princess Sukmyeong (; ? – 603) ##Crown Prince Jeongsuk () #Princess Bomyeong () # Lady Mishil () ##Prince Sujong () ##Princess Banya () ##Princess Nanya () #Lady Sobi of Baekje () #Princess Wolhwa () ##Prince Cheonju () ##Princess Deokmyeong () #Lady Geumjin () ##Princess Nanseong ()

Legacy

King Jinheung's achievements for his kingdom established the basis for unification of Korea. He is remembered today by the Korean people as one of the greatest rulers of Silla.

Popular culture

* Portrayed by

Lee Soon-jae Lee Soon-jae (; born November 16, 1934) is a South Korean actor. He has had a prolific career on the small and big screen spanning over six decades, and was given a second-class Eungwan Order of Cultural Merit for his work as an actor. Lee made ...

in the 2009 MBC TV series '' Queen Seondeok''. * Portrayed by Park Hyung-sik in the 2016–2017

KBS2 KBS 2TV is a South Korean free-to-air Free-to-air (FTA) services are television (TV) and radio services broadcast in unencrypted form, allowing any person with the appropriate receiving equipment to receive the signal and view or listen ...

TV series '' Hwarang: The Poet Warrior Youth''. * Portrayed by Kim Yoon Hong in the 2017 KBS TV series '' Chronicles of Korea'' * Portrayed by Kim Seung-soo in the 2021

TV series '' River Where the Moon Rises'' * Portrayed by Kim Myung-Soo in the 2023 ENA TV series '' Moon in the Day''

References

{{s-end Silla monarchs Silla Buddhist monks Korean Buddhist monarchs 526 births 576 deaths 6th-century monarchs in Asia 6th-century Korean people