House of Kim

The House of Kim, also known as the Kim dynasty, was the royal family that ruled part or all of Menghe between 1867 and 1945, spanning just under 80 years but covering three systems of government.

The Kim dynasty first came to power under Kim Ryung-sŏng, the leading military commander of the Donghae region, who launched a rebellion against the Myŏn dynasty in 1865 and had himself crowned Emperor in 1867 after taking the historical capital city of Junggyŏng. The Treaty of Junggyŏng, signed on 2 August 1901, established the Federative Republic of Menghe but preserved a ceremonial role for the Menghean monarch, then Kim Dae-wŏn. In 1927, Kwon Chong-hoon seized power in a military coup under the pretense of restoring the Kim dynasty to direct power, establishing the Greater Menghean Empire. Kim Myŏng-hwan, the last reigning Kim monarch, forced Kwon out of power in 1937 and led Menghe more directly than his predecessor.

Kim Myŏng-hwan committed suicide following Menghe's surrender in the Pan-Septentrion War. In recognition of the defeat, none of his children were formally crowned Emperor, though Crown Prince Kim Yŏng-sŏk oversaw the surrender process as prince regent. Members of the House of Kim were purged from political office under the Allied occupation, and both the Republic of Menghe and the Democratic People's Republic of Menghe forbade members of the House of Kim from holding any kind of political office. As a consequence of the Sangwŏn Agreement, however, this restriction did not apply to the Menghean People's Army, which trained several Kim descendants as military officers.

Today, under the Socialist Republic of Menghe, members of the House of Kim no longer face additional surveillance or restrictions on serving in political office, but they also lack official recognition as a ruling monarchy. Some have gained influence as minor celebrities, but most have sought to avoid gaining excessive publicity.

List of Kim monarchs

Personal name	Era name	Portrait	Lifespan	Period of reign
Kim Ryung-sŏng 킴륭성 金隆成	Gwangmu 광무 光武		1811-1882 71 years	1867-1882 15 years
Kim Hyŏn-sik 킴형식 金賢植	Sunchi 순치 順治		1841-1897 56 years	1882-1897 15 years
Kim Dae-wŏn 킴대원 金大源	1897-1901: Hongchang 홍창 洪昌 1901-1933: Yŏngtong 영통 永統		1869-1933 64 years	1897-1933 36 years
Kim Myŏng-hwan 킴명환 金明桓	Donghyi 동희 東熙		1896-1945 49 years	1933-1954 12 years