Royal Consort Anbin Yi

Anbin Yi (; 1622 – 20 November 1693), or Concubine An, of the Gyeongju Yi clan, was a consort of Hyojong of Joseon.

Biography Lady Yi was born as the daughter of Yi Eung-heon in the Gyeongju Yi clan. It is unknown when Lady Yi entered the palace, but she became Hyojong's concubine when he was still Grand Prince Bongrim.

When the Qing Invasion happened in 1636, Lady Yi, along with Princess Consort Pungan (the future Queen Inseon), followed Grand Prince Bongrim to Shenyang as hostages of the Qing dynasty. After her death, King Sukjong, the grandson of King Hyojong and Queen Inseon, highly respected and honored Lady Yi for this act, and had her ancestral rites performed through his successors.

In 1649, Lady Yi gave birth to a daughter, Princess Suknyeong. It is known that the princess was cherished by her father and legitimate mother. Once, the king gave gifts only to his legitimate daughters as he was conscious of how the queen might react if he gifted anything to his concubine-born daughter. But the queen, who was worried about excluding Lady Yi's only child, personally called Princess Suknyeong over and gave her a gift.

There was a time when Lady Yi caused a great stir by addressing her daughter as "you". Back then, it was customary for royal consorts to avoid using informal speech with the king's children even if they were the biological mothers, because princes and princesses were of a higher rank than the royal consorts. When this became known, the king tried to punish Lady Yi, but Queen Inseon adamantly persuaded him to let it pass.

In 1656, seven years after Hyojong's ascension to the throne, Lady Yi was appointed as a royal consort of the junior fourth rank (숙원; 淑媛; sugwon), the lowest rank for the king's consorts. In 1661, two years after Hyojong's death, she was raised to the junior third rank (숙용; 淑容; sugyong), followed by a promotion to the second junior rank (숙의; 淑儀; sugui) a few months later.

Princess Suknyeong married a man from the Bannam Park clan in 1662, and had a daughter before passing away in 1668.

In the intervening years, Lady Yi was promoted to the junior first rank (귀인; 貴人; gwiin), before being elevated in 1686 to the senior first rank (빈; 嬪; bin), with the honorific title an (안; 安), meaning "peace".

Lady Yi died in 1698, during King Sukjong's reign. Her tomb is located in Namyangju, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea. Her tomb became historical site no. 366 on 25 October 1991.

Family Father: Yi Eung-heon Husband: Hyojong of Joseon (; 3 July 1619 – 23 June 1659) Issue Princess Suknyeong (; 1649–1668)