The Real Story of Queen Jeongsun 정순왕후 (Korean History)

Queen Jongsoon, also known as Lady Kim, was the second queen consort of King Yongjo of the Joseon dynasty. She held that title from 1759 to 1776. She was later known as Queen Dowager and finally Grand Queen Dowager. Queen Jongsoon's father, Kim Hangu, was from the Gyeongju Kim clan. The Gyeongju Kim clan was the ruling family of the Silla dynasty, one of the three kingdoms of Korea alongside Baekje and Goguryeo. Lady Kim's mother, Lady Won, was from the Wonju Won clan. The Wonju Won clan was an important yangban family during the Joseon dynasty. The yangban was the traditional ruling class in Joseon. Lady Kim was born in Seosan, in the south Chungcheong province. Queen Jongsoon's background was certainly impressive and helped her ascent in the Hanyang court. Hanyang was the capital of Joseon and is known as Seoul nowadays. King Yongjo's first queen was Queen Jongsong. She didn't have any children but she did formally adopt Crown Prince Sado, who was the son of one of Yongjo's concubines. Queen Jongsong died in 1757. After the mourning period, King Yongjo was looking for a new queen but couldn't choose from his pool of concubines because his father, King Sukjong banned elevating concubines to queen status. Lady Kim's selection as queen, which may or may not be true, is often mentioned in popular culture as follows. Yongjo asked the candidates what the greatest thing in the world was. Lady Kim answered the human heart. That caught the king's attention. He then asked the candidates what the most beautiful flower was. Lady Kim said that the cotton flower is the most beautiful because it warms people with clothing made from it. That settled the question and King Yongjo married Queen Jongsoon on June 22nd, 1759. He was 64 years old and she was 13. That made it the marriage with the biggest age gap in Joseon's royal history. She was 10 years younger than Crown Prince Sado, who was her stepson, and Lady Haegyeong, Sado's wife. Lady Haegyeong is posthumously known as Queen Honggyeong. Following her wedding, Queen Jongsoon's parents were given royal titles. She was known to be assertive and love the king despite their age difference. She also gave an impression of wisdom and an adept communicator. She didn't produce any princes or princesses. Crown Prince Sado died in 1762. Sado had two sons with Lady Haegyeong, one of which was called Isan. He became the next king, posthumously known as King Jongjo. Queen Jongsoon, who became a widow when Yongjo died in 1776, was honored as Queen Dowager Yesun. Usually, a queen dowager was the mother of the new king, but because of the circumstances around Sado's death, even the king's mother and Sado's wife, Lady Haegyeong, wasn't honored with any significant titles in her lifetime. Crown Prince Sado was basically executed by his father, King Yongjo. I have previously made a video on Sado's tragic life that you can find on my channel. Jongjo had a hard time at court because of the many factions in fighting, one of which, the Noron faction, attempted a coup and assassination against him before his ascension to the throne. The Noron faction was against him becoming crown prince and favored his half-brothers. Jongjo's grandfather, though, King Yongjo, wasn't fazed by this opposition and made Isan regent in 1775, a year before his death. Because of this constant opposition from the Noron faction, Jongjo favored the Soron and Namin factions. This would play a significant role later during his reign. Queen Jongsoon had an older brother called Kim Guiju. It was discovered that he had a part to play in the dismissal of Hong Bonghan, who was, for many years, prime minister. He was the father of Lady Haegyeong and, thus, maternal grandfather of King Jongjo. He often fought for power with Kim Guiju. For instance, in 1771, Sado's sons from Lady Sukbin were deprived of their titles. Hong Bonghan opposed this and was exiled to Cheongju in North Chungcheong province. It was later discovered that Kim Guiju had a part to play in this and, thus, Jongjo later exiled him to Heuksan island. This created a rift between Queen Jongsoon and Jongjo. In the year 1800, Jongjo died. He was only 49 years old. It is believed that Queen Jongsoon had a role to play in his death but that is just rumor and speculation. Lee Gong, his 10-year-old son, succeeded him. He would later be known as King Sunjo. Queen Dowager Yesun was elevated to Grand Queen Dowager. She also acted as regent for King Sunjo since he was too young to rule. She purged many members of the Seoron faction from the court, replacing them with Noron faction members, as well as putting her family members in positions of power. In 1801, she executed Prince Eunon, Sado's son, because he had a Catholic wife. Which brings us to the Shinyu persecution of 1801. That year, Queen Jongsoon ferociously persecuted Catholics in the kingdom. Christianity was an emerging belief in Joseon at the time. It was seen as conflicting with Confucianism and the powers in place. The Namin faction thought that this ideology was, at the very least, worth studying. King Jongjo needed the support of the Namin faction, so he limited anti-Catholic activities in his kingdom. When he died though, Queen Jongsoon needed the support of Noron to stay in power and they were fiercely against Catholic beliefs. So she quickly began the oppression of Catholics in the kingdom, partially as a cover to get rid of opposition from other factions at court. Hundreds, if not thousands of Catholics died during this time. Queen Jongsoon made Kim Joseon's daughter, future Queen Sunwon, the queen consort of Sunjo, following King Jongjo's wishes. Kim Joseon would subsequently act as regent for Sunjo and started a 60-year period where the Andong Kim clan would be the real power behind the throne. This consolidated the Sedo politics era where in-laws monopolized the power behind the throne. In late 1803, there were big fires in Pyongyang, Hamheung, and Changdeok Palace in Hanyang. Queen Jongsoon saw this as a sign that it was time for her to step down as regent. Kim Joseon took over the regency. He went on to purge many bureaucrats in the court. Queen Jongsoon's power waned and she died in 1805 in Changdeok Palace. She's buried in the city of Guri in Donggurun. Jongjo is buried there as well as Lee Songgae, King Taejo, the founder of the Joseon dynasty. Queen Jongsoon saw three different kings on the throne and held significant power and influence. She was at the center of turbulent political times in Joseon. Different factions fought for more power at court and made alliances with high officials, the queen, and even the king. Yongjo and Jongjo tried to suppress partisanship at court but it ultimately failed. Queen Jongsoon had been portrayed by many actresses in multiple tv dramas and movies. She's often presented as smart and caring but also manipulative and power hungry. I think that she was indeed all these things. Thank you very much for watching. If you like this video, please like it, comment and subscribe to my channel. Stay tuned for more videos on the rich history of Korea.