Hyejong of Goryeo (912 – 23 October 945) (r. 943–945) was the second

King King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...

Goryeo Goryeo (; ) was a Korean kingdom founded in 918, during a time of national division called the Later Three Kingdoms period, that unified and ruled the Korean Peninsula until 1392. Goryeo achieved what has been called a "true national unificati ...

. He was preceded by King Taejo and succeeded by Jeongjong, 3rd Monarch of Goryeo.

Early life

Hyejong was born to King Taejo and his second wife, Janghwa of the "Oh" clan. She was the daughter of the Magistrate of

Naju Naju () is a city in South Jeolla Province, South Korea. The capital of South Jeolla was located at Naju until it was moved to Gwangju in 1895. The name Jeolla actually originates from the first character of Jeonju () and the first character of Na ...

, Oh Da-ryeon. Taejo met and married her while serving in Naju as a general of

Taebong Taebong (; ) was a state established by Gung Ye () on the Korean Peninsula in 901 during the Later Three Kingdoms. Name The state's initial name was Goryeo, after the official name of Goguryeo, a previous state in Manchuria and the northern ...

under

Gung Ye Gung Ye ( – 24 July 918, r. July 901 – 24 July 918) was the king of the short-lived state of Taebong (901–918), one of the Later Three Kingdoms of Korea. Although he was a member of the Silla royal family, he became a victim of the power s ...

. In 921, Hyejong was proclaimed Crown Prince and Royal Successor with support from General Bak Sul-Hui. Almost immediately after being named Crown Prince, Hyejong followed his father Taejo into battle against

Later Baekje Hubaekje or Later Baekje (, ) was one of the Later Three Kingdoms of Korea, along with Taebong and Silla. Later Baekje was a Korean dynastic kingdom founded by the disaffected Silla general Gyeon Hwon in 900, whom led the local gentry and popul ...

and played a major role in numerous victories. In 943, Hyejong rose to the throne upon his father's death.

Reign

Hyejong's reign was marked with conspiracy and power struggles among Taejo's sons. The first of these conspiracies was led by Princes Wang Yo and Wang So, sons of Taejo and his third consort,

Queen Sinmyeongsunseong Queen Sinmyeong of the Chungju Yu clan () or long-called as Queen Sinmyeongsunseong (; ) was the third Goryeo queen consort through her marriage as the third wife of Wang Geon, its founder and also became the mother of his 5 sons (include Jeongjon ...

of the Chungju Yu clan, which possessed considerable political influence. Upon realizing the conspiracy by the two princes, Wang Gyu warned Hyejong of the conspiracy, but plotted to put his grandson, one of Hyejong's younger half-brothers, on the throne when Hyejong did nothing to stop the conspiracy of the two princes.

Death

Hyejong died in 945, during the second year of his reign from mercury poisoning in his bath water. He had a disease most commonly known as eczema which caused red itchy patches on his skin and difficulty breathing. Although he had a son who was named crown prince, he was succeeded by his third brother Wang Yo, who claimed the throne by force with the backing of their fourth brother Wang So and subsequently crowned as Jeongjong.

Family

*Father:

Taejo of Goryeo Taejo of Goryeo (31 January 877 – 4 July 943), also known as Taejo Wang Geon (; ), was the founder of the Goryeo dynasty, which ruled Korea from the 10th to the 14th century. Taejo ruled from 918 to 943, achieving unification of the Later Three ...

(고려 태조) **Grandfather:

Sejo of Goryeo Wang Ryung (died May 897), more commonly known by his Temple name of Sejo or Posthumous name of King Wimu the Great. He was a general and politician during the Later Goguryeo periods who would become the father of Wang Geon, founder of the Goryeo ...

(고려 세조) **Grandmother: Queen Wisuk (위숙왕후) *Mother:

Queen Janghwa Queen Janghwa of the Naju O clan (Hangul: 장화왕후 오씨, Hanja: 莊和王后吳氏; d. 934 or 943) was the second Goryeo queen consort through her marriage as the second wife of Wang Geon, its founder and became the mother of his heir and o ...

(장화왕후) **Grandfather: O Da-ryeon (오다련) **Grandmother: Lady Yeon Deok-gyo (연덕교) *Consorts and their Respective Issue(s): # Queen Uihwa of the Jincheon Im clan (의화왕후 임씨) ## Prince Heunghwa (흥화궁군) ##

Lady Gyeonghwa Lady Gyeonghwa of the Jincheon Im clan (; ) was a Goryeo Royal Princess as the first and oldest daughter of Hyejong of Goryeo, King Hyejong and Queen Uihwa who became the second wife of her half uncle, Gwangjong of Goryeo, King Gwangjong, which sh ...

(경화궁부인) ## Princess Jeongheon (정헌공주) # Lady Hugwangjuwon of the Wang clan (후광주원부인 왕씨) – No issue. #Lady Cheongjuwon of the Cheongju Gim clan (청주원부인 김씨)Elder daughter of Gim Geung-ryul (김긍률) and elder sister of Jeongjong of Goryeo's third wife, Lady Cheongjunam. Since the Cheongju Region was powerful at that time and Gim Geung-ryul was one of its nobleman, so it was believed that Hyejong took Gim as his consort to make Cheongju people on his side. – No issue. # ''Palace Lady Aeiju'', of the Yeon clan (궁인 애이주 연씨) ## Wang Je (왕제) ## Lady Myeonghye (명혜부인)

In popular culture

* Portrayed by Ahn Jung-hoon and Seo Hyun-suk in the 2000–2002

KBS1 The Korean Broadcasting System (KBS) () is the national broadcaster of South Korea. Founded in February 1927, it is one of the leading South Korean television and radio broadcasters. KBS operates seven radio networks, ten television channels, a ...

TV series ''

Taejo Wang Geon ''Taejo Wang Geon'' (; ) is a 2000 Korean historical period drama. Directed by Kim Jong-sun and starring Choi Soo-jong in the title role of Taejo of Goryeo, King Taejo. The drama aired from April 1, 2000 to February 24, 2002 in a total of 200 e ...

''. *Portrayed by No Young-gook in the 2002–2003

TV series ''

The Dawn of the Empire ''The Dawn of the Empire'' () is a South Korean historical television series which aired on KBS1 from March 2, 2002 to January 26, 2003 for 94 episodes every weekend at 21:45 ( KST). It revolves around the reigns of the second, third and fourth ki ...

''. *Portrayed by

Kim San-ho Kim San-ho (born February 12, 1982) is a South Korean actor. Kim is best known in musical theatre, having starred in Korean stage productions of '' Grease'', ''The Fantasticks'' and the Kim Kwang-seok jukebox musical ''The Days''. On televisio ...

in the 2016 SBS TV series '' Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hyejong Of Goryeo 912 births 945 deaths 10th-century Korean monarchs People from Naju Korean generals