Queen Jeongsun

After the death of the first Queen Consort, Queen Jeongseong in 1757, King Yeongjo did not take a queen among concubines that were under the previous queen due to his father’s law on having a concubine become queen. Lady Kim was then chosen as the next Queen Consort on 9 June 1759. A formal marriage ceremony was held at Changgyeong Palace on 22 June 1759. This marriage was considered the oldest marriage in Joseon Dynasty history as King Yeongjo was 66 years old, and Queen Jeongsun was 15 years old at the time of the marriage.

Queen Jeongsun was also 10 years younger than the king’s son, Crown Prince Sado, and his daughter-in-law, Lady Hyegyeong.

Her father was given the royal title of “Internal Prince Oheung” (Hangul: 오흥부원군, Hanja: 鰲興府院君), and her mother was given the royal title of “Lady Wonpung of the Wonju Won clan clan” (Hangul: 원풍부부인 원주 원씨, Hanja: 原豊府夫人 原州 元氏).

As an anecdote at the time of a Gantaek, Yeongjo asked Gantaek Gyusu what was the deepest thing in the world. Another Gyusu answered, “The mountain is deep” and “The water is deep,” but Queen Jeongsun had answered, “The deepest is the human heart.” Her response had caught Kim Yeongjo’s attention.

When asked what is the most beautiful flower, the Queen once again answered, “The cotton flower is the most beautiful flower, although it does not exude fashion and scent, but it is the most beautiful flower that warms the people by weaving thread.”

This led her to have an impression of wisdom early in her marriage with her verbal talent.

The queen was known to be a little assertive towards the her husband. When it had come to get measured for clothing, the palace maid had politely asked the king to turn his back. Yet, she also asked her husband in a decisive tone saying, “Can you turn around?”.

The queen and her husband shared a deep love for one another, but despite that, they had produced no princes or princesses. There was no record of the young queen baring children, or having a miscarriage.

Because of the death of Crown Prince Sado in 1762, a son of Queen Jeongsun would have belonged to the required generation for inheriting the throne after the death of King Yeongjo in 22 April 1776. But Queen Jeongsun had no children, and the throne was transmitted to the son of Sado, her step grandson, who reigned as King Jeongjo from 1777 to 1800.

There was an unsaid tension and extreme confrontations between Queen Jeongsun and her step grandson, King Jeongjo. It’s said that it might have been due to the exile of her older brother to Heuksan Island since he was involved in the impeachment of the king’s maternal grandfather, Hong Bong-han, during King Yeongjo’s reign.

Upon the death of King Jeongjo in 1800, the only son of Jeongjo was 10 years old. He ascended the throne as King Sunjo. The Regency was given to Queen Jeongsun since she was the senior-most by generation over anybody else in the Palace. She exerted the power until she voluntarily gave it up in 1804. She departed from the policy of the late King, enforcing the Catholic Persecution of 1801 and favoring the Noron Byeokpa faction.

Queen Jeongsun had purged a large number of conflicting Soron sects, and executed King Jeongjo's half-brother Eun Eon-gun and Lady Hyegyeong’s younger brother, Hong Nak-im, abolished Jang Yong-young established by Jeong-jo, and massively defeated the Catholic Church that King Jeongjo had tolerated. It was repressed and expelled other people and the Soron Faction.

She also hired a large number of Noron Bukpa officials, such as Kim Gwan-ju and Kim Yong-ju, whom she had struck by Jeongjo. In 1802, in accordance with King Jeongjo's law, she had Kim Jo-sun’s daughter, the future Queen Sunwon, became the Queen Consort of Sunjo, and Kim Jo-sun was sealed to Yeongan Buwon-gun (永安府院君) and was resigned from her rule.

On 9 February 1804, after reaping the convergence and cleansing, when Sunjo's family was declared, most of the bureaucrats were purged by Kim Jo-sun, the father of Queen Sunwon, and the power of King Jeongjo. Her influence was weakened, and she had a futile last year of reign, and a year later, on 11 February 1805, she died in Gyeongbokjeon at Changdeokgung Palace.

Queen Jeongsun is buried with her husband King Yeongjo and his first wife, Queen Jeongseong, in the dynastic tombs at Donggureung, the royal tomb of Wonneung (원릉, 元陵), in the city of Guri, Gyeonggi Province.