Guji, Princess of Joseon

Princess Yi Kuji (? – 7 March 1489) was a Korean princess, writer, artist, and poet of the Joseon period. She was forced to commit suicide after it was discovered that she had cohabited with a slave after being widowed.

Biography Yi Kuji was an illegitimate daughter of Prince Yangnyeong, first son of the third Joseon king, Taejong of Joseon and Queen Wongyeong. Her mother was a palace slave of Crown Prince Yangnyŏng, whom he had two children with. She had an older sister.

Yi was given the title of County Princess and married Kwŏn Tŏgyŏng , a lesser official, and went to live in Gwangju, her husband's hometown. They had two sons and one daughter. Kwŏn died in 1470 and Yi was prevented from remarrying by social stigma, then by the issuing of the Anti-Remarriage Law of 1477.

Investigation In 1475, it was reported to the Saheonbu that Yi had been cohabiting with Ch'ŏllye, her slave. Hŏ Kye , the head department of the Saheonbu, requested that the situation be investigated without resorting to interrogation. He proposed that Ch'ŏllye be moved to his residence, where the man could be questioned. One official reported that his son travelling from Gwangju had heard rumours of an aristocratic lady who was liaising with a slave, while another official said that his servant had observed Ch'ŏllye sleeping and eating in the room next to his mistress' bedchamber. Seongjong, however, refused to arrest Yi based on gossip alone. which some argued should apply only to common people and not the private affairs of an aristocratic lady. Ch'ŏllye died during the interrogation and more than 40 people were arrested. Though some members of the government argued that death was too strong a punishment for a woman of the royal clan, it was agreed that death was more respectful than torture, and Yi was condemned. Yi’s daughter, Jun-bi, was not involved in her mother’s investigation as she had already left home in 1488, a year before Yi was executed, and was considered a part of her husband’s family.

Posthumous Yi was deleted from the royal family lineage (Sunwonrok) and her name remained taboo until the end of the Joseon Dynasty. Eoudong, Yu Gam-dong, Hwang Jin-yi, and Princess Consort Daebang (the aunt of Queen Jeongsun) are said to be examples of obscene women who did not stay faithful to a deceased husband during the Joseon Dynasty. In the 1970s, her name was found in the Veritable Records of the Joseon Dynasty during the production of a new Hangul version.

Family Father - Yi Je, Grand Prince Yangnyeong (; 1394 – 7 September 1462) Grandmother - Queen Wongyeong of the Yeoheung Min clan (; 29 July 1365 – 18 August 1420) Grandfather - King Taejong of Joseon (; 13 June 1367 – 30 May 1422) Mother Unnamed slave (before 1435 – ?) Sibling(s) Older sister - Yi Mae , Lady Yi of the Jeonju Yi clan (; 1434 – ?) Brother-in-law - Kwŏn Ch'ijung (권치중; 權致中; 1429–?) of the Andong Kwŏn clan Husbands and their children Kwŏn Tŏgyŏng of the (1453–1470); son of Kwŏn Ki (; 1415–?) Son - Kwŏn Sŭngjung Son - Kwŏn Koam Daughter - Lady Kwŏn (; 1470 – ?) Ch'ŏllye (? – 4 October 1488) Daughter - Chunbi (; 1473 – ?)