Munjong of Joseon
Yi Hyang | |||||||||
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King of Joseon | |||||||||
Reign | 18 May 1450 – 14 May 1452 | ||||||||
Predecessor | Sejong of Joseon | ||||||||
Successor | Danjong of Joseon | ||||||||
Born | November 15, 1414 | ||||||||
Died |
June 1, 1452 37) Gyeongbokgung, Hanseong | (aged||||||||
Consort | Queen Hyeondeok | ||||||||
Issue |
Princess Gyeonghye Danjong of Joseon | ||||||||
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House | Jeonju Yi | ||||||||
Father | Sejong of Joseon | ||||||||
Mother | Queen Soheon | ||||||||
Korean name | |||||||||
Hangul | 문종 | ||||||||
Hanja | 文宗 | ||||||||
Revised Romanization | Munjong | ||||||||
McCune–Reischauer | Munjong | ||||||||
Birth name | |||||||||
Hangul | 이향 | ||||||||
Hanja | 李珦 | ||||||||
Revised Romanization | I Hyang | ||||||||
McCune–Reischauer | I Hyang |
Munjong of Joseon (15 November 1414 – 1 June 1452) was the fifth King of the Joseon Dynasty, who ruled Korea from 1450 to 1452. He was the eldest son of King Sejong and succeeded him in 1450, but died of disease two years later. He was succeeded by his son, Danjong of Joseon.
Biography
Yi Hyang was the longest holder of the position of Crown Prince during the Joseon Dynasty, holding the position from 1421 to 1450, a record 29 years. In January 1421, Sejong instructed that the eight-year-old Yi Hyang be educated by ministers from the Hall of Worthies, then in October the same year, he was made crown prince and sent to study at the Sungkyunkwan.[1] From 1442 until his own accession to the throne in 1450, he served as regent to King Sejong.[2]
Most of Yi Hyang's achievements were performed during his life as crown prince. Although credit is primarily given to Jang Yeong-sil for inventing the water gauge, the Annals of the Joseon Dynasty state that it was the crown prince who found measures of water levels in the ground. Yi Hyang also contributed to the development of Korean vernacular script by his father.[3] He improved Hwacha as well-known type for nowadays, by himself and yonger brother Yi Gu, Grand Prince Imyeong (임영대군 이구). Also, it was Munjong who took care of state affairs late during King Sejong's reign, as Sejong developed various illnesses and disorders.
Reign
Yi Hyang ascended the Joseon throne as King Munjong in 1450, and his reign marked the beginning of an imbalance of power at court. Kim Bi-hwan describes the, "interaction of the royal authority, administrative power, remonstrative power, and the collective authority of scholars outside the office," before Munjong as contributing to a situation that allowed the Joseon to function constitutionally. During Munjong's reign, however, the power balance collapsed, setting the stage for his brother to lead a coup d'etat in 1452, and was not corrected until the reign of Yeonsangun of Joseon.[4]
Consort
King Sejong is considered as the best king in Korean history, however, he didn't have good daughters-in-law. He especially took care of Royal Noble Consort Sun of the Haeum Bong clan (순빈 봉씨) after experiencing a loss of the first daughter-in-law. Firstly, Royal Noble Consort Hwi of the Andong Kim clan wanted to gain love from Munjong. She burned shoes of Munjong's love and made her drink the ashes with alcohol. Later, King Sejong found out and she was kicked out of her position which was the second highest position where women could go during Joseon Dynasty. After Royal Noble Consort Hwi of the Andong Kim clan lost her position, Royal Noble Consort Sun of the Haeum Bong clan (순빈 봉씨) became crowned prince's second wife. However, she was so lonely that she loved one of her maids named So-ssang (소쌍). Also, she relied on alcohol too much and at that time period, woman drinking too much alcohol was unacceptable. She lost her position because the king found out that she was a lesbian. Lastly, Queen Hyeondeok became the third wife of Munjong. She was the only wife that Munjong loved and she gave birth to Princess Gyeonghye and Danjong. Danjong was the next king of Joseon after Munjong died. She wasn't a troublemaker but she died right after she gave birth to her son.
