Royal Noble Consort Subin Park


Royal Noble Consort Su of the Bannam Park clan was a concubine of Jeongjo of Joseon and the mother of King Sunjo. Her posthumous honorific "綏" was originally pronounced "yu" in the 19th century, hence her posthumous title was once Royal Noble Consort Yu.

Biography

Early life

The future Royal Consort was born on May 21, 1770, into the Bannam Park clan, as the fourth child and second daughter of Park Jun-won, the Minister of Justice, and Lady Won of the Wonju Won clan.

Life as Royal Concubine

In 1787, because King Jeongjo was once again heirless, Queen Dowager Yesun decided to choose a new concubine for her step-grandson, and Lady Park was selected on February 8, when she was 16 years old.
Three days later, on February 11, Lady Park was invested as a concubine of the Styles and titles in the [Joseon dynasty|Bin] rank, with the prefix Su, meaning "upright/pacifist". The following day, the new Royal Noble Consort Su entered the palace.
On July 27, 1790, she gave birth to a son, Yi Gong, who was appointed as Crown Prince in 1800, at the age of 10.
On March 1, 1793, Lady Park gave birth to Princess Sukseon.
Su-bin was described as gentle, well-behaved and courteous. She was also usually taciturn and lived simply. As a result, she was greatly admired as "a benevolent concubine".
She is the only concubine in Joseon's history who lived long enough to see her son ascend the throne.

Death and burial

On January 31, 1823, Royal Noble Consort Su died at Bogyeongdang Hall in Changdeokgung.
Originally, she was buried in Dongdaemun District, Seoul, but in 1855, when Illeung, the tomb of King Sunjo, was moved to another location, her tomb was also moved to Sungangwon. In the 14th year of King Cheoljong's reign, it was moved again to its current place, because the location of the Sungangwon was reportedly not good, according to Feng Shui. The tomb is known as Hwigyeongwon.
Her ancestral tablet is enshrined in Chilgung. Because of this, she is also known as Lady Gasun or Lady Gyeongwoo.
Posthumously, Lady Park was firstly honoured as Hyeonmok Subin, but in 1901, during the 5th year of Emperor Gwangmu's reign, her title was changed to Hyeonmok Subi.

Family

  • Father: Park Jun-won
  • Mother: Lady Won of the Wonju Won clan
  • Siblings
  • * Older brother: Park Jong-bo
  • * Older brother: Park Jong-gyeong
  • * Older sister: Lady Park of the Bannam Park clan
  • * Younger brother: Park Jong-ik
  • * Younger brother: Park Jong-hui
  • * Younger sister: Lady Park of the Bannam Park clan
  • * Younger sister: Lady Park of the Bannam Park clan
  • * Younger sister: Lady Park of the Bannam Park clan
  • * Younger half-brother: Park Jong-yeom
  • * Younger half-brother: Park Jong-yeong
  • Husband: [Jeongjo of Joseon|Yi San, King Jeongjo of Joseon]
  • Issue
  • * Son: Yi Gong, King Sunjo of Joseon
  • * Daughter: Princess Sukseon