Cheoljong of Joseon

Cheoljong of Joseon (25 July 1831 – 16 January 1864) was the 25th king of the Joseon Dynasty of Korea. He was a second cousin to the heirless Heonjong of Joseon, as well as a great-great grandson of Yeongjo of Joseon.[6]

Cheoljong
철종대왕
Portrait of King Cheoljong (Treasure #1492)
Painted in 1861[1], this is the only surviving royal portrait depicting King Cheoljong's physical appearance, as well as Joseon-era royal military attire; partly damaged during the Second Fire of Yongdusan, Busan during the early hours of 26 December 1954[2]
King of Joseon
Reign1849–1864
PredecessorHeonjong of Joseon
SuccessorGojong of Joseon
Born(1831-07-25)25 July 1831
Hyanggyo-dong Neighborhood, Gyeonghaeng-bang District, Hanseong, Kingdom of Joseon
Died16 January 1864(1864-01-16) (aged 32)
Daejojeon Hall[3][4], Changdeokgung Palace, Kingdom of Joseon
Burial
Yereung Royal Tomb[5], Seosamneung Cluster, Goyang, Gyeonggi Province
SpouseQueen Cheor'in
Issue(see below)
FatherGrand Internal Prince Jeon'gye
MotherGrand Internal Princess Consort Yongseong
Cheoljong of Joseon
Hangul
Hanja
Revised RomanizationCheoljong
McCune–ReischauerCh'ŏlchong
Pen name
Hangul
Hanja
Revised RomanizationDaeyongjae
McCune–ReischauerTaeyongchae
Birth name
Hangul
Hanja
Revised RomanizationYi Wonbeom
McCune–ReischauerYi Wŏnpŏm
Courtesy name
Hangul
Hanja
Revised RomanizationDoseung
McCune–ReischauerTosŭng
Naming taboo
Hangul
Hanja
Revised RomanizationYi Byeon
McCune–ReischauerYi Pyŏn

Biography

Early life

He was born as the 3rd and youngest son of Yi Gwang, Prince Jeon'gye-gun (who died in 14 December 1841), and his 1st concubine Lady Yeom, in Ganghwa[7]. His name was originally Yi Won-beom (이원범), but upon ascending the throne his name was legally changed to Yi Byeon (이변) (or Seong[8]).

In 1841, the 10th year of King Heonjong's reign, seeking to take advantage of Heonjong's lack of heirs, Min Jin-yong (of the Noron faction), Lee Won-deok, Park Sun-su and others secretly conspired a rebellion to enthrone Yi Won-gyeong, Yi Gwang's firstborn son as well as only legitimate child, as the next king. However, Min Jin-yong's rebellion was exposed and along with Yi Won-gyeong were executed. By dint of guilt by association, Yi Won-gyeong's half brothers Yi Gyeong-eung and Yi Won-beom were exiled to Ganghwa.

Background

At the beginning of the 19th century, the Andong Kim clan, who had provided the Joseon state with several queens, had seized power almost everywhere in Korea. The social stagnation that resulted was a breeding ground for unrest. Corruption and embezzlement from the treasury and its inevitable exploitation were taken to extreme levels, and reached staggering proportions. One rebellion after another was accompanied by natural disasters. Indeed, it was one of the most gloomy periods in the country’s history.[9]

The only aim of the Andong Kim clan was the preservation of their influence. Their fierce campaign to dominate the royal house had led to a situation in which almost all of the representatives of the royal family fled from Seoul. When the royal family produced intelligent and appropriate candidates for the accession, they were either accused of treason and executed or sent into exile, so when Heonjong died, leaving no son, no acceptable candidate could be found to succeed to the throne.[9]

Reign

Cheoljong ascended to the throne in 1849 at the age of 19 after King Heonjong died without an heir. As a distant relative of both the recently deceased king as well as a descendant of King Yeongjo, Cheoljong was selected for adoption by the Senior Dowager Queen (King Sunjo's widow) at the time and to allow him to ascend to the throne. The future Cheoljong was found on Ganghwa Island where his family had been in exile since the Catholic Persecution of 1801.

