| Naemyŏngbu | |
 | |
| Korean name | |
|---|---|
| Hangul | 내명부 |
| Hanja | 內命婦 |
| RR | Naemyeongbu |
| MR | Naemyŏngbu |
Naemyŏngbu (Korean: 내명부; Hanja: 內命婦; lit. ''Women of the Internal Court''), was a collective term that referred to royal women and female officials living within the palace during the Joseon period of dynastic Korea. It was separate from the Oemyŏngbu (외명부; 外命婦), which encompassed the royal women living outside the palace, mothers or wives of meritorious subjects, and mothers or wives of officials.
Although regulations concerning court ladies were introduced under King Taejo, detailed definitions of ranks, titles, and duties were outlined in the State Code of Joseon promulgated under King Seongjong, where the term naemyŏngbu appears.
Naemyŏngbu comprised women serving and/or living within the palace, but excluded the queen and the queens dowager who were beyond rank and oversaw the court ladies. By contrast, kungnyŏ refers to all court ladies below the senior fifth rank.
Within the Naemyŏngbu, the naegwan (내관; 內官; lit. ''internal official'') consisted of the royal consorts from the senior first rank to the junior fourth rank.
Court ladies from the senior fifth rank to the junior ninth rank were called kunggwan (궁관; 宮官; lit. ''palace official''), or alternatively yŏgwan (여관; 女官; lit. ''female official''). They were responsible for various palace chores depending on their position and might work in the royal chambers, kitchen, or laundry department.
The legitimate wife of a king or crown prince during the Joseon period was selected through a specific procedure that differed from matchmaking practices common outside the royal family. The government issued a ban on marriages in aristocratic families throughout the country, indicating that unmarried daughters between the ages of 13 and 17 were potential candidates. Depending on the age of the crown prince, girls as young as 9 were sometimes considered. A temporary department called the "Office of the Royal Wedding" (가례도감; 嘉禮都監) was established to manage all relevant tasks.
On announcement of the marriage ban, aristocratic families were required to submit details of their unmarried daughters' birth dates and times, as well as the family's genealogical records up to three generations. Candidates were required to be beautiful in appearance and virtuous in character. Those who were not considered physically attractive were disqualified, regardless of their family lineage or virtue. Five to six candidates were selected based on this, which was whittled down to two or three candidates in the second stage, with the bride-to-be selected during the third stage. This third stage was usually conducted in the presence of the king and/or queen dowager, who consulted the three state councilors before making the final decision.
Gifts of silk and jewelry were then sent to the bride's family, and the bride moved to a detached palace where she was instructed in palace etiquette before the formal investiture and marriage ceremony. A queen of Joseon would then receive formal recognition from the emperor of China acknowledging her legitimacy.
Despite the benefits of one's daughter being selected as queen or crown princess, aristocratic families were often reticent to marry their daughters into the royal family and quickly arranged marriages for their young daughters when a selection was anticipated. One lady from the Gwon clan even feigned insanity during a selection to avoid being chosen as crown princess.
During the Joseon period, the hierarchy between dowager queens was determined by their kinship with the reigning king.
The queen dowager (왕대비; 王大妃; wangdaebi) was the widow of the previous king; she was usually, but not always, the mother of the reigning king.
The grand queen dowager (대왕대비; 大王大妃; taewangdaebi) was the most senior widowed queen; she was usually, but not always, the grandmother of the reigning king.
During the reign of King Cheoljong (r. 1849–1864), the position of daebi (대비; 大妃) was created for the most junior dowager queen due to the presence in the palace of the widows of three kings. It was held by two women: Queen Hyojeong (second wife of King Heonjong; during Cheoljong's reign) and Queen Cheorin (wife of King Cheoljong; during Gojong's reign).
Earlier, Queen Sohye (commonly known as Queen Insu) and Queen Ansun had shared the position of queen dowager during the reign of King Seongjong (r. 1470–1495; their biological and adoptive son, respectively), and that of grand queen dowager during the reign of Seongjong's eldest son, Yeonsangun (r. 1495–1506). Nevertheless, Queen Sohye was considered superior to Queen Ansun as Queen Sohye's husband (Crown Prince Uigyeong) was the elder brother of King Yejong (Queen Ansun's husband) and their father-in-law, King Sejo, had entrusted Queen Sohye with the task of protecting King Yejong.
In the absence of a queen, the most senior dowager queen would serve as head of the Internal Court. However, even when the queen led the Internal Court, the dowager queens, as elders, were not subject to her authority. Instead they supervised her activities and ensured she was governing the palace ladies efficiently, with their influence being the chief challenge to the queen's hegemony.
If the queen did not produce a male heir, similar formal procedures as those used to select the queen were followed to recruit royal consorts. Women thus selected entered the palace holding the junior second rank at the minimum. Royal consorts were sometimes selected from women up to the age of 20.
Court ladies of the senior fifth to junior ninth ranks were recruited through various processes depending on the role. They were originally selected from among government slaves or the daughters of gisaeng, but gradually daughters of respectable families came to be recruited. To avoid their daughters being taken into the palace, many such families married off their daughters at very young ages, leading to a revision to the State Code according to which girls born into good families would not be recruited. However, Lee Bae-yong suggests that this rule probably only applied to court ladies of the lower ranks, whereas those working closely with the royal family potentially continued to be recruited from good families.
Girls were recruited between ages 4 to 10, and successful candidates were bound to live their entire lives in the palace. The young girls were trained in their duties and taught to write in the Korean vernacular script, as well as some Chinese characters. They began formally working around ages 11 to 12, with a coming-of-age ceremony held when they reached adulthood.
A woman only became eligible to hold the rank of sanggung (senior 5th) after 35 years of service. Both the head sanggung as well as the sanggung who personally attended the king and queen could hold tremendous influence and power during the tenures of their masters.
