Queen Seondeok of Silla ( ; – 17 February 647/January 8, Lunar Calendar) reigned as Queen Regnant 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. She was the second female sovereign in recorded East Asian history and encouraged a renaissance in thought, literature, and the arts in Silla. In Samguksagi, Queen Seondeok was described as "generous, benevolent, wise, and smart". According to the Legend of Jigwi, she was also beautiful.
Titles
In texts, Queen Seondeok is indicated not only as Seondeok yeowang (선덕여왕), but also as Seondeok wang (선덕왕), Seondeok yeodaewang (선덕여대왕) and Seongjohwanggo (성조황고). Yeowang () – Yeowang ("female king") is the title of queen regnant in Korean. There is no feminine equivalent to king and emperor in East Asian languages, different titles are used for female monarchs and female consorts. Wang () – Unlike European languages, in East Asia, the titles of female monarchs can also be abbreviated as "king" or "emperor", much like their male counterparts. However, to avoid confusion with male monarchs, they are usually referred to as "female king" or "female emperor". Yeodaewang () – It is a combination of yeowang ("female king") and daewang ("great king"). In Samguk yusa, she is also called Seondeok yeodaewang (선덕여대왕), meaning Great Queen (Regnant) Seondeok. Seongjohwanggo () – The title given to Queen Seondeok when she ascended the throne was Seongjohwanggo, also spelled Sŏngjohwanggo. It means Empress descended from divine ancestors. This is one of the cases in which Silla used the title of emperor/empress as well as the title of king/queen. (See Emperor at home, king abroad for more information.)
Succession to the throne
Born Princess Deokman (), Seondeok was the daughter of King Jinpyeong and Queen Maya of Silla. She had two siblings, Princess Cheonmyeong and Princess Seonhwa (although Seonhwa's existence is controversial due to the discovery of evidence in 2009 that points to King Uija's mother as being Queen Sataek and not Seonhwa as indicated by historical records). It is uncertain whether she or Cheonmyeong was the first born. According to the disputed text Hwarang Segi, Cheonmyeong was older than Seondeok. According to the historical text Samguk sagi, Seondeok was the eldest daughter.
According to the disputed text Hwarang Segi, because King Jinpyeong had no son whom he could pass the crown to, he began to consider his son-in-law, Kim Yongsu (husband of Princess Cheonmyeong) as his successor - after recognizing his achievements for the country. When Princess Deokman heard of it, she made a plea to her father, asking him to give her a chance to compete for the throne, insisting that she too has the right to compete for the throne as much as Kim Yongsu has. Seeing her determination, the King gave her the chance to prove herself worthy of the throne. Although it was not unusual for women to wield power in Silla (Queen Sado also served as a regent for King Jinpyeong), the thought of having a female ruler sitting on the throne was still unacceptable for most of them. Therefore, Princess Deokman had to prove herself in order to gain the trust and support of her people. Eventually, she succeeded, and was named as King Jinpyeong's successor. But this story is not mentioned in the historical texts Samguk sagi and Samguk yusa. According to Samguk yusa, the reason Seondeok became a female monarch was just because there was no male Seonggol of Bone-rank system.
The decision was not accepted by everyone, and as a result; some officials planned an uprising in order to stop her from being crowned. On May of 631, Ichan Chilsuk () and Achan Seokpum () planned a rebellion. But, their plan was discovered and suppressed early on. As punishment, Chilsuk was beheaded in the market place along with his entire family. Seokpum was able to escape and ran to the Baekje border. However, he missed his wife and decided to return after exchanging clothes with a woodcutter. Upon his return, he was arrested by soldiers waiting for him at his home, and was later executed.