Wonseong of Silla

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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

Monarchs of Korea
Silla (Post-Unification) 30. Munmu 661-681 31. Sinmun 681-691 32. Hyoso 692-702 33. Seongdeok 702-737 34. Hyoseong 737-742 35. Gyeongdeok 742-765 36. Hyegong 765-780 37. Seondeok 780-785 38. Wonseong 785-798 39. Soseong 798-800 40. Aejang 800-809 41. Heondeok 809-826 42. Heungdeok 826-836 43. Huigang 836-838 44. Minae 838-839 45. Sinmu 839 46. Munseong 839-857 47. Heonan 857-861 48. Gyeongmun 861-875 49. Heongang 875-886 50. Jeonggang 886-887 51. Jinseong 887-897 52. Hyogong 897-912 53. Sindeok 913-917 54. Gyeongmyeong 917-924 55. Gyeongae 924-927 56. Gyeongsun 927-935

Wonseong of Silla (r. 785-798, d. 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.

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.