Queen Jeongsun (Wonjong) Explained

Queen Jeongsun (Wonjong) should not be confused with Royal Consort Gyeongmok Hyeon-Bi.

Queen Jeongsun
정순왕후
Grand Queen Dowager Sungyeong
(순경왕태후, 順敬王太后)
Succession:Crown Princess of Goryeo
Reign:1235–1237
Reign-Type:Tenure
Coronation:1235
Predecessor:Crown Princess Im
Successor:Crown Princess Yu
Father:Kim Yak-sŏn
Mother:Lady Ch'oe of the Ubong Ch'oe clan
Issue:Chungnyeol of Goryeo
an unnamed daughter
Birth Date:1220
Birth Place:Goryeo
Death Place:Sadang-ri, Ganghwa-gun, Goryeo
Burial Date:1244
Burial Place:Gareung tomb
San 16–2, Neungnae-ri, Yangdo-myeon, Ganghwa-gun, Incheon
Regnal Name:Worthy Consort Gyeongmok (경목현비, 敬穆賢妃; given in 1235)
Posthumous Name:
House:Jeonju Kim clan
Religion:Buddhism

Queen Jeongsun of the Jeonju Kim clan (; 1220 – 29 July 1237) or known as Queen Gyeongsun and formally called as Queen Dowager Sungyeong, was the first and primary wife of Wonjong of Goryeo who became the mother of his successor, Chungnyeol of Goryeo.

Biography

Early life

The future Queen Jeongsun was born in 1220 into the Jeonju Kim clan as the only daughter of Kim Yak-sŏn who was a descendant of Kim Al-ji. She was the granddaughter of Goryeo military dictator Ch'oe U, as her mother was Lady Ch'oe, the eldest daughter of Ch'oe U.

Through her paternal uncle, Lady Kim eventually became a first cousin twice removed to the future Queen Jeongan, wife of King Jeongjong of Joseon. Through her paternal grandmother, Lady Kim was also a fifth cousin twice removed of Queen Wongyeong, the wife of King Taejong and sister-in-law of King Jeongjong.

Marriage and death

In 1235, she married Crown Prince Wang Chŏng, and was given the royal title of Worthy Consort Gyeongmok and became his consort not long after his appointment as a Crown Prince.

A year later, she gave birth into their eldest son (the future King Chungnyeol) but eventually died only at 17 years old on 29 July 1237 after giving birth to a daughter who believed to have died young as there are no records since then. After her husband ascended the throne, she was given a posthumous name of Queen Jeongsun in 1262[1] and after their son ascended the throne, King Chungnyeol bestowed the name of Queen Dowager Sungyeong towards his mother in 1274.[2]

In 1310, by the new order from Emperor Wuzong of Yuan, Kim was titled as Queen Consort of Goryeo since she was the grandmother of the reign king and was said by Wuzong to be clean and prudent in her behavior, as well as gentle and beautiful in the Dharma, praising her diligence and modesty. Due to this, she became the last queen who received posthumous names like her predecessors in the early Goryeo period.

Tomb

In 1244 (31st year reign of her father-in-law, King Gojong), she was buried in "Gareung tomb" located at Neungnae-ri, Yangdo-myeon, Ganghwa County, Incheon which became one of the few Goryeo Royal Tombs located in South Korea. In 1992, it was designated as "Incheon Historic Site no. 370".[3]

Family

In popular culture

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: 경목현비를 정순왕후로 추봉하다. Goryeosa. January 4, 2022. ko.
  2. Web site: 왕의 모친 정순왕후를 순경태후로 추존하다. Goryeosa. January 4, 2022. ko.
  3. Web site: 사적 강화 가릉 (江華 嘉陵). National Cultural Heritage. January 4, 2022. ko.