When the envoys (dispatched in order to seek for the future king) arrived on Ganghwa Island, they found the exiled remnants of the royal clan barely surviving in wretched poverty, and in the midst of that degradation, 19-year old Yi Won-beom was proclaimed King. Though from the start of the Joseon Dynasty Korean kings had given top priority to the education of their sons, Cheoljong could not even read a single word on the notice delivering congratulations to him on his elevation to the royal throne.[9]

For the Andong Kims, Cheoljong was an excellent choice. His illiteracy made him manipulable and vulnerable to their control. Proof of this was that even though Cheoljong ruled the country for 13 years, until his very last days he had not yet learned how to move with dignity or how to wear royal clothes, so that in even the most luxurious of robes he still looked like a fisherman.[9]

As part of the Andong Kim's manipulation of Cheoljong, in 1851, the clan married Cheoljong to Kim Mun-geun's daughter, known posthumously as Queen Cheor'in.[9]

Death

Cheoljong died at the age of 32 in 16 January 1864[3] (by suspected foul play by the Andong Kim clan, the same clan which made him king), without any surviving male heirs. Once again, it became necessary to search far back in the Yi lineage to find a candidate for the throne.

Family
  • Father
  • Mother
    • Biological: Grand Internal Princess Consort Yongseong of the Yongdam Yeom clan (용성부대부인 염씨; 20 July 1793 – March 1834)[10][11]
    • Legal adoptive: Queen Sun'won of the Andong Kim clan (순원왕후 김씨; 8 June 1789 – 21 September 1857)
  • Consorts and their respective Issue(s):
  1. Queen Cheor'in of the Andong Kim clan (철인왕후 김씨; 27 April 1837 – 12 June 1878)
    1. Heir presumptive (원자) Yi Yung-jun (이융준)[12], 2nd son (22 November 1858[13] – 25 May 1859[14])
  2. Noble Lady of the Miryang Park clan (귀인 박씨; 1827 – 9 May 1889[15])
    1. Unnamed 1st son (3 August 1854[16] – 1854?)
  3. [[Noble Lady of the Pyeongyang Jo clan (귀인 조씨; 1842 – 1865)
    1. Unnamed 3rd son (7 November 1859[17] – 1859?)
    2. Unnamed 4th son (24 February 1861[18] – 1861?)
  4. Lady ''suk-ui'' of the Onyang Bang clan (숙의 방씨; ? – 1878[19])
    1. Unnamed 1st daughter (1851 – 1853)
    2. Unnamed 2nd daughter (1853)
  5. Lady ''suk-ui'' of the Geumseong Beom clan (숙의 범씨; 1838 – 23 January 1884[20])[21]
    1. Princess Yeonghye (영혜옹주), 4th daughter (1858 – 7 August 1872[22])[23]
  6. Lady suk-ui of the Gimhae Kim clan (숙의 김씨; 1833 – ?)
    1. Unnamed 3rd daughter (5 August 1856[24] – ?)
  7. Palace lady Lee (궁인 이씨; dates unknown)
    1. Unnamed 5th son (1 October 1862[25] – 1862?)
    2. Unnamed 6th daughter (dates unknown)
  8. Palace lady Park (궁인 박씨; dates unknown)
    1. Unnamed 5th daughter (dates unknown)

Titles
  • Nickname/s: Woodcutter Prince of Ganghwa Island (강화도령)

Royal titles
  • 27[26]–28 July 1849: Prince Deokwan (덕완군 德完君)
  • 28 July 1849[27] – 16 January 1864: King of Joseon (조선 국왕 朝鮮國王)

