- Empress Sunjeong of the Korean Empire
caption=Empress Sunjeong-hyo at age 13 on her wedding day.
hangul=순정효황후
hanja=純貞孝皇后
rr=Sunjeong Hyo Hwang-hu
mr=Sunjŏng Hyo Hwang-huEmpress Sunjeong of the Korean Empire (
20 August 1894 -3 February 1966 ) was the consort of Emperor Yunghui, the last emperor of theJoseon Dynasty andKorea .Biography
Early life
Empress Sunjeong was born "Lady Yun of Haepyeong" in
Seoul and her father wasMarquis Yun Taek-yeong, the Lord of Haepung. She married Crown Prince Cheok after his first wife (known posthumously as Empress Sunmyeong) died. On20 July 1907 , she became Empress of Korea when her husband ascended the throne after the forced abdication of his father, Emperor Gwangmu. The Empress was demoted by the Japanese government by theJapan-Korea Annexation Treaty of 1910 and thereafter known as Her Majesty Queen Yi of Korea (this title, however, was ignored in Korea).Empress Sunjeong became a widow
24 April 1926 , when Emperor Yunghui died without issue at the Changdeok Palace in Seoul. Emperor Yunghui had been rendered infertile (and was also said to be mentally disabled) by poisoning in the Coffee Poisoning Plot.Korean War
During the
Korean War , Empress Sunjeong stayed in Changdeok Palace as long as she could in the face of advancing forces fromNorth Korea . During the war, the soldiers of North Korea invaded the palace but she reproved them and drove them all out. She then escaped secretly to the Unhyeon Palace when the war situation became too serious. As the war progressed she moved toBusan with other Imperial family members, including Princess Hui (wife of Prince Wanheung). According to "The World is One", Princess Yi Pangja's autobiography, Empress Sunjeong went to Busan on foot.After the Korean War
After the war, the new government of President
Rhee Syng-man , jealous of the popularity of the Imperial House, prevented Empress Sunjeong from entering the Changdeok Palace. She was kept imprisoned in Suin Hall, a narrow and unsuitable cottage in Jeongneung,Seoul . On 1961, she returned to Nakseon Hall, Changdeok Palace with Park Chang-bok (d.1981), Kim Myung-gil (d.1983) and Sung Ok-yeom (d.2001), her dutiful ladies-in-waiting and five other staff after a change in government.Empress Sunjeong became a
Buddhist in her later years. She died childless on3 February 1966 , aged 72, at Nakseon Hall, Changduk Palace, Seoul from a heart attack. She was given astate funeral and a private Buddhistic funeral. She was buried beside her husband, Emperor Yunghui at theYureung .She is known posthumously as Empress Sunjeong of Korea (officially, (純貞孝皇后; 순정효황후; "Sunjeonghyo Hwanghu"; "Empress Sunjeong-hyo").
Titles from birth
*
Lady Yun of Haepyung (1894-1906)
* "Her Imperial Highness " TheCrown Princess Cheok of Korea(1906-1907)
* "Her Imperial Majesty " TheEmpress of Korea (1907-1926)
** "Her Majesty The Queen Yi of Korea" (1910-1926)
** "Her Majesty TheQueen Dowager Yi of Korea" (1926-1945)
* "Her Imperial Majesty" TheEmpress Dowager of Korea (1926-1966)
* "Her Late Imperial Majesty" Empress Sunjeong of Korea (Posthumous Title)ee also
*
Korea under Japanese rule
*History of Korea
*List of Korean monarchs
*List of Korea-related topics
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