Jinseong of Silla

Jinseong of Silla (c. 865–898), personal name Kim Man, was the fifty-first ruler of the Korean kingdom, Silla from 887 to 897. 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.

Life
Jinseong was the daughter of King Gyeongmun and Queen Munui. 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. 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.

Reign
According to Samguk Sagi, Jinseong did licentious conduct that bringing attractive men into the palace and committing lewd acts with them. She also carried on an affair with the high commander (Gakgan) Kim Wi-hong. 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 it's downfall.

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, to be created.

Family
Parents Consorts and their respective issue:
 * Father: Gyeongmun of Silla (841–875)
 * Grandfather: Kim Kye-myŏng
 * Grandmother: Madam Gwanghwa (광화부인)
 * Mother: Queen Munui of the Kim clan (문의왕후 김씨)
 * Maternal grandfather: Heonan of Silla (헌안왕)
 * Maternal grandmother: Unknown
 * Kim Wi-hong (김위홍), son of Kim Kye-myŏng (김계명)
 * Stepson: Yang Jeong (양정)

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