Wonseong of Silla

Wonseong of Silla (r. 785–798,[1] died 798) was the 38th to rule the Korean kingdom of Silla. He was a twelfth-generation descendant of King Naemul. His father was Kim Hyo-yang, and his mother was Lady Gye-o, the daughter of Pak Chang-do. Wonseong's queen was Lady Yeonhwa, the daughter of Gakgan Kim Sin-sul.

Wonseong of Silla
Hangul	원성왕
Hanja	元聖王
Revised Romanization	Wonseong Wang
McCune–Reischauer	Wŏnsŏng Wang
Birth name
Hangul	김경신
Hanja	金敬信
Revised Romanization	Gim Gyeong-sin
McCune–Reischauer	Kim Kyŏngsin

Wonseong of Silla ruled out the Resolution of the Ji-jeong with the Yang-sang in 780 before becoming king. He killed Hyegong of Silla and contributed to the throne. From this point of view, he is a figure closely related to his appearance and has been opposed to the monarchy of the royal family since King Gyeongdeok. Hyegong of Silla was appointed to Sangdaedeung in 780 (King Seongdeok 1) for his work to calm down the turmoil at the end of King Hyegong's reign. [2]

In 780, Wonseong fought alongside his kinsman Kim Yang-sang to defeat the rebellion of Kim Ji-jeong. The rebellion left King Hyegong dead, and Kim took the throne as King Seondeok. The new king gave Wonseong the title of sangdaedeung. After Seondeok died without an heir, the nobles chose Wonseong as the new king.

In 787, Wonseong sent tribute to Tang China and requested a title. In 788, he established the national civil service examination for the first time, on the Tang model.

After his death in 798, the king was buried south of Bongdeoksa.

See also

• Unified Silla
• List of Korean monarchs
• List of Silla people

References

1. Il-yeon: Samguk Yusa: Legends and History of the Three Kingdoms of Ancient Korea, translated by Tae-Hung Ha and Grafton K. Mintz. Book Two, page 96. Silk Pagoda (2006). ISBN 1-59654-348-5
2. "원성왕(元聖王) - 한국민족문화대백과사전". encykorea.aks.ac.kr (in Korean). Retrieved 2018-06-24.