Posthumous title
  • Joseon Dynasty
    • full formal title: King Cheoljong[28] Huiryun Jeonggeuk Sudeok Sunseong[29] Munhyeon Museong Heon'in Yeonghyo the Great[28] of Joseon (철종희륜정극수덕순성문현무성헌인영효대왕 哲宗熙倫正極粹德純聖文顯武成獻仁英孝大王)
    • short informal title: King Cheoljong the Great (철종대왕 哲宗大王)
    • Qing Dynasty-conferred: King Zhōngjìng (忠敬王 충경왕 King Chunggyeong)[30]
  • Korean Empire
    • full formal title: Emperor Cheoljong Huiryun Jeonggeuk Sudeok Sunseong Heummyeong Gwangdo Don'won Changhwa[31] Munhyeon Museong Heon'in Yeonghyo Jang[32] of the Korean Empire (철종희륜정극수덕순성흠명광도돈원창화문현무성헌인영효장황제 哲宗熙倫正極粹德純聖欽明光道敦元彰化文顯武成獻仁英孝章皇帝)
    • short informal title: Emperor Cheoljong Jang (철종장황제 哲宗章皇帝)

Ancestry
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gollark: I mostly use SQLite for my things, but some use PostgreSQL.
gollark: Actually, SHA256 twice due to something something length extension??

