Hyegong of Silla

King Hyegong
혜공왕
惠恭王
King of Silla
Reign765–780
Coronation765
PredecessorGyeongdeok of Silla
SuccessorKing Seondeok of Silla
Born758
Died780 (aged 21–22)
Silla
FatherGyeongdeok of Silla
MotherQueen Gyeongsu
Hyegong of Silla
Hangul
혜공왕
Hanja
惠恭王
Revised RomanizationHyegong Wang
McCune–ReischauerHyegong Wang
Birth name
Hangul
김건운
Hanja
金乾運
Revised RomanizationGim Geonun
McCune–ReischauerKim Kŏnun
Monarchs of Korea
Silla
(Post-unification)
  1. Munmu 661–681
  2. Sinmun 681–691
  3. Hyoso 692–702
  4. Seongdeok 702–737
  5. Hyoseong 737–742
  6. Gyeongdeok 742–765
  7. Hyegong 765–780
  8. Seondeok 780–785
  9. Wonseong 785–798
  10. Soseong 798–800
  11. Aejang 800–809
  12. Heondeok 809–826
  13. Heungdeok 826–836
  14. Huigang 836–838
  15. Minae 838–839
  16. Sinmu 839
  17. Munseong 839–857
  18. Heonan 857–861
  19. Gyeongmun 861–875
  20. Heongang 875–886
  21. Jeonggang 886–887
  22. Jinseong 887–897
  23. Hyogong 897–912
  24. Sindeok 912–917
  25. Gyeongmyeong 917–924
  26. Gyeongae 924–927
  27. Gyeongsun 927–935

Hyegong (758–780), personal name Kim Kŏn-un, was the 36th ruler of the Korean kingdom of Silla. Being the only child between King Gyeongdeok and Lady Manwol (Queen Gyeongsu), Hyegong was the last descendant of King Muyeol to sit on the throne. Because of this, Hyegong's reign is often regarded as the end of the middle period of the Silla state.

Hyegong became king at the age of 8, and did not adapt well to the role.[1] According to the Samguk sagi, 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.[2] Kim Yang-sang, who was an eleventh-generation descendant of King Naemul, then took the throne as King Seondeok.[3]

Records show that Hyegong's behaviour was effeminate and showed either homosexual or bisexual tendency.[4] Records have traditionally described the monarch as "a man by appearance but a woman by nature". In Dongsa Gangmok, 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."[5] Today's historians often speculate that Hyegong was a trans woman.[6]

  1. ^ 김, 동완 (July 30, 2021). [삼국유사 오디세이] 34. 황복사탑이 혜공왕을 점지한 천궁이었을까. 경북일보. Retrieved 28 February 2024.
  2. ^ 김, 동완 (July 30, 2021). [삼국유사 오디세이] 34. 황복사탑이 혜공왕을 점지한 천궁이었을까. 경북일보. Retrieved 28 February 2024.
  3. ^ 혜공왕(惠恭王). Encyclopedia of Korean Culture (in Korean). Retrieved 2018-05-13.
  4. ^ 김, 부식. 삼국사기·삼국유사(이병도 역) (in Korean).
  5. ^ 한국고전종합DB. db.itkc.or.kr. Retrieved 2021-08-26.
  6. ^ 누가 혜공왕을 시해했을까. h21.hani.co.kr (in Korean). Retrieved 2021-05-20.