Hyegong of Silla

Infobox Korean name
hangul=혜공왕
hanja=惠恭王
rr=Hyegong Wang
mr=Hyegong Wang
hangulborn=김건운
hanjaborn=金乾運
rrborn=Gim Geon-un
mrborn=Kim Kŏnun

Hyegong of Silla (756-780, r. 765-780) was the 36th ruler of the Korean kingdom of Silla. He was the son of King Gyeongdeok by Lady Manwol. Hyegong was the last descendant of King Muyeol to sit on the throne. Because of this, his 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. According to the "Samguk Sagi", as a young man Hyegong's dissolute life kept the palace in disarray. He faced rebellions led by high officials in 768, 770 and 775. Faced in 780 with another rebellion, by his "ichan" Kim Ji-jeong, the king dispatched "sangdaedeung" Kim Yang-sang to put down the uprising. However, the rebel forces stormed the palace and slew the king and queen. Kim Yang-sang, who was an eleventh-generation descendant of King Naemul, then took the throne as King Seondeok.

Hyegong was thought to be effeminate, since his behavior was thought to be girlish, and historians described him as a man by appearance but a woman by nature, and so was killed in the April 780 rebellion that stormed the palace (for his subordinates could not accept his 'femininity'.) [http://www.utopia-asia.com/korlife2.htm Korean Gay and Lesbian History]

References

See also

* Unified Silla
* List of Korean monarchs
* List of Silla people
* Hyegong (Silla monk)