| Queen Sohye 소혜왕후 昭惠王后 | |
| Succession: | Grand queen dowager of Joseon 인수 대왕대비 |
| Reign: | 29 January 1495 – 21 May 1504 |
| Reign-Type: | Tenure |
| Predecessor: | |
| Successor: | Grand Queen Dowager Seongryeol |
| Succession2: | Queen dowager of Joseon 인수 대비 |
| Reign2: | 1475 – 29 January 1495 |
| Reign-Type2: | Tenure |
| Predecessor2: | |
| Successor2: | Queen Dowager Jasun |
| Succession3: | Queen with unspecified status 인수 왕비 |
| Reign3: | 1470–1475 |
| Reign-Type3: | Tenure |
| Succession4: | Crown Princess consort of Joseon |
| Reign4: | 1455 – 29 September 1457 |
| Reign-Type4: | Tenure |
| Predecessor4: | Crown Princess Hyeondeok |
| Successor4: | Crown Princess Jangsun |
| Dynasty: | House of Yi |
| House-Type: | Clan |
| Father: | Han Hwak |
| Mother: | Lady Hong of the Namyang Hong clan |
| Issue: | Yi Jeong, Grand Prince Wolsan Yi Gyeong-geun, Princess Myeongsuk Yi Hyeol, King Seongjong |
| Birth Date: | 16 October 1437 |
| Birth Place: | Hanseong, Joseon |
| Death Place: | Gyeongchun Hall, Changgyeong Palace, Hanseong, Joseon |
| Place Of Burial: | Gyeongneung |
| Posthumous Name: | 인수자숙휘숙명의소혜왕후 仁粹慈淑徽肅明懿昭惠王后 |
| House: | Cheongju Han clan (by birth) Jeonju Yi clan (by marriage) |
Queen Sohye (16 October 1437 – 21 May 1504), of the Cheongju Han clan, was the only wife of Crown Prince Uigyeong. She never was the consort of a reigning king. Nevertheless, she was honored as Queen Insu and later as Queen Dowager Insu during the reign of her son Yi Hyeol, King Seongjong. Moreover, she was later honored as Grand Queen Dowager Insu during the reign of her grandson Yi Yung, Prince Yeonsan. After her death, she was posthumously honored with the title Queen Sohye .
She is mostly known for her proficiency in Chinese Classics, Confucianism and Buddhism as well, and for her involvement in the political affairs of her time, from the accession of Grand Prince Suyang to the throne to the reign of Yeonsangun. She authored the Naehun in 1475.
Born as Han Do-san, the future Queen Insu was born as a member of the Cheongju Han clan, a powerful yangban family with a long tradition of providing high-ranking officers and royal consorts as well. She was given a high education in Confucian values and the Chinese classics.
Lady Han married Yi Jang, Prince Dowon in 1450, during the reign of Munjong, the 5th Joseon ruler, and was given the royal title of Princess Consort Dowon with the Senior 2nd rank . Their families decided this union when Han Hwak, her father, was 4th Councilor and Yi Yu, Prince Dowon's father, was a Grand Prince among the others. After the 1453 coup, aka Gyeyu Jeongnan, Grand Prince Suyang became Chief State Councilor and Minister of Personnel as well. In the same move, Han Hwak became Third State Councilor .
Moreover, Han Myeong-hoe (한명회 韓明澮), the organizer of the plot, was a 6th (older) cousin of Lady Han, while Han Myeong-jin (한명진 韓明溍), another cousin, was also enlisted as 3,17 in the reward list for the coup. This started the network of her political influence.
In the second step, the 1455 coup deprived Danjong, the child King, of any power and instated Suyang to the throne, later honored with temple name Sejo. As a result, Dowon was elevated to the Crown Prince status as Crown Prince Uigyeong and Lady Han was elevated and firstly honored as Crown Princess Consort Jeong on 26 July 1455, lunar calendar. But she was later honored a different title, Crown Princess Consort Su, as to not confuse her with Queen Wongyeong’s previous title.
