Sinmu (died 839), personal name Kim U-jing, was the 45th monarch of the Korean 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 ...

. His reign was the briefest in the state's history, lasting only from the fourth to the seventh

lunar month In lunar calendars, a lunar month is the time between two successive syzygies of the same type: new moons or full moons. The precise definition varies, especially for the beginning of the month. Variations In Shona, Middle Eastern, and Euro ...

of 839. Sinmu was the son of the '' Sangdaedeung'' Kim Gyunjeong (?–836), a descendant of King Wonseong (r. 785–798) and cousin to King Heungdok (r. 826–838). Upon the death of King Heungdok in 836 a succession struggle erupted between Kim Gyunjeong and his nephew, Kim Jeryung (?–838). Ujing and his follower, Kim Yang supported Gyunjeong, while Kim Myeong and Kim Rihong stood by Jeryung. Jeryung's party ultimately triumphed and Gyunjeong was killed. Kim Jeryung was then crowned as King Huigang in 836. Yang escaped, but Ujing did not. Though being pardoned promptly by the new king, he soon became threatened by Myeong who became '' Sangdaedeung''. So in 837, Ujing fled and entrusted himself with

Jang Bogo Jang Bo-go (787–841), whose childhood name was Gungbok or Gungpa (), was a Sillan who rose to prominence in the Later Silla period of Korea as a powerful maritime figure who effectively controlled the Yellow Sea (West Sea), and dominated the ...

in Cheonghaejin. However, a year later, Myeong fomented a revolt against King Huigang which killed several of the King's aides. Faced with defeat, King Huigang committed suicide. Kim Myeong then ascended the throne as King Minae. Kim Yang, who was then concealing himself on a mountain near the capital, heard the news and raised up an army to go to Cheonghaejin. He told Ujing of these events and persuaded him to have his revenge. Ujing asked

to help him to take advantage of the confusion of the country and to make himself a king.

agreed and had his friend Jeong Nyeon also follow Ujing. In 839, Ujing and his followers defeated King Minae's army at the battle of

Daegu Daegu (; ), formerly spelled Taegu and officially Daegu Metropolitan City (), is a city in southeastern South Korea. It is the third-largest urban agglomeration in South Korea after Seoul and Busan; the fourth-largest List of provincial-level ci ...

and quickly advanced upon the capital. All the king's aides then ran away leaving the king behind, so the king hid himself in a villa near the royal palace. Soldiers came into the palace and searched for the king. Finally, they found the king in the villa and killed him in spite of his pleas. Kim Rihong was also killed. Ujing then placed himself on the throne as King Sinmu. He died three months later from disease and was buried on Mt. Jehyeong in the Silla capital of

Gyeongju Gyeongju (, ), historically known as Seorabeol (, ), is a coastal city in the far southeastern corner of North Gyeongsang Province, South Korea. It is the second largest city by area in the province after Andong, covering with a population of ...

. It is also said that Sinmu dreamed of seeing the dead Rihong shooting an arrow into him. Sinmu awoke with a start when the arrow hit him, but the wound remained real, becoming worse and worse, finally leading to his death. Sinmu's third son, Kim Heung-Gwang, became the founder of the

Gwangsan Kim clan The Gwangsan Kim clan () is a Korean clan with its bon-gwan located in Gwangsan, present-day Gwangju. The members of the Gwangsan Kim clan are the descendants of Kim Hŭng-gwang (), the third son of Sinmu of Silla, King Sinmu of Silla, the 45th ...

Family

Parents * Father: Kim Kyun-jŏng (), posthumously named King Chujong () **Grandfather: Prince Hyechung (; 750–791/792) ** Grandmother: Queen Seongmok, of the Kim clan ( 성목태후 김씨) * Mother: Lady Pak, of the Pak clan (), posthumously named Queen Heonmok () Consorts and their respective issue: * Queen Jeonggye () **Son: Munseong of Silla (died 857) () –was the 46th 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

In Popular Culture

* Portrayed by

Kil Yong-Woo Kil Yong-woo (born December 17, 1955) is a South Korean actor. In 2010, he played one of the main characters in the stage adaptation of the bestselling novel '' Please Look After Mom''. Filmography Film Television series Web series Va ...

in the 2004 KBS2 TV series

Emperor of the Sea ''Emperor of the Sea'' (; literally "Sea God") is an epic South Korean television drama series starring Choi Soo-jong, Chae Shi-ra, Song Il-kook, Soo Ae and Chae Jung-an. It aired on KBS2 from November 24, 2004, to May 25, 2005, on Wednesd ...

References

{{s-end Silla monarchs 839 deaths Year of birth unknown 9th-century Korean monarchs

Family

In Popular Culture

See also

References