Jeongsun

Queen Jeongsun (; 10 March 1440 – 17 July 1521), of the Yeosan Song clan, was the wife of King Danjong, the sixth monarch of Joseon. She was queen of Joseon from 1454 until her husband's forced abdication in 1455. She was then briefly styled as Queen Dowager Uideok during the reign of her uncle-in-law, King Sejo, before being deposed in 1457.

Biography Early life

The future Queen Jeongsun was born during the reign of King Sejong, as the eldest child among one son and two daughters. Her father was Song Hyeon-su and her mother was a lady from the Yeoheung Min clan. During childhood, Lady Song moved to Hanseong with her family.

Her paternal grandfather's sister, Princess Consort Yeoseong , was the wife of Prince Sudo , King Jeongjong's seventh son.

Her father's younger sister, Grand Princess Consort Daebang , was the wife of Grand Prince Yeongeung , King Sejong's 15th son. Their daughter, County Princess Gilan , eventually became a great-great-grandmother of Queen Inheon.

Through her maternal line, Lady Song was a second cousin of Queen Jangsun and Queen Gonghye.

Marriage In 1453, around the age of 13, Lady Song enter Changdeokgung alongside Lady Kim and Lady Gwon (later known as Sugui Gwon) for the consort selection process. She was chosen to become queen, while the two other girls were appointed as royal consorts.

On 19 February 1454, she married the 12-year-old King Danjong. Danjong was too young to rule and had lost both parents, so his elder sister, Princess Gyeonghye, acted as his guardian. Because the princess sided with Hwangbo In and Kim Jeong-seo, all political authority was in their hands.

As Kim Jeong-seo and his faction used the opportunity to curb the power of many members of the royal family, the tension with Grand Prince Suyang (the second son of King Sejong and King Danjong's uncle) greatly increased; not only Suyang himself, but his younger brother, Grand Prince Anpyeong, also sought a chance to gain control of the government.

Husband's abdication and aftermath In 1455, Grand Prince Suyang forced his powerless nephew to abdicate and declared himself king (posthumously King Sejo). As wife of the previous king, Lady Song became queen dowager.

The following year, six officials attempted to restore Danjong to power, but their plot was discovered and they were later executed. Danjong was then demoted to Prince Nosan and exiled to Yeongwol County. Lady Song also lost her status as queen dowager, was demoted to princess consort rank, and banished from the palace.

Perceiving that Danjong would present a continuing threat to his rule, King Sejo accepted the advice of the court and ordered that his nephew be disposed of. In November 1457, he was put to death in his place of exile, less than four months after leaving the capital.

Upon hearing of her husband's death, Lady Song climbed a large rock every morning and evening to weep toward Yeongwol in the east, praying for Danjong's soul. King Yeongjo personally named the site Dongmangbong and had the characters engraved on the rock. During the Japanese colonial period, the nearby area was used as a quarry, and the rock was broken away. As of 2011, a pavilion called Dongmangjeong stands on the southern side of Dongmangbong, near Naksan, Jongno District, Seoul.

According to writer and historian Kim Taek-yeong (; 1850–1927), Shin Suk-ju tried to take Lady Song as his slave, but the veridicity of this claim is uncertain. Nevertheless, King Sejo later issued an edict stating, "Although she is of slave status, ensure she cannot be forced to perform slave labor," and to guarantee she remained untouched, Lady Song was sent to Jeongeopwon , a religious establishment near Changdeokgung that housed noblewomen who had become nuns, including former royal consorts, but also served as a place of banishment for disgraced women from powerful families.

Death and posthumous rehabilitation Lady Song died at the age of 81, having survived her husband by 64 years, and was buried in present-day Namyangju, Gyeonggi Province. Her funeral was conducted according to the rites for a grand princess consort. She lived through the reigns of eight kings — Sejong, Munjong, Danjong, Sejo, Yejong, Seongjong, Yeonsangun and Jungjong — becoming the longest-lived queen in the history of Joseon.

In the early years of King Jungjong's reign, the Sarim faction, including Jo Gwang-jo, attempted to have Danjong and Lady Song reinstated, but the king rejected the proposal. Subsequently, starting from King Hyeonjong's reign, figures such as Song Si-yeol and Kim Su-hang repeatedly proposed their reinstatement, arguing that Sejo had been swayed by the misguided advice of his close associates and that Danjong's execution hadn't been his true intention.

It wasn't until 1698, during King Sukjong's reign, that Lady Song was given the posthumous name Jeongsun and her husband received his temple name. After her spirit tablet was enshrined in Jongmyo, Lady Song's tomb was also renamed Sareung .

Titles

During the reign of King Sejong : Lady, of the Yeosan Song clan Song Hyeon-su's daughter Lady Song During the reign of King Danjong : Queen (; from 19 February 1454) During the reign of King Sejo : Queen Dowager Uideok (; from 4 July 1455) Princess Consort Nosan (; from 21 July 1457) During the reign of King Sukjong : Queen Jeongsun (; from 7 December 1698)

Family

Father: Song Hyeon-su , Internal Prince Yeoryang (?–1457) Mother: Internal Princess Consort Yeoheung , of the Yeoheung Min clan (; 1418–1498) Sibling(s) Brother: Song Geo Sister: Lady, of the Yeosan Song clan Husband: King Danjong (; 18 August 1441 – 16 November 1457) — No issue. Father-in-law: King Munjong (; 15 November 1414 – 10 June 1452) Mother-in-law: Queen Hyeondeok , of the Andong Gwon clan (; 26 April 1418 – 19 August 1441)

Ancestry

In popular culture

Portrayed by Shin Eun-kyung in the 1990 KBS2 TV series Dance Toward the Broken Heavens. Portrayed by Park Lucia in the 1994 KBS2 TV series Han Myung-hoi. Portrayed by Kim Min-jung in the 1998–2000 KBS1 TV series The King and the Queen. Portrayed by Jo Jung-eun in the 2011 JTBC TV series Insu, the Queen Mother.