Queen Hyoui


Queen Hyoui, of the Cheongpung Kim clan, was the wife and queen consort of King Jeongjo of Joseon. In 1899, Emperor Gojong posthumously gave her the title of Hyoui, the Kind Empress.

Biography

Early life and marriage

The future queen Hyoui was born on 5 January 1754 in the twenty-ninth year of King Yeongjo's reign. She was the only daughter of Kim Si-muk and his second wife, Lady Hong of the Namyang Hong clan.
She married Yi San, then known as the crown prince's son, in 1762 at the age of 9, on the twenty-fifth day of the second lunar month in the thirty-eighth year of King Yeongjo's reign.
It was said that the reason why Lady Kim became the wife of the young crown prince was because she came from the Cheongpung Kim clan; the clan of Queen Myeongseong who was her great-great-grand aunt. But in Lady Hyegyeong’s memoir, she stated that the real reason Lady Kim was selected was because of her father.
In the winter of 1761, Hong Bong-han had been invited by Board Minister Kim Seong-eung to celebrate his mother’s 60th birthday. When he arrived, Hong had seen Lady Kim at the party. A year later, when marriage selections for the crown Prince were being held, King Yeongjo had Hong Bong-han view the list of daughters of officials to select a match for their grandson. So when he saw the name of Kim Si-muk’s daughter, the board minister’s granddaughter, he was reminded of her “outstanding disposition” and selected Lady Kim for the process. When she came to the royal court, it was only then that her “great virtue” was seen by royal officials that prompted them to choose her.
Her younger cousin, Lady Kim, later married a younger brother, Hong Nak-ryun, of Lady Hyegyeong, which then gave her clan more royal connections.

Palace and political life

When the crown prince died in 1762, the crown princess was stated to be “overcome with grief” as she was young and because Crown Prince Sado always treated her kindly prior to his death. Lady Hyegyeong had said whenever her late husband was brought up in conversation by the crown princess, she would cry.
Princess Hwawan was later asked to be the protector of Yi San, son of Crown Prince Sado and the new crown prince, and he would be later King Jeongjo of Joseon. Around the time, Princess Hwawan was trusted by her father, so the young crown prince was thought to remain safe during the rest of Yeongjo's reign.
However, in attempt to control him, she estranged the relationship between the crown prince and crown princess. Her adopted son, Jeong Hu-gyeom, was involved heavily in troublesome Political factions in Joseon dynasty. The mother and son, along with parties from some of the officials, caused the family members of Lady Hyegyeong, the mother of Jeongjo, to fall from power, which threatened the identity of Jeongjo as a crown prince.
The 22-year-old crown princess became queen consort upon her husband's accession to the throne in 1776. For many years, the king was willing to forgive Princess Hwawan as she was the favorite daughter of the late king and his aunt. Yet, since the beginning of his reign, numerous officials asked the new king to execute the princess for her acts. Eventually, Princess Hwawan lost her title, status, and power upon becoming a commoner in 1778.
The Queen did not bear King Jeongjo any children, but she adopted the sons of two of her husband's concubines, Royal Noble Consort Ui and Royal Noble Consort Su, as her own. The son of Royal Noble Consort Ui died young, but the son of Royal Noble Consort Su would eventually succeed King Jeongjo on the throne as the twenty-third king of Joseon.
The Queen had outlived her husband, who died in 1800, by 21 years and became queen dowager. She later died at Jagyeong Hall, Changgyeong Palace, Hanseong, on 10 April 1821 of King Sunjo's twenty-first year of reign.

Family