Queen Cheorin

Queen Cheorin (27 April 1837 – 12 June 1878), also known as Queen Dowager Myeongsun (명순대비) was a Queen consort of Korea by marriage to Cheoljong of Joseon.

Queen Cheorin
철인왕후
Queen consort of Joseon
Tenure1851–1864
PredecessorQueen Hyojeong
SuccessorEmpress Myeongseong
Queen dowager of Joseon
Tenure1864–1878
PredecessorQueen Hyojeong
SuccessorNone
Born(1837-04-27)27 April 1837
Sunhwa-bang District[1][2], Hanseong, Kingdom of Joseon
Died12 June 1878(1878-06-12) (aged 41)
Yanghwadang Hall[3], Changgyeonggung Palace, Kingdom of Joseon
Burial
Yereung Royal Tomb, Seosamneung Cluster, Goyang, Gyeonggi Province
SpouseCheoljong of Joseon
IssueYi Yung-jun[4]
Posthumous name
(see below)
HouseAndong Kim clan
FatherKim Mun-geun
MotherLady Min of the Yeoheung Min clan
Queen Cheorin
Hangul
Hanja
Revised RomanizationCheorin wanghu
McCune–ReischauerCh'ŏrin wanghu
Pseudonym
Hangul
Hanja
Revised RomanizationHyohwijeon
McCune–ReischauerHyohwichŏn

Biography

She was the daughter of Kim Mun-geun (김문근) and Lady Min. As part of the Andong Kim clan's manipulation of King Cheoljong, she married Cheoljong in 1851.

In January 1864, King Cheoljong died without an heir. There were no male heirs, the result of suspected foul play by a rival branch of the royal family, the Andong Kim clan. The Andong Kim clan had risen to power through intermarriage with the House of Yi. The selection of the next king was in the hands of three dowagers: Queen Sinjeong, mother of King Heonjong; Queen Myeongheon, King Heonjong’s wife; and Queen Cheorin, Cheoljong's wife.[5] The "designation right" resided with Dowager Queen Sinjeong, as she was the oldest of the dowagers.[6]

Queen Cheorin, the queen consort of Cheoljong and a member of the Andong Kim clan, claimed the right to choose the next king, although traditionally, the eldest queen dowager is the one with the authority to select the new king. Cheoljong’s cousin, Grand Royal Dowager Queen Sinjeong (the widow of King Heonjong's father [entitled Ikjong]) of the Pungyang Jo clan, who too had risen to prominence by intermarriage with the Yi family, currently held this title.

Queen Shinjeong saw an opportunity to advance the cause of the Pungyang Jo clan, the only true rival of the Andong Kim clan in Korean politics. As Cheoljong fell deeper under his illness, the Grand Royal Dowager Queen was approached by Yi Ha-eung, a descendant of King Injo (r.1623–1649), whose father was made an adoptive son of Prince Eunsin, a nephew of King Yeongjo (r.1724–1776). The branch that Yi Ha-eung's family belonged to was an obscure line of descent of the Yi clan, which survived the often deadly political intrigue that frequently embroiled the Joseon court by forming no affiliation with any factions. Yi Ha-eung himself was ineligible for the throne due to a law that dictated that any possible heir to the kingdom be part of the generation after the most recent incumbent of the throne, but his second son Yi Myeong-bok, and later Emperor Gojong, was a possible successor to the throne.

The Pungyang Jo clan saw that Yi Myeong-bok was only twelve years old and would not be able to rule in his own name until he came of age, and that they could easily influence Yi Ha-eung, who would be acting as regent for the future king. As soon as news of Cheoljong's death reached Yi Ha-eung through his intricate network of spies in the palace, he and the Pungyang Jo clan took the hereditary royal seal — an object that was considered necessary for a legitimate reign to take place and aristocratic recognition to be received — effectively giving her absolute power to select the successor to the throne. By the time Cheoljong's death had become a known fact, the Andong Kim clan was powerless according to law as the seal lay in the hands of the Grand Royal Dowager Queen Sinjeong.

In an apocryphal story, Queen Cheorin sent a minister to fetch the son of Yi Ha-eung, eleven-year-old Yi Myeong-bok, who was flying a kite in a palace garden. The son was brought to the palace in a sedan chair, where Queen Sinjeong rushed forward and called him her son, thus producing the new Joseon king, King Gojong, adopted son of Crown Prince Hyomyeong.[5] This story may or may not be true.