At the top was the queen dowager or in some instances the grand queen dowager. The queen was considered a junior to the dowager queen(s), but was the one who controlled the Internal Court. She was immediately followed by four ranks of official royal consorts, with two levels each: senior (정; jeong) and junior (종; jong).
For the rank of bin, the king or queen would attach a prefix in association with the character/personality of the royal consort, such as hui (splendid), suk (pure), ui (proper), and so forth.
Senior fifth rank sanggung and sangui were the court ladies who served directly under the royal family members, or headed various departments. Depending on their role and department, there would be internal ranking within the sanggung. For example, a sanggung who served the queen had higher authority and ranking than a sanggung who served a prince, princess, and/or royal consort.
A court lady who received the king's favor would become a "special court lady" (승은궁녀; 承恩宮女; seungeun gungnyeo); however, they would not be considered a member of the royal family or part of the naegwan. On some occasions, special court ladies would be promoted to royal consorts.
Selected royal consorts would start from the junior second rank. Favored royal consorts would start from the junior fourth rank.
| Rank (Korean: 품계; Hanja: 品階) |
Title | Duties | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Classification | Hanja | Revised Romanization | Hangul | Hanja | |
| Naegwan | |||||
| — | — | Wangbi | 왕비 | 王妃 | Principal consort of the king. |
| Gyebi | 계비 | 繼妃 | Principal consort of the king from subsequent marriages. | ||
| (Wang)daebi | (왕)대비 | (王)大妃 | Principal consort of a deceased king who lived through one subsequent reign. | ||
| Daewangdaebi | 대왕대비 | 大王大妃 | Principal consort of a deceased king who lived through at least two subsequent reigns. | ||
| Wangsejabin | 왕세자빈 | 王世子嬪 | Principal consort of the heir apparent. | ||
| Senior 1st | 정1품 | Bin | 빈 | 嬪 | Royal consorts. |
| Junior 1st | 종1품 | Gwiin | 귀인 | 貴人 | |
| Senior 2nd | 정2품 | Soui | 소의 | 昭儀 | |
| Junior 2nd | 종2품 | Sugui | 숙의 | 淑儀 | |
| Senior 3rd | 정3품 | Soyong | 소용 | 昭容 | |
| Junior 3rd | 종3품 | Sugyong | 숙용 | 淑容 | |
| Senior 4th | 정4품 | Sowon | 소원 | 昭媛 | |
| Junior 4th | 종4품 | Sugwon | 숙원 | 淑媛 | |
| Kunggwan | |||||
| Senior 5th | 정5품 | Sanggung | 상궁 | 尚宫 | Personal attendants of the royal family; oversaw the sagi and jeoneon. |
| Sangui | 상의 | 尙儀 | Responsible for all daily etiquette and procedures; oversawl saseol and jeondeung. | ||
| Junior 5th | 종5품 | Sangbok | 상복 | 尙服 | Supplied clothing and embroidered badges and wrappings; oversaw saui and jeonsik. |
| Sangsik | 상식 | 尙食 | Prepared meals and side dishes; oversaw saseon and jeonyak. | ||
| Senior 6th | 정6품 | Sangchim | 상침 | 尙寢 | Responsible for the procedure of escorting the king to his chambers; oversaw saseol and jeondeung. |
| Sanggong | 상공 | 尙功 | Managed the weaving and embroidery processes; oversaw saje and jeonchae. | ||
| Junior 6th | 종6품 | Sangjeong (Gungjeong) | 상정 (궁정) | 尙正 (宮正) | Oversaw the conduct, work, and punishment of the court ladies. |
| Sanggi | 사기 | 司記 | Responsible for documents inside palaces and had access to account books. | ||
| Senior 7th | 정7품 | Jeonbin (Sabin) | 전빈 (사빈) | 典賓 (司賓) | Prepared meals for guests, looked after guests at banquets. |
| Jeonui (Saui) | 전의 (사의) | 典衣 (司衣) | Responsible for the clothing and hair accessories of female officials. | ||
| Jeonseon (Saseon) | 전선 (사선) | 典膳 (司膳) | Prepared boiled and seasoned side dishes. | ||
| Junior 7th | 종7품 | Jeonseol (Saseol) | 전설 (사설) | 典設 (司設) | Responsible for tents and rush mats, cleaning, and care of goods. |
| Jeonje (Saje) | 전제 (사제) | 典製 (司製) | Responsible for clothing production. | ||
| Jeoneon (Saeon) | 전언 (사언) | 典言 (司言) | Responsible for conveying messages between the king and the Internal Court. | ||
| Senior 8th | 정8품 | Jeonchan | 전찬 | 典贊 | Helped with meals and guidance during guest receptions and events. |
| Jeonsik | 전식 | 典飾 | Responsible for washing, combing, and clothing maintenance. | ||
| Jeonyak | 전약 | 典藥 | Responsible for prescribed medicine. | ||
| Junior 8th | 종8품 | Jeondeung | 전등 | 典燈 | Responsible for lights and candles. |
| Jeonchae | 전채 | 典彩 | Wove silk and ramie cloth. | ||
| Jeonjeong | 전정 | 典正 | Supported the gungjeong. | ||
| Senior 9th | 정9품 | Jugung | 주궁 | 奏宮 | Affairs related to music. |
| Jusang | 주상 | 奏商 | |||
| Jugak | 주각 | 奏角 | |||
| Junior 9th | 종9품 | Jubyeonchi | 주변치 | 奏變徵 | |
| Juchi | 주치 | 奏徵 | |||
| Juu | 주우 | 奏羽 | |||
| Jubyeongung | 주변궁 | 奏變宮 | |||
The Cheongju Han clan produced six queens, the largest number in the history of Joseon.