Jinseong of Silla

Jinseong (c. 865–898), personal name Kim Man, was the fifty-first ruler of the Korean kingdom, Silla from 887 to 897.^[1] She was also Silla's third and last reigning queen after Seondeok and Jindeok. Her reign saw the weakening of Unified Silla and the beginning of the Later Three Kingdoms period. According to her older brother Jeonggang, she was smart by nature and tall like a man.^[2]

Queen Jinseong 진성여왕 眞聖女王
Queen of Silla
Reign	887–897
Coronation	887
Predecessor	Jeonggang of Silla
Successor	Hyogong of Silla
Born	c. 865
Died	January 4 898 (aged c. 32–33) Gyeongju, Gyeongsangbuk-do, Unified Silla
Burial	Hwangsan, Gyeongju
Consort	Kim Wi-hong [ko], King Hyeseong
House	Gyeongju Kim
Father	Gyeongmun of Silla
Mother	Queen Munui [ko]
Religion	Buddhism

Jinseong of Silla
Hangul	진성여왕
Hanja	眞聖女王
Revised Romanization	Jinseong yeowang
McCune–Reischauer	Chinsŏng yŏwang
Birth name
Hangul	김만, also 김원
Hanja	金曼, also 金垣
Revised Romanization	Gim Man, also Gim Won
McCune–Reischauer	Kim Man, also Kim Wŏn

Life

Jinseong was the only daughter of King Gyeongmun and Queen Munui [ko]. Being the younger sister of Heongang and Jeonggang, she rose to the throne when both of her brothers died without issue. When King Jeonggang was dying in 887, he appointed his sister Jinseong as his heir, justifying the choice of a female monarch by pointing at Seondeok's and Jindeok's successful reigns.^[2] Though Seondeok and Jindeok's successful reigns were invoked to help Jinseong secure the throne, Silla's third queen regnant ultimately did not live up to the expectations of her predecessors.^[3]

Reign

According to the Samguk sagi, Jinseong did licentious conduct that bringing attractive men into the palace and committing lewd acts with them.^[3] She also carried on an affair with the Gakgan [ko] ("high commander") Kim Wi-hong [ko]. But in Samguk yusa, it states that Queen Jinseong married her paternal uncle Kim Wi-hong.^[4] In Samguk Yusa, Yang-pae (양패), the youngest son of Queen Jinseong, is mentioned.^[5] The Samguk sagi was written by Confucianists, who held a negative view of female rule, so the precise details therein should perhaps not be taken at face value.

In contrast, according to the records of Ch'oe Ch'i-wŏn, she was a good-hearted monarch with no greed, who accepted his various recommendations to reform the government of Silla to prevent its downfall.^[3]

During her reign, public order collapsed. Taxes could no longer be collected and the military conscription system failed. Taking advantage of this domestic disarray, Yang Gil in the northwest and Kyŏn Hwŏn in the southwest rebelled and founded their own kingdoms, reviving the fallen states of Goguryeo and Baekje as Later Goguryeo and Later Baekje respectively.

In 895, Jinseong appointed Heongang's illegitimate son Kim Yo as Crown Prince. On June, 897, she abdicated the throne and later died on December, 897. She was buried to the north of Sajasa temple in Gyeongju.

Legacy

She ordered the first compilation of hyangga works, Samdaemok [ko] (삼대목), to be created.

Family

Parents

• Father: Gyeongmun of Silla (841–875)
  • Grandfather: Kim Kye-myŏng
  • Grandmother: Madam Gwanghwa (광화부인)
• Mother: Queen Munui [ko] of the Kim clan (문의왕후 김씨)
  • Maternal grandfather: Heonan of Silla (헌안왕)
  • Maternal grandmother: Unknown

Consorts and their respective issue:

• Kim Wi-hong [ko] (김위홍), honored as King Hyeseong (혜성왕; ?–888),^[4] her uncle^[a]
  • Youngest Son: Kim Yang-pae (김양패)^[5]
  • Unknown Older Brother(s) of Yang-pae

In Popular Culture

• Portrayed by Noh Hyun Hee in the 2000 KBS1 TV series Taejo Wang Geon
• Portrayed by Kim Hye-ri in the 2003 film The Legend of the Evil Lake

See also

• Unified Silla
• Later Three Kingdoms of Korea

Notes

1. Second son of Kim Kye-myŏng (김계명; 820–?) and Lady Gwanghwa (광화부인; 826–?). By birth, Kim Wi-hong was Queen Jinseong's uncle and by marriage her husband.^[4]