Princess Deokhye

She was born without a name but was given the name of Princess Seunghee on 25 May 1912, a daughter of Yang Gwi-in (later Lady Boknyeong) and Emperor Gojong when he was 60 years old. Upon having no given name, she was ignored and was treated like she did not exist. She was then nicknamed "BoknyeongDang". In 1917, Emperor Gojong persuaded Terauchi Masatake, the then-ruling Governor General of Korea to enter her name into the registry of the imperial family, offering her legitimacy and granting her the title of princess. In 1919, Emperor Gojong planned the secret engagement between Princess Deokhye and Kim Jang-han, a nephew of Kim Hwangjin, a court chamberlain. Emperor Gojong had sought to protect his daughter from Japan through this engagement, but the engagement failed due to Japan's intervention. After the failed engagement, Kim Hwangjin was not permitted to enter Deoksu Palace and Emperor Gojong died suddenly on 21 January 1919. In 1921, Princess Deokhye went to Hinodae elementary school in Seoul.

Takeyuki Sō and Deokhye (1931)

In 1925, she was taken to Japan under the pretense of continuing her studies. Like her brothers, she attended the Gakushuin. She was described as silent, isolated and weak. Upon the news of her mother's death in 1929, she was finally given permission to visit Korea temporarily to attend her mother's funeral in 1930. However, she was not allowed to wear the proper clothing. In the Spring of 1930, upon the onset of psychological condition (manifested by sleepwalking), she moved to King Lee's Palace, her brother Crown Prince Eun's house in Tokyo. During this period, she often forgot to eat and drink. Her physician diagnosed her illness as precocious dementia, but by the following year, her condition seemed to have improved. This may be attributed to her upbringing.

In May 1931, after "matchmaking" by Empress Teimei, the consort of Emperor Taishō of Japan, she married Count Sō Takeyuki (武志; 1908-1985), a Japanese aristocrat.[5] The marriage had in fact been decided in 1930; her brother had protested it, and it had been postponed because of her condition, but when she recovered, she was immediately given instructions that the marriage was to take place. She gave birth to a daughter, Masae (正惠), or Jeonghye (정혜)[6] in Korea, on 14 August 1932. In 1933, Deokhye was again afflicted with mental illness, and after this, she spent many years in various mental health clinics.

With the defeat of Japan in World War II, Korea once again became independent and her husband lost his nobility title, as the peerage was abolished. The arranged marriage no longer made sense, and they became increasingly detached from one another, until they finally divorced in 1953. Takeyuki So is known to have remarried in 1955 to Japanese Yoshie Katsumura. Having suffered an unhappy marriage, Deokhye's grief was compounded by the loss of her only daughter who disappeared in 1956, reportedly committing suicide due to the stress of her parents' divorce. As a result, Deokhye's condition deteriorated at a slow yet considerable pace.

She returned to Korea at the invitation of the South Korean government on 26 January 1962, after 37 years.[7] At first, the Korean government refused to allow the return of the last royal bloodline, because president Lee Seung Man wanted to avoid political chaos.[8] However, reporter Kim Eul Han found the princess and persuaded the Korean government to allow her return.[9] She cried while approaching her motherland, and despite her mental state, accurately remembered the court manners. She lived in Nakseon Hall, Changdeok Palace,[10] with Crown Prince and Princess Eun, their son Prince Gu, his wife Julia Mullock, and Mrs Byeon Bokdong, her lady-in-waiting. She died on 21 April 1989 at Sugang Hall, Changdeok Palace, and was buried at Hongryureung in Namyangju, near Seoul.

• Grandfather
  • Yi Ha-Eung, Grand Internal Prince Heungseon (21 December 1820 – 22 February 1898) (이하응 흥선대원군)
• Grandmother
  • Grand Internal Princess Consort Sunmok of the Yeoheung Min clan (3 February 1818 – 8 January 1898) (순목대원비 민씨)
• Father
  • Emperor Gojong of Korea (8 September 1852 – 21 January 1919) (대한제국 고종)
• Mother
  • Imperial Consort Boknyeong Gwi-in of the Cheongju Yang clan (27 September 1882 – 30 May 1929) (복녕당 귀인 양씨)
• Husband
  • Count Sō Takeyuki (16 February 1908 - 22 April 1985) (소 다케유키, 宗武志)
• Daughter
  • Countess Sō Masae (소 마사에, 宗正惠), or Sō Jeonghye (소 정혜) (14 August 1932 — 1956)
    • Son-in-law: Sō Noboru (5 September 1931 - ?) (소 노보루, 宗昇)

• List of Korea-related topics
• History of Korea
• Rulers of Korea

Media related to Princess Deokhye at Wikimedia Commons