These facts, however, are known to be correct. On 16 January 1864, Yi Myeong-bok was appointed the Prince of Ikseong by Dowager Queen Sinjeong. The next day, his father was granted the title Daewongun. On 21 January, Yi Myeong-bok was enthroned as King Gojong, and Dowager Queen Sinjeong began her regency.[6] Yi was apparently chosen because "he was the only suitable surviving male member of the Yi clan and closest by blood to the royal house".[6]

Since Gojong was so young, Queen Sinjeong invited the Daewongun to assist his son in ruling. She virtually renounced her right to be regent, and though she remained the titular regent, the Daewongun was in fact the true ruler.[6] Queen Cheorin died on 12 June 1878[3].

Titles
  • 27 April 1837 – 17 November 1851: Lady Kim / Kim Mun-geun's daughter (안동 김씨 安東金氏 / 김문근의 딸 金汶根之女)
  • 17 November 1851[7] – 16 January 1864[8][9]: Queen consort of Joseon (조선 왕비 朝鮮王妃)
  • 16 January 1864 – 12 June 1878: Queen dowager of Joseon (조선 대비/왕대비 朝鮮大妃/王大妃)
    • 26 March 1866[10] – 12 June 1878: Queen Dowager Myeongsun (명순대비 明純大妃)

Posthumous title
  • Joseon Dynasty
    • full formal title: Queen Myeongsun[11] Hwiseong[12] Jeong'won[13] Suryeong[14] Gyeongheon Jangmok Cheor'in[1] of Joseon (명순휘성정원수령경헌장목철인왕후 明純徽聖正元粹寧敬獻莊穆哲仁王后)
    • short informal title: Queen Cheor'in (철인왕후 哲仁王后)
  • Korean Empire
    • full formal title: Empress Myeongsun Hwiseong Jeong'won Suryeong Gyeongheon Jangmok Cheor'in Jang[15] of the Korean Empire (명순휘성정원수령경헌장목철인장황후 明純徽聖正元粹寧敬獻莊穆哲仁章皇后)
    • short informal title: Empress Cheor'in Jang (철인장황후 哲仁章皇后)
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References
  1. 조선왕조실록 고종실록 15권, 1878년 음력 9월 18일 6번째기사 (Annals of the Joseon Dynasty, Annals of King Gojong, vol. 15, 13 October 1878, entry 6)
  2. Located within modern-day Hyoja-dong Neighborhood, Jongno-gu District.
  3. 조선왕조실록 고종실록 15권, 1878년 음력 5월 12일 3번째기사 (Annals of the Joseon Dynasty, Annals of King Gojong, vol. 15, 12 June 1878, entry 3)
  4. A childhood name, according to the Journal of the Royal Secretariat, book 2611, 01 March 1859, entry 13
  5. Cumings, Bruce. Korea’s Place in the Sun: A Modern History. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2005.
  6. Choe Ching Young. The Rule of the Taewŏn’gun, 1864-1873: Restoration in Yi Korea. Cambridge, Mass.: East Asian Research Center, Harvard University, 1972.
  7. 조선왕조실록 철종실록 3권, 1851년 음력 9월 25일 1번째기사 (Annals of the Joseon Dynasty, Annals of King Cheoljong, vol. 3, 17 November 1851, entry 1)
  8. Ibid. 15권, 1864년 음력 12월 8일 8번째기사 (Ibid. vol. 15, 16 January 1864, entry 8)
  9. Ibid. 고종실록 1권, 1864년 음력 12월 8일 1번째기사 (Ibid. Annals of King Gojong, vol. 1, 16 January 1864, entry 1)
  10. Ibid. 3권, 1866년 음력 2월 10일 1번째기사 (Ibid. vol. 3, 26 March 1866, entry 1)
  11. Ibid. 철종실록 15권, 1863년 을력 6월 1일 6번째기사 (Ibid. Annals of King cheoljong, vol. 15, 16 July 1863, entry 6)
  12. Ibid. 고종실록 3권, 1866년 음력 2월 10일 1번째기사 (Ibid. Annals of King Gojong, vol. 3, 26 March 1866, entry 1)
  13. Ibid. 3권, 1866년 음력 4월 4일 1번째기사 (Ibid. 17 May 1866, entry 1)
  14. Ibid. 9권, 1873년 음력 12월 24일 2번째기사 (Ibid. vol. 9, 22 January 1873, entry 2)
  15. Ibid. 순종실록 2권, 1908년 7월 30일 1번째기사 (Ibid. Annals of Emperor Sunjong, vol. 2, 30 July 1908, entry 1)
Preceded by
Queen Hyojeong		 Queen consort of Korea
1851–1864		 Succeeded by
Empress Myeongseong
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