Family
Joseon dynasty monarchs | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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- Father: King Sejong of Joseon (15 May 1397 – 8 April 1450) (세종)
- Grandfather: King Taejong of Joseon (13 June 1367 – 30 May 1422) (조선 태종)
- Grandmother: Queen Wongyeong of the Yeoheung Min clan (29 July 1365 – 18 August 1420) (원경왕후 민씨)
- Mother: Queen Soheon of the Cheongsong Shim clan (12 October 1395 – 19 April 1446) (소헌왕후 심씨)
- Grandfather: Shim On (1375 – 18 January 1419) (심온)
- Grandmother: Lady Ahn of the Sunheung Ahn clan (? – 1444) (순흥 안씨)
- Consorts and their Respective Issue(s):
- Royal Noble Consort Hwi of the Andong Kim clan (1410–1429) (휘빈 김씨)[5][6][7]
- Royal Noble Consort Sun of the Haeum Bong clan (1414–1436) (순빈 봉씨)[8]
- Queen Hyeondeok of the Andong Kwon clan (17 April 1418 – 10 August 1441) (현덕왕후 권씨)[9][10][11]
- An unnamed Daughter (died in childhood)[12]
- Princess Gyeonghye (1436 – 30 December 1473) (경혜공주)[13]
- Yi Hong-Wi, Prince Nosan (9 August 1441 – 7 November 1457) (이홍위 노산군)[14]
- Royal Noble Consort Suk of the Namyang Hong clan (1418 – ?) (숙빈 홍씨)
- An unnamed daughter (died in childhood)
- Royal Consort So-ui of the Ryu clan (소의 류씨)
- Consort Sa-chik of the Yang clan (사칙 양씨)
- Princess Gyeongsuk (1439–?) (경숙옹주)[15]
- An unnamed daughter (died in childhood)
- Royal Consort Suk-ui of the Nampyeong Mun clan (1426 – 1508)[16][17]
- Royal Consort So-yong of the Kwon clan (소용 권씨)
- Royal Consort So-yong of the Jeong clan (소용 정씨)
- An unnamed son (died in childhood)
- Consort So-hun of the Yun clan (소훈 윤씨)
- Consort Seung-hwi of the Yu clan (승휘 유씨)
- Court Lady Jang (상궁 장씨)
- An unnamed son (died in childhood)
His full posthumous name
- King Munjong Gongsun Heummyung Insuk Gwangmun Seonghyo the Great of Korea
- 문종공순흠명인숙광문성효대왕
- 文宗恭順欽明仁肅光文聖孝大王
Popular culture
- Portrayed by Jung Dong-hwan in the 2011 KBS2 TV series The Princess' Man.
- Portrayed by Sunwoo Jae-duk in the 2011 JTBC TV series Insu, The Queen Mother.
- Portrayed by Kim Tae-woo in 2013 film The Face Reader.
- Portrayed by Han Jeong-woo and Choi Seung-hoon in the 2016 KBS1 TV series Jang Yeong-sil.
Notes
- ↑ Jung (2006), p. 139.
- ↑ Jung (2006), p. 141.
- ↑ Yeon (2010), p. 13.
- ↑ Kim (2014), p. 253-254.
- ↑ Given as a temple name upon her death in 1429
- ↑ Daughter of Kim O-mun (김오문), Lord Anjeong (안정공), Magistrate Pandon-ryeong (판돈령부사); and Lady Yi (이씨 부인). Granddaughter of Kim Gu-deok (김구덕). Niece of Royal Noble Consort Myeong (명빈 김씨), thru her relationship as Kim Oh-mun's elder sister
- ↑ First Princess Consort to the Royal Prince Successor, married in 1427. Formally separated in August 18, 1429, then later committed suicide
- ↑ Second Princess Consort to the Royal Prince Successor, married in October 15, 1429. Formally separated in October 26, 1436 (instigated by Sejong himself), due to a series of scandals, involving her lie of her pregnancy, and her being caught in a lesbian act (sleeping with one of her palace maids) by Sejong himself, in 1435
- ↑ One of Munjong's former concubines; Seung-hwi rank. Became Lady Hyeondeok, the Princess Consort to the Royal Prince Successor (현덕빈) upon her marriage
- ↑ Was demoted in June 26, 1457, as Lady Hyeondeok, following her son's deposition and demotion as Deposed Prince Nosan (노산군) in June 21, 1457. Was posthumously restored back in March 12, 1513, and finally in July 15, 1699
- ↑ Daughter of Kwon Jeon (권전), Internal Prince Hwasan (화산부원군); and Lady Haeju, Princess Consort to the Internal Prince, of the Choi clan (해주부부인 최씨)
- ↑ Eldest offspring
- ↑ Later married Jeong Jong (정종, ?–1461), son of Jeong Chung-gyeong (정충경); created Military Officer Yeongyang (영양위)
- ↑ Firstly ranked as "Royal Prince Successor Descendant" (왕세손), when Munjong was still "Royal Prince Successor" (왕세자) during Sejong's reign. Became the Royal Crown Prince when his father became King
- ↑ Later married (April 16, 1454) Kang Ja-sun (강자순), created Military Officer Banseong (반성위); which she later killed upon learning of his affair with Lee Gil-sang (이길상)'s daughter.
- ↑ Daughter of Mun Min-ji (문민지)
- ↑ Married in 1442
References
- Kim, Bi-Hwan (2014). Kang, Jung In, ed. A Constitutionalist Interpretation of Confucian Politics in the Early Joseon Dynasty. London: Lexington Books. pp. 243–266.
- Jung, Jae-Hoon (2006). "Royal Education of Princes in the Reign of King Sejong". The Review of Korean Studies. 9 (3). pp. 133–152.
- Yeon, Jaehoon (2010). "Was the Korean alphabet a sole invention of King Sejong?". Journal of Korean Culture. 14. pp. 1–20.
Munjong of Joseon Born: 15 November 1414 Died: 1 June 1452 | ||
Regnal titles | ||
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Preceded by Sejong the Great |
King of Joseon May 18, 1450 – May 14, 1452 |
Succeeded by Danjong |