Queen Insun

Queen Insun
Regent of Joseon
Tenure12 August 1567 – 22 March 1568
MonarchKing Seonjo
Queen Dowager of Joseon
Tenure12 August 1567 – 22 February 1575
PredecessorQueen Dowager Gongui
SuccessorQueen Dowager Soseong
WithQueen Dowager Gongui
Queen Consort of Joseon
Tenure17 August 1545 – 12 August 1567
PredecessorQueen Inseong
SuccessorQueen Uiin
Born7 July 1532
Hanseong, Joseon
Died22 February 1575(1575-02-22) (aged 42)
Tongmyeongjeon, Changgyeonggung, Hanseong, Joseon
Burial
Gangneung, Seoul, South Korea
Spouse
​
​
(m. 1543; died 1567)​
Issue
Detail		2 sons (1 adopted son)
Regnal name
Uiseong (의성; 懿聖)
Posthumous name
Queen Seonyeol Insun (선열인순왕후; 宣烈仁順王后)
Clan
DynastyYi
FatherShim Kang, Internal Prince Cheongneung
MotherInternal Princess Consort Wansan, of the Jeonju Yi clan
Korean name
Hangul
인순왕후
Hanja
仁順王后
RRInsun wanghu
MRInsun wanghu

Queen Insun (Korean: 인순왕후; Hanja: 仁順王后; 7 July 1532 – 22 February 1575), of the Cheongsong Shim clan, was the wife of King Myeongjong, the 13th monarch of Joseon. She was queen of Joseon from 1545 until her husband's death in 1567, and was then styled as Queen Dowager Uiseong during the reign of her adoptive son, King Seonjo.

Biography

Early life and lineage

The future Queen Insun was born during the reign of King Jungjong, as the eldest child among eight sons and three daughter. Her father was Shim Kang (심강) and her mother was a lady from the Jeonju Yi clan.

On her paternal side, Lady Shim was a member of the prestigious Cheongsong Shim clan and a direct descendant of Queen Soheon's father, Shim On, while on her maternal side, she was a 5h great-granddaughter of King Taejong and Queen Wongyeong via their second surviving son, Grand Prince Hyoryeong, as well as a 4th great-granddaughter of Taejong's elder brother, King Jeongjong, via his seventh daughter, Princess Incheon (인천옹주).

Marriage

In 1542, at the age of 9, Lady Shim was arranged to marry 7-year-old Yi Hwan (then known as Grand Prince Gyeongwon), the only son of King Jungjong and Queen Munjeong. The wedding was held early the following year.

As queen

In 1545, when his elder half-brother, King Injong died without issue, Yi Hwan ( posthumously King Myeongjong) acceded to the throne, and Lady Shim thus became queen.

During the last years of King Myeongjong's reign, Lady Shim's younger brother, Shim Ui-gyeom, played a major role in the ousting of their maternal uncle, Yi Ryang, and their rivalry represents a defining moment of the clash between the corrupt royal in-laws and the rising Sarim scholars. However, this victory inadvertently set the stage for the famous nationwide split of the Sarim into the Easterners (Dongin) and Westerners (Seoin).

In 1551, Lady Shim had given birth to her husband's only son, Yi Bu, but the child died prematurely in 1563. As the country was now without an heir, Prince Deokheung's youngest son, Yi Gyun, was eventually adopted under the royal couple's name.

Later life and death

After King Myeongjong's death in 1567, the throne passed to Yi Gyun, now named Yi Yeon (posthumously King Seonjo). Lady Shim became queen dowager and received the honorific name Uiseong (의성; lit. ''exemplary and sacred''). She also served as regent initially, but stepped down after several months.

Lady Shim died seven years later, at the age of 42. She was buried alongside King Myeongjong within Gangneung (강릉), today part of the Taegangneung burial ground in Nowon District, Seoul.

Titles

Family

Ancestry

Ancestors of Queen Insun
Shim Won
(심원)
Shim Sun-mun
(심순문)
Lady, of the Jeonju Yi clan
(전주 이씨)
Shim Yeon-won
(심연원)
Shin Yeong-seok
(신영석)
Lady, of the Pyongsan Shin clan
(평산 신씨)
Lady, of the Yangcheon Heo clan
(양천 허씨)
Shim Kang, Internal Prince Cheongneung
(청릉부원군 심강)
Kim Tae-gyeong
(김태경)
Kim Dang
(김당)
Lady, of the Chogye Byeon clan
(초계 변씨)
Lady, of the Gyeongju Kim clan
(경주 김씨)
Queen Insun
Prince Yulwon
(율원군)
Prince Yeoyang
(여양군)
Princess Consort Muan, of the Dongnae Jeong clan
(무안현부인 동래 정씨)
Prince Jeonseong
(전성군)
Kim Gi
(김기)
Lady, of the Gwangsan Kim clan
(광산 김씨)
Lady, of the Jeonui Yi clan
(전의 이씨)
Internal Princess Consort Wansan, of the Jeonju Yi clan
(완산부부인 전주 이씨)
Jeong Gwal
(정괄)
Jeong Jong-bo
(정종보)
Lady, of the Yangseong Yi clan
(양성 이씨)
Lady, of the Dongnae Jeong clan
(동래 정씨)

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Known as honorific name (존호; 尊號) in the Sinosphere, its closest equivalent in the English-speaking world is the regnal name.
  2. ↑ ▪︎Wife: Lady, of the Jeonju Yi clan (전주 이씨); daughter of Yi Bal (이발).
    ▪︎Issue: 1 adopted son.
  3. ↑ ▪︎Wife: Lady, of the Yeonil Jeong clan (연일 정씨); daughter of Jeong Suk (정숙).
    ▪︎Issue: 1 adopted son.
  4. ↑ ▪︎1st wife: Lady, of the Haman Yi clan (함안 이씨); daughter of Yi Je (이제).
    ▪︎2nd wife: Lady, of the Yangcheon Heo clan (양천 허씨); daughter of Heo Tak (허탁).
    ▪︎Issue: 1 son.
  5. ↑ ▪︎Wife: Lady, of the Dongnae Jeong clan (동래 정씨); daughter of Jeong In-su (정인수).
    ▪︎Issue: 3 sons, 4 daughters.
  6. ↑ ▪︎Wife: Lady, of the Jeonju Yi clan (전주 이씨; 1545–?), personal name Gae (개); daughter of Prince Bongseong (봉성군; 1528–1547) and granddaughter of King Jungjong.
    ▪︎Issue: 3 sons, 2 daughters; among his descendants is Queen Danui.
  7. ↑ ▪︎1st wife: Lady, of the Uiryeong Nam clan (의령 남씨); daughter of Nam Eung-seo (남응서).
    ▪︎2nd wife: Lady, of the Goseong Yi clan (고성 이씨); daughter of Yi Jeong (이정).
    ▪︎Issue: 2 sons, 2 daughters.
  8. ↑ ▪︎Wife: Lady, of the Geochang Shin clan (거창 신씨); daughter of Shin Sa-won (신사원; 1520–?) and grandniece of Queen Dangyeong.
    ▪︎Issue: 2 sons, 3 daughters.
  9. ↑ Married Im Yeong-ro (임영로; 1540–1593) from the Pungcheon Im clan (풍천 임씨). They had issue (2 sons).
  10. ↑ Married Yi Byeok (이벽), Chugye Su (추계수); son of Prince Suwon (수원군).
    The royal lineage is unclear.