King Seondeok of Silla (died 785) (r. 780–785) was the successor to King Hyegong

Hyegong of Silla

Hyegong of Silla 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...

 and the 37th to rule the Korea

Korea

Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...

n kingdom of Silla

Silla

Silla was one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, and one of the longest sustained dynasties in...

. He was an eleventh-generation descendant of King Naemul

Naemul of Silla

Naemul of Silla was the 17th ruler of the Korean kingdom of Silla. He was the nephew of King Michu. He married Michu's daughter, Lady Boban. He is given the title Isageum, the same one borne by earlier rulers, in the Samguk Sagi; he is given the title Maripgan, borne by later rulers, in the...

, and the Daughter of haechan Kim Hyo-bang by King Seongdeok

Seongdeok of Silla

Seongdeok Daewang was the thirty-third king of the ancient Korean kingdom of Silla. He was the second son of King Sinmun, and the younger brother of King Hyoso. In 704 Seongdeok married Lady Baeso 陪昭夫人 , the daughter of Gim Wontae. In 715 their son, Junggyeong 重慶, was named Crown Prince and heir...

's daughter Lady Saso. He married Lady Gujok, the daughter of gakgan Kim Yang-pum.

Seondeok served under King Hyegong

Hyegong of Silla

Hyegong of Silla 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...

 in the position of sangdaedeung

Sangdaedeung

Sangdaedeung was an office of the Silla state equivalent to the European King's/Queen's Counsel. The Sangdaedeung was chosen from among those men of “true bone” lineage in Silla‘s strict aristocratic social order...

. When the rebellion of Kim Ji-jeong broke out in 780, he led the royal forces against the rebels. However, the rebels stormed the palace and slew the king, and Seondeok was obliged to take the throne for himself.

After his death in 785, Seondeok was cremated and his ashes scattered on the Sea of Japan

Sea of Japan

The Sea of Japan is a marginal sea of the western Pacific Ocean, between the Asian mainland, the Japanese archipelago and Sakhalin. It is bordered by Japan, North Korea, Russia and South Korea. Like the Mediterranean Sea, it has almost no tides due to its nearly complete enclosure from the Pacific...

 (East Sea). Seondeok's successor was King Wonseong

Wonseong of Silla

Wonseong of Silla 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...

.

See also

• Unified Silla
  Unified Silla
  Unified Silla or Later Silla is the name often applied to the Korean kingdom of Silla, one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, when it conquered Baekje in 660 and Goguryeo in 668, unifying the southern portion of the Korean peninsula...
  
  
• List of Korean monarchs
• List of Silla people
• Queen Seondeok of Silla
  Queen Seondeok of Silla
  Queen Seondeok of Silla reigned as Queen of Silla, one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, from 632 to 647. She was Silla's twenty-seventh ruler, and its first reigning queen...