Queen Jeongseong

Posthumous name
	혜경 장신 강선 공익 인휘 소헌 원렬 단목장화 정성왕후; 惠敬莊愼康宣恭翼仁徽昭獻元烈端穆章和貞聖王后;

Queen Jeongseong
정성왕후(貞聖王后)
Queen Jeongseong; 정성왕후(貞聖王后)
Queen consort of Joseon
Tenure	16 October 1724 – 23 March 1757
Predecessor	Queen Seonui
Successor	Queen Jeongsun
Crown Princess of Joseon
Tenure	15 November 1721 – 16 October 1724
Predecessor	Crown Princess Eo
Successor	Crown Princess Jo
Born	2 January 1693; Gahoebang, Hanseong, Joseon
Died	23 March 1757 (aged 64); Gwanrigak, Daejojeon Hall, Changdeokgung, Hanseong, Joseon
Burial	Hongneung Tomb, Seooneung Cluster, Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea
Spouse	Yeongjo of Joseon (m. 1703–1757)
Issue	Yi Haeng, King Jinjong of Joseon (adoptive); Yi Seon, King Jangjo of Joseon (adoptive);
Posthumous name
Posthumous name
	혜경 장신 강선 공익 인휘 소헌 원렬 단목장화 정성왕후; 惠敬莊愼康宣恭翼仁徽昭獻元烈端穆章和貞聖王后;
Clan	Daegu Seo clan (by birth); Jeonju Yi clan (by marriage)
Dynasty	House of Yi
Father	Seo Jong-jae, Internal Prince Dalseong
Mother	Internal Princess Consort Jamseong of the Ubong Yi clan
Religion	Korean Buddhism
Seal

Queen Jeongseong (Korean: 정성왕후 서씨; 2 January 1693 – 23 March 1757), of the Daegu Seo clan, was the first wife of King Yeongjo of Joseon and the adoptive mother of Crown Prince Sado.^[1]

Biography

It's said the queen was born on 12 January 1693 in Gahoebang (가회방; 嘉會坊), Hanseong. She was the second daughter and fourth child of Seo Jong-jae and Lady Yi of the Ubong Yi clan.

In November 1703, at the age of ten, she married the eight-year-old Prince Yeoning. As the wife of a prince, she was given the title of Princess Consort Dalseong (달성군부인; 達城郡夫人).

In 1720, her husband was appointed as Crown Prince (왕세제; 王世弟). As his wife, she was given the title Crown Princess Consort (왕세제빈). On their first night of marriage, it was said that Prince Yeoning had asked how were the hands of the princess so pretty. The princess responded by saying that she never did any labor to get them dirty. This comment had unsettled the Prince because it reminded him of his mother, Royal Noble Consort Suk.

It was said that from then on to her death as Queen, the Princess was not visited much from the Prince.

In 1724, Prince Yeoning's older brother, King Gyeongjong died. Prince Yeoning ascended the throne on 30 August of that year as King Yeongjo and she became his queen consort.

As queen, it was said that she held a generous character to her. The Queen had also cherished and treated Crown Prince Hyojang, Yi Jeong-bin's son, and Crown Prince Sado, Yi Yeong-bin’s son, as if they were her own sons.

The Queen died at Changdeok Palace on 3 April 1757, and is buried in Seoreung within Hongreung in Yongdu-gong, Deokyang ward, Goyang, Gyeonggi Province. King Yeongjo had her buried near his father, Sukjong of Joseon, in Myeongreung. But because her tomb was built before her husband died, King Yeongjo reserved a spot next her mound intending to be buried with her.

However, when King Yeongjo died in 1776, King Jeongjo was conscious of the Queen Dowager, and built Wonreung to bury the former King and later, the late Queen Dowager. As a result, Queen Jeongseong is buried there alone.

Queen Jeongseong had no biological children. But her death distressed her adoptive son, Crown Prince Sado. As well as the death of her legal mother-in-law, Queen Dowager Hyesun, who died one month later on 2 May 1757 which contributed to the Crown Prince’s declining mental condition.^[2]

Family

Parent

Father − Seo Jong-jae (서종제; 徐宗悌; 1656–1719)
Mother − Internal Princess Consort Jamseong of the Ubong Yi clan (잠성부부인 우봉 이씨; 岑城府夫人牛峰李氏; 1660–1738)

Sibling(s)

Older brother − Seo Myeong-baek (서명백; 徐命伯; 1678–1738)
Older sister − Lady Seo of the Daegu Seo clan
Older brother − Seo Myeong-hyu (서명휴; 徐命休; 1686–?)
Younger sister − Lady Seo of the Daegu Seo clan (1696–?)
Younger sister − Lady Seo of the Daegu Seo clan (1698–?)

In popular culture

Portrayed by Kim Ae-kyung in the 1988 MBC TV series 500 Years of Joseon: Memoirs of Lady Hyegyeong
Portrayed by Moon Ye-ji in the 1998 MBC TV series The King's Road
Portrayed by Jung Mo-rye and Shin Gyu-ri in the 2010 MBC TV series Dong Yi
Portrayed by Park Shin-hye in the 2014 film The Royal Tailor
Portrayed by Park Myung-shin [ko] in the 2015 film The Throne
Portrayed by Kim Sun-kyung in the 2017 MBC TV series The Emperor: Owner of the Mask
Portrayed by Choi Soo-im [ko] in the 2019 SBS TV series Haechi

References

^ Kim Haboush, JaHyun (2013). The Memoirs of Lady Hyegyŏng: The Autobiographical Writings of a Crown Princess of Eighteenth-Century Korea (2 ed.). Berkeley: University of California Press. ISBN 978-0-520-20055-5.
^ "Biography of Crown Prince Sado of Korea (1735-1762), "The Rice-Box King"". Archived from the original on July 21, 2010. Retrieved February 19, 2011.

Royal titles
Queen Jeongseong Daegu Seo clan
Preceded by Queen Seonui of the Hamjong-Eo clan	Queen consort of Joseon 30 November 1724 – 3 April 1757	Succeeded by Queen Jeongsun of the Gyeongju-Kim clan