In 1454, the Crown Princess bore Yi Jeong (Prince Wolsan), her first child, had a daughter (Princess Myeongsuk) the next year and gave birth to Yi Hyeol (Prince Jasan) in 1457. The same year, Uigyeong died on 2 September, lunar calendar. In the royal palace, the Crown Princess became known for her scholarly interest in Confucian education and she devoted herself to the education of the royal grandsons. She had a good relationship to King Sejo, who referred to her as a good daughter-in-law. At the death of Sejo, the second son of the late King accessed to the throne and the influence of Lady Han waned. But the reign of Yejong only lasted 14 months. And then, Jasan, the second son of Lady Han accessed to the throne in 1469.
At this date, the status of Lady Han was not so clear, since Uigyeong never reigned. In a first step in 1470, Uigyeong was elevated and honored posthumously as king without a temple name, so he was addressed as King Uigyeong, and Lady Han received the ambiguous title of Queen Insu (인수왕비, Insu Wangbi). The next year, several of Insu's direct relatives were enlisted as meritorious subjects: Han Chi-hyeong (; 2nd cousin 사천) as 3.17, together with her brothers Han Chi-in, Han Chi-ui and Han Chi-rye as 4.17, 4.23 and 4.26. Han Myeong-hoe himself was enlisted as 1.02.
In any case, the regency (1469–1476) was exerted by Grand Queen Dowager Jaseong, the mother-in-law of Insu, so that Insu's political influence was constrained to the point of not receiving a title acknowledging her as the mother of the reigning king. After some time, Insu's title still became matter of debate because queen consort title was reserved for primary consort of the reigning king, while Insu herself was the King's mother. But, in order to honour Insu as queen dowager, there was a need to determine the rank between her and Queen Dowager Inhye (Yejong's widow). Jaseong, as grand queen dowager and the most senior elder in the royal family, solved this problem with her statement that Insu had been entrusted with the task of protecting Yejong by the late King Sejo, implying her seniority above both the late Yejong and Queen Dowager Inhye. Thus, it was more appropriate to place Insu above Inhye. So Insu was honored as queen dowager in 1474 and had higher rank than Inhye, and her late husband received temple name Deokjong, acknowledging them as Seongjong's formally recognized parents.
The young Queen Consort of the King died in 1474 at the age 17 and was posthumously honored as Queen Gonghye. The Ksitigarbha Pranidahana Sutra (The Great Vows of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva) was commissioned by the three queens dowager through the Royal Treasury Agency. This Sutra is now considered an important artifact for the study of printing and Buddhism during the Joseon Dynasty.
Grand Queen Dowager Jaseong died in 1483 and was posthumously honored as Queen Jeonghui and Insu became the most influent elder in the palace, exerting a large part of the royal power. With the death of Seongjong and the accession of her grandson Yeonsangun, she became the Grand Queen Dowager Insu and gathered even more power. At the end, this led to a brutal clash and she died in 1504 after an altercation with Yeonsangun who found out about the cause of his birth mother’s death.
After her death, she was granted the posthumous name Queen Sohye . Her tomb is at Gyeongneung Royal Tomb in Goyang, just beside Dowon's tomb. The latter is a very simple one, since Dowon was only a Crown Prince at his death in 1457. On the other hand, Sohye's tomb was built in full regalia, and placed at the left of the Dowon's tomb since, in 1504, Sohye was deceased with the status of Grand Queen Dowager.
Queen Insu authored the Naehun (Instructions for women) in 1475. This books appears as a Confucian morality guidebook for women, describing appropriate behavior in accordance with Confucian ideals. It can also be read as a manifesto describing self-cultivation as the most appropriate behavior for a women, endorsing the political activities of the author.
With the exception of a few poems, this book is the first known book written by a woman in Korea.