Crown Prince Sohyeon

Crown Prince Sohyeon (; 5 February 1612 – 21 May 1645), personal name Yi Wang, was the eldest son of King Injo, the 16th monarch of Joseon, and the elder brother of King Hyojong.

For eight years, he lived as a hostage in the Qing Empire as a result of the peace treaty concluded after the 1636 invasion, and was exposed to Western civilization after meeting Jesuit missionary Johann Adam Schall von Bell in Beijing. Not long after returning to Joseon, he met a mysterious death while in conflict with his father, King Injo, who adhered to anti-Qing ideology.

Biography Sohyeon was invested as crown prince of Joseon in 1625 after his father, King Injo, had taken the throne through insurrection in 1623.

In 1627, he married a daughter of Kang Seok-gi (17th-generation descendant of Kang Kamch'an). During the Qing invasion of Joseon in 1636, Sohyeon fled to the Namhan Mountain Fortress with his father. But when Ganghwa Island was captured by the Manchus, King Injo surrendered to Hong Taiji. Sohyeon was taken as a hostage alongside his wife, his younger brother and sister-in-law, and the sons of several other Joseon officials; they were brought to Shenyang, the then-capital of the Qing dynasty.

During his time as a hostage, Sohyeon worked as a mediator between Joseon and the Qing dynasty. He put effort into ensuring the Qing would not engage in further hostilities against Joseon, and protected his people, such as Kim Sang-heon, who was accused of being an anti-Qing agent. He also learned the Mongol language and assisted in the conquest of the western border.

In 1644, Sohyeon spent 70 days in Beijing with Dorgon, who had set out to conquer the remnants of the Ming dynasty. There, he met Jesuit missionaries such as the German Johann Adam Schall von Bell, and through them he was introduced to Roman Catholicism and Western ideas.

King Injo and his close administrators condemned Sohyeon's conduct as pro-Qing. When he returned in 1645, King Injo persecuted him for attempting to modernize Joseon by bringing in Western culture. Sohyeon died suddenly not long after his return; he was found dead in the king's room, mysteriously bleeding severely from the head. Legends say that Injo killed his son with an ink slab that the crown prince brought from China; however, some historians suggest he was poisoned due to the fact that he had black spots all over his body after his death and that his corpse decomposed rapidly. Many, including his wife, tried to uncover the truth, but King Injo ordered immediate burial and reduced the grandeur of the funeral. Sohyeon's tomb is located in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province.

King Injo then appointed Grand Prince Bongrim as the new crown prince (posthumously King Hyojong) rather than Sohyeon's eldest son. Soon after, Injo ordered the exile of Sohyeon's three sons to Jeju Island, from which only the youngest son, returned alive, and the execution of Sohyeon's wife, Crown Princess Minhoe, for treason.

Family Father: King Injo (; 7 December 1595 – 17 June 1649) Grandfather: King Wonjong (; 12 August 1580 – 23 January 1620) Grandmother: Queen Inheon , of the Neungseong Gu clan (; 2 June 1578 – 10 February 1626) Mother: Queen Inyeol , of the Cheongju Han clan (; 16 August 1594 – 16 January 1636) Grandfather: Han Jun-gyeom , Internal Prince Seopyeong (; 1557–1627) Grandmother: Princess Consort Hoesan , of the Changwon Hwang clan (; 1561–1594) Stepmother: Queen Jangnyeol , of the Yangju Jo clan (; 16 December 1624 – 20 September 1688) Consort(s) and their respective issue Crown Princess Minhoe , of the Geumcheon Kang clan (; 18 April 1611 – 30 April 1646) Unnamed daughter (1628–1640) Unnamed daughter (1631) Yi Baek , Prince Gyeongseon (; 30 April 1636 – 2 November 1648), first son Princess Gyeongsuk (; 1637–1655), first daughter Prince Gyeongwan (; 1640 – 4 February 1649), second son Princess Gyeongnyeong (; 1642–1682), second daughter Princess Gyeongsun (; 1643–1697), personal name Jeong-on , third daughter Yi Hoe , Prince Gyeongan (; 3 November 1644 – 22 October 1665), third son Unnamed son (1645)

Ancestry

In popular culture Portrayed by Baek Yoon-sik in the 1981 KBS1 TV series Daemyeong. Portrayed by Kim Ji-wan in the 2008 SBS TV series Iljimae. Portrayed by Im Ho in the 2008 KBS2 TV series Strongest Chil Woo. Portrayed by So Young-don in the 2009 MBC TV series Tamra, the Island. Portrayed by Kang Sung-min in the 2010 KBS2 TV series The Slave Hunters. Portrayed by Jung Gyu-woon in the 2012 MBC TV series The King's Doctor. Portrayed by Jung Sung-woon in the 2013 JTBC TV series Blooded Palace: The War of Flowers. Portrayed by Lee Jin-wook in the 2014 tvN TV series The Three Musketeers. Portrayed by Baek Sung-hyun in the 2015 MBC TV series Splendid Politics. Mentioned in the 2020 SBS TV series The King: Eternal Monarch. In a parallel universe, he lived to become king and this caused a chain reaction that culminated in a modern constitutional monarchy. Portrayed by Lee Joon-hyuk in the 2021 tvN TV series Secret Royal Inspector & Joy. Portrayed by Kim Sung-cheol in the 2022 film The Night Owl. Portrayed by Kim Mu-jun in the 2023 MBC TV series My Dearest.