Crown Prince Sado (; 13 February 1735 – 12 July 1762), personal name Yi Seon (), was the second son of
King Yeongjo of Joseon. His biological mother was
Royal Noble Consort Yeong of the Jeonui Yi clan. Due to the prior death of Sado's older half-brother,
Crown Prince Hyojang, the new prince was the probable future monarch. However, at the age of 27, he died, most likely of
dehydration
In physiology, dehydration is a lack of total body water that disrupts metabolic processes. It occurs when free water loss exceeds intake, often resulting from excessive sweating, health conditions, or inadequate consumption of water. Mild deh ...
and possibly of starvation after being confined in a rice chest on the orders of his father in the heat of summer.
Biography
Biography
Lady Hyegyŏng, Sado's wife, wrote a
memoir in 1805 detailing their life together. She records that the prince suffered a severe illness in 1745, during which he often lost consciousness. Although he recovered, the tense relationship between Sado and his father
King Yeongjo led to him experiencing severe anxiety whenever in his father's presence. When Sado
came of age at 15, his father appointed him regent, giving him the power to make decisions on administrative matters. Yeongjo wanted Sado to have an experience of ruling the country. At the same time, Yeongjo wanted stronger power. During Sado's regency, the dispute between
Soron and
Noron became stronger, much to Yeongjo's disappointment. Lady Hyegyŏng describes King Yeongjo as perpetually dissatisfied with whichever course of action Sado chose. Yeongjo also did not permit Sado to visit the ancestral tombs until as late as 1756, nor was he allowed to attend auspicious court events. Yeongjo also always made sure to chastise his son in front of a large crowd, either of
ladies-in-waiting or
eunuch
A eunuch ( , ) is a male who has been castration, castrated. Throughout history, castration often served a specific social function. The earliest records for intentional castration to produce eunuchs are from the Sumerian city of Lagash in the 2 ...
s. As a result, Sado formed a strong bond with his sister
Princess Hwahyeop, who was similarly disfavoured by their father. When she died in 1752, Sado was reported to have grieved intensely.
In 1752, Sado read a
Taoist
Taoism or Daoism (, ) is a diverse philosophical and religious tradition indigenous to China, emphasizing harmony with the Tao ( zh, p=dào, w=tao4). With a range of meaning in Chinese philosophy, translations of Tao include 'way', 'road', ...
text called ''Okchugyeong'' (). Whilst reading, he hallucinated that he saw the
Thunder God. Henceforth, he was terrified of thunder and refused to touch any object engraved with the characters of the book.
Sado took a
secondary consort, Yang-je (
Royal Noble Consort Suk), with whom he had a son in 1754. Terrified of his father's anger, Sado forced her to take abortive medicines, but still, the child was born safely. Arrangements for the delivery and housing were made by Lady Hyegyŏng.
Illness
In 1757, King Yeongjo's adoptive mother (
Queen Inwon) and wife (
Queen Jeongseong) died within a month of each other. Sado had been close to both of them and their deaths led to a marked deterioration in his
mental health
Mental health is often mistakenly equated with the absence of mental illness. However, mental health refers to a person's overall emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It influences how individuals think, feel, and behave, and how t ...
and relationship with his father. As a way of dealing with his frustration and rage, Sado beat his eunuchs. In the same month as the burial of Queen Jeongseong, Sado walked into his chambers holding the severed head of a eunuch whom he had killed, forcing the ladies-in-waiting and his wife to view it. After this, he frequently killed palace staff to release his emotions, as well as assaulting and raping many ladies-in-waiting. Lady Hyegyŏng reported Sado's issues to his mother Royal Noble Consort Yeong, but begged her not to speak to anyone about the matter, as she feared for her safety if Sado discovered she had told someone. By 1758, a previous phobia of Sado's regarding clothