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Queen Inmok

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Queen Inmok
인목왕후
Grand queen dowager of Joseon
Tenure1624–1632
PredecessorGrand Queen Dowager Seongryeol
SuccessorGrand Queen Dowager Jaui
Queen dowager of Joseon
Tenure1608–1618
1623–1624
Predecessor
SuccessorQueen Dowager Jaui
Queen consort of Joseon
Tenure1602–1608
PredecessorQueen Uiin
SuccessorQueen Hyejang
Born5 December 1584
Bansongbang District, Hanseong, Joseon
Died3 August 1632 (1632-08-04) (aged 47)
Heummyeong Hall, Ingyeong Palace, Joseon
Burial
Mokneung
Spouse
​
​
(m. 1602⁠–⁠1608)​
Issue
Posthumous name
소성정의명렬광숙장정정숙인목왕후
HouseYonan Kim clan
FatherKim Je-Nam
MotherInternal Princess Consort Gwangsan of the Gwangju No clan

Queen Inmok (Korean: 인목왕후 김씨; Hanja: 仁穆王后 金氏; 5 December 1584 – 3 August 1632[a]), of the Yonan Kim clan, was a posthumous name bestowed to the wife and second queen consort of Yi Yeon, King Seonjo, the 14th Joseon monarch. She was queen consort of Joseon from 1602 until her husband's death in 1608, after which she was honoured as Queen Dowager Soseong (소성왕대비) during the reign of her step-son Yi Hon, King Gwanghae and as Grand Queen Dowager Myeongryeol (명렬대왕대비) during the reign of her step-grandson Yi Jong, King Injo.

Biography

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Early life

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The future queen was born on 5 December 1584, Hansongbang, Hanseong, during the reign of King Seonjo. Her father, Kim Je-nam, was member of the Yonan Kim clan and her mother was member of the Gwangju No clan.

In both sides of her family's, Lady Kim had distant royal relations. Through her paternal step grandmother, she was a maternal 6th step great-granddaughter of Princess Jeongui and a maternal 7th step great-granddaughter of Queen Soheon and King Sejong. Princess Jeongui was the older sister of King Munjong, King Sejo, and Grand Prince Imyeong.

Through her mother, she was also the maternal 7th great-granddaughter of King Sejong and Queen Soheon through her 6th great-grandfather, Grand Prince Imyeong. Through her paternal grandmother, she was also a 4th great-granddaughter of Grand Prince Imyeong.

Lady No was a paternal cousin of Crown Princess Minhoe's maternal grandmother; making Lady Kim a first cousin two times removed of the princess consort.

Through her paternal great-great-great-grandfather, Lady Kim was a first cousin thrice removed of Kim Ahn-ro and also became the 8th great-grandaunt of Kim Su-deok, Prince Kang's wife, through her younger brother, Kim Gyu.

Life as queen consort

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Lady Kim was later chosen and arranged to marry King Seonjo to become his Queen Consort in 1602 at age of 19 after King Seonjo's first Queen consort, Queen Uiin died in 1600. The king himself at the time was 32 years her senior and was older than her parents; her mother being 5 years and her father being 10 years his juniors. This marriage was considered the second oldest marriage with Queen Jeongsun's and King Yeongjo's having a 51 year age gap being the first.

After becoming Queen, her father was given the royal title, Internal Prince Yeonheung (연흥부원군, Yeonheung Buwongun), and her mother was given the royal title, Internal Princess Consort Gwangsan (광산부부인, Gwangsan Bubuin).

By the time she was named Queen Consort, her husband had already appointed Prince Gwanghae as his Heir to the throne as Queen Uiin died without issue. Gwanghae was the second son of Seonjo, born to Royal Noble Consort Gong of the Gimhae Kim clan, the King's senior 1st rank concubine. Gwanghae acted as the de facto ruler of the Joseon Dynasty during Japanese invasions of Korea from 1592 until 1598.

In 1603, the Queen gave birth to Princess Jeongmyeong. She birthed another princess in 1604 but that child died in infancy that same year. In 1606, the Queen gave birth to a son, Yi Ui, later honoured as Grand Prince Yeongchang. According to Gyechuk Ilgi, Gwanghae and his in-laws were greatly agitated because they believe Gwanghae's position as heir to the throne was threatened, because according to the law, the Queen's son had higher rank and better claim in the succession than a concubine's son. Seonjo and a few of his supporters had plans to push his legitimate son as heir, but Gwanghae soon found out and Seonjo was unable to enact this change due to his unexpected death.

Gwanghaegun's reign

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After Seonjo died in 1608, Gwanghae ascended to the throne as the fifteenth king of the Joseon Dynasty and the Queen was honoured as Queen Dowager Soseong. During his reign, Gwanghae persecuted Soseong and Yeongchang relentlessly. Soseong resisted the King's insistent demands that she turn over Yeongchang to him. Eventually, she handed Yeongchang over to Gwanghae so he could be raised and educated in the palace as a Royal Prince. Unfortunately, Yeongchang was exiled to Ganghwa Island along with the Queen Dowager's father, Kim Je-nam, her brothers and brother-in-law who were all facing investigation. In 1613, the King sentenced Kim Je-Nam, her brothers and her brother-in-law to death.

In 1614, her son, Yeongchang was also sentenced to death by poisoning.

Soseong herself was deposed and confined to Gyeongun Palace with Princess Jeongmyeong. Her attendants diminished year by year through betrayal, desertion and death.

Later life

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Her confinement ended when Gwanghae was deposed in 1623 and replaced by her step-grandson, Gwanghae's nephew, King Injo. She and her daughter were also granted permission to live within Changdeokgung with their titles and positions being reinstated; she was later honoured as Grand Queen Dowager Myeongryeol in 1624.

During Kim Injo's enthronement, her 21 year-old daughter, Princess Jeongmyeong, was considered too old to marry. So the Princess was to quickly be married off to someone who was younger than her rather than them being older or of similar age. There isn't a explanation as to why the marriage selection of Princess Jeongmyeong was delayed, but it was said that it might have been the fear and worry the Grand Queen Dowager held towards her daughter living outside of the palace during Gwanghaegun's reign.

Her daughter later married Hong Ju-won in 1623, who was 3 years her junior, and eventually had 7 sons and 1 daughter during their marriage. One of her grandsons became the great-great-grandfather of Lady Hyegyŏng; the future wife of her step great-great-great-great-great-grandson, Crown Prince Sado.

The Grand Queen Dowager died during King Injo's 9th year of reign at the age of 47 on 3 August 1632, and is buried in Mokneung, Guri, Gyeonggi, with her husband and his first queen consort, Queen Uiin. She was posthumously honoured as Queen Inmok.

Prior to her death, Queen Inmok had made and given a note to her family regarding the life of a royal. She stated and pleaded to not have family relatives from her clan to marry within the royal family as she suffered from carrying the burden as one. This note would eventually pass down to her 8th great-grandniece, Kim Su-deok, who would also suffer an unhappy arranged marriage.[1]

Gyechuk Ilgi

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Gyechuk Ilgi (Diary of the Year Gyechuk, 1613) was diary supposedly composed by unnamed court lady intimate with and devoted to Queen Inmok and written from Queen Inmok's perspective, though its diary format accords it the appearance of documentary objectivity. In the Yujeomsa Temple on Mountain Geumgang, a part of Bomungyeong written by Queen Inmok remains.

Kim Yongsuk, one of the best informed scholars on premodern Korean women and women writers, after carefully sifting the pertinent historical records, concludes that the picture of Gwanghae given in Gyechuk Ilgi deviates markedly from the account of him in contemporary historical records. Gwanghae, writes Professor Kim, was in fact "a wise and good king." Despite his best efforts, he couldn't save his own elder brother or his half-brother or finally himself from the political factionalism that raged during his reign.

She suggests several reasons for the gross distortions in the diary. First, it was composed after Gwanghae was overthrown. Second, it was probably the work of a court lady loyal to Queen Inmok. Third, following the pattern of extreme opposition between good and evil already established in traditional fiction of the Joseon period, the work distorts, simplifies, and exaggerates more complex situations involving Gwanghae, his brother and half-brother, and Queen Inmok.

Family

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Parent

  • Father − Kim Je-nam (김제남; 金悌男; 1562 – 1 June 1613)
  • Mother − Internal Princess Consort Gwangsan of the Gwangju No clan (광산부부인 노씨; 光山府夫人 盧氏; 1557–1637)

Siblings

  • Older brother − Kim Nae (김내; 金琜; 1576 – 1 June 1613)
  • Older sister − Lady Kim of the Yonan Kim clan (1581–1604)
  • Younger brother − Kim Gyu (김규; 金珪; 1596 – 1 June 1613)
  • Younger brother − Kim Seon (김선; 金瑄; 1599 – 1 June 1613)

Consort

Issue

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Drama

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Webtoon

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  • Portrayed in the 2019 KakaoPage Webtoon series Finally, the Blue Flame (마침내 푸른 불꽃이).

Notes

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  1. ^ In the Korean calendar (lunisolar), the Queen was born on 14 November 1584 and died on 28 June 1632

References

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  1. ^ "李堈夫人金氏". Retrieved 8 July 2020. 仁穆大妃懲國婚之禍作，書遺本家，世世勿連姻王室，至是思濬上之，后愛金氏容德堅不許，……堈旣出閤，驕侈好貨賄，……干訟徵債如追贜…… (After the disastrous events due to her marriage, Queen Inmok left a note to her family, hoping them never marry the royalties again; the note was given by Kim Sa-joon to Queen Min, but she liked the virtue of his daughter and persisted her decision. ...After he married, Yi Kang started to live luxuriously and accept bribes,... lawsuits and those who came for debt collection appeared as if they were recovering loots... )

Sources

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Queen Inmok
Yonan Kim clan
Royal titles
Preceded by
Queen Uiin
of the Bannam Park clan
 Queen consort of Joseon
1602–1608 		Succeeded by
Queen Yu
of the Munhwa Yu clan
Preceded by
Queen Dowager Gongui (Inseong)
of the Bannam Park clan
−−−−−−−
Queen Dowager Uiseong (Insun)
of the Cheongsong Shim clan
 Queen dowager of Joseon
1608–1618
1623–1624 		Succeeded by
Queen Dowager Jaui (Jangnyeol)
of the Yangju Jo clan
Preceded by Grand queen dowager of Joseon
1624–1632 		Succeeded by
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