See also

References
  1. 조선왕조실록 철종실록 13권, 1861년 음력 3월 22일 1번째기사 (Annals of the Joseon Dynasty, Annals of King Cheoljong, vol. 13, 01 May 1861, entry 1) The text "予三十一歲真" inscribed on the upper right side translates to "My portrait at the age of 31", as well as King Cheoljong's Joseon-era title posthumously added.
  2. At the time of the "Second Fire of Yongdusan", an estimated 3,400 historical artifacts stored for safekeeping due to the Korean War were located by the shanty village of Panjachon Hamlet, Donggwang-dong Neighborhood, Busan: including 46 (later 48) royal portraits formerly enshrined at New Seonwonjeon Hall (신선원전) of Changdeokgung Palace, catalogued in a 1935 inventory (선원전영정수개등록 璿源殿影幀修改謄錄 Seonwonjeon Yeongjeong Sugae Deungnok). The surviving artifacts are currently in the collection of the National Palace Museum of Korea: two severely damaged items (accession numbers 창덕27560 & 창덕27561) are positively identified as King Cheoljong's royal portraits due to his full Joseon-era posthumous title inscribed on the right side; the 1935 inventory lists 4 royal portraits of King Cheoljong, including the surviving 1861 portrait used in this article.
  3. 조선왕조실록 철종실록 15권, 1864년 음력 12월 8일 8번째기사 (Annals of the Joseon Dynasty, Annals of King Cheoljong, vol. 15, 16 January 1864, entry 8)
  4. Ibid. 고종실록 1권, 1864년 음력 12월 8일 1번째기사 (Ibid. Annals of King Gojong, vol. 1, 16 January 1864, entry 1)
  5. Ibid. 1권, 1864년 음력 4월 7일 1번째기사 (Ibid. vol. 1, 12 May 1864, entry 1)
  6. Neff, Robert (4 January 2013). "Child kings". Korea Times. Retrieved 25 March 2013.
  7. 조선왕조실록 헌종실록 16권, 1849년 음력 6월 6일 14번째기사 (Annals of the Joseon Dynasty, Annals of King Heonjong, vol. 16, 25 July 1849, entry 14)
  8. Cheoljong of Joseon#Hanja name
  9. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2006-02-17. Retrieved 2007-02-19.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  10. 조선왕조실록 철종실록 1권, 1849년 음력 6월 27일 1번째기사 (Annals of the Joseon Dynasty, Annals of King Cheoljong, vol. 1, 15 August 1849) Cheoljong bestowed posthumous honorific titles towards his predeceased parents as well as his father's legal wife Lady Choi (the mother of his elder half-brother Yi Won-gyeong who was implicated in Min Jin-yong's rebellion).
  11. Originally one of Grand Internal Prince Jeon'gye's 2 concubines.
  12. A childhood name, according to the Journal of the Royal Secretariat, book 2611, 01 March 1859, entry 13
  13. 조선왕조실록 철종실록 10권, 1858년 음력 10월 17일 1번째기사 (Annals of the Joseon Dynasty, Annals of King Cheoljong vol. 10, 22 November 1858, entry 1)
  14. Ibid. 11권, 1859년 음력 4월 23일 1번째기사 (Ibid. vol. 11, 25 May 1859, entry 1)
  15. Ibid. 고종실록 26권, 1889년 음력 4월 10일 1번째기사 (Ibid. Annals of King Gojong, vol. 26, 09 May 1889, entry 1)
  16. Ibid. 철종실록 6권, 1854년 음력 7월 10일 1번째기사 (Ibid. Annals of King Cheoljong, vol. 6, 03 August 1854, entry 1) Cheoljong also bestowed upon Lady Park the rank of "Noble Lady" on the same day upon precedent.
  17. Ibid. 11권, 1859년 음력 10월 13일 1번째기사 (Ibid. vol. 11, 7 November 1859, entry 1) Cheoljong later bestowed on Lady Jo the rank of "Noble Lady" 2 days later.
  18. Ibid. 13권, 1861년 음력 1월 15일 1번째기사 (Ibid. vol. 13, 24 February 1861, entry 1)
  19. Ibid. 고종실록 15권, 1878년 음력 11월 14일 2번째기사 (Ibid. Annals of King Gojong, vol. 15, 07 December 1878, entry 2)
  20. Ibid. 20권, 1883년 음력 12월 26일 1번째기사 (Ibid. vol. 20, 23 January 1884, entry 1)
  21. Daughter of Beom Won-shik (범원식)
  22. 조선왕조실록 고종실록 9권, 1872년 음력 7월 4일 1번째기사 (Annals of the Joseon Dynasty, Annals of King Gojong, vol. 9, 07 August 1872, entry 1)
  23. She married Park Yeong-hyo, sometimes nicknamed "the last royal son-in-law of the Joseon Dynasty"; their granddaughter Park Chan-ju is the wife of Yi U, sometimes nicknamed "the last Prince of Korea".
  24. According to an entry in the Journal of the Royal Secretariat, book 124, 05 August 1856
  25. 조선왕조실록 철종실록 14권, 1862년 음력 윤8월 8일 1번째기사 (Annals of the Joseon Dynasty, Annals of King Cheoljong, vol. 14, 01 October 1862, entry 1)
  26. Ibid. 헌종실록 16권, 1849년 음력 6월 8일 1번째기사 (Ibid. Annals of King Heonjong, vol. 16, 27 July 1849, entry 1)
  27. Ibid. 철종실록 1권, 1849년 음력 6월 9일 1번째기사 (Ibid. Annals of King Cheoljong, vol. 1, 28 July 1849, entry 1)
  28. Ibid. 고종실록 1권, 1864년 음력 4월 7일 3번째기사 (Ibid. Annals of King Gojong, vol. 1, 12 May 1864, entry 3)
  29. Ibid. 철종실록 15권, 1863년 을력 6월 1일 6번째기사 (Ibid. Annals of King cheoljong, vol. 15, 16 July 1863, entry 6)
  30. Purged by Emperor Sunjong upon the posthumous upgrade to "Emperor" status.
  31. 조선왕조실록 고종실록 3권, 1866년 음력 2월 16일 5번째기사 (Annals of the Joseon Dynasty, Annals of King Gojong, vol. 3, 02 March 1866, entry 5)
  32. Ibid. 순종실록 2권, 1908년 7월 30일 1번째기사 (Ibid. Annals of Emperor Sunjong, vol. 2, 30 July 1908, entry 1)

Further reading
  • Byeon Tae-seop (변태섭) (1999). 韓國史通論 (Hanguksa tongnon) (Outline of Korean history), 4th ed. ISBN 89-445-9101-6.
  • Cummings, Bruce. (1997). Korea's Place in the Sun: A Modern History. New York. ISBN 0-393-04011-9
Cheoljong of Joseon
Born: 25 July 1831 Died: 16 January 1864
Regnal titles
Preceded by
Heonjong		 King of Joseon
1849–1864
with Queen Sunwon (1849–1852)		 Succeeded by
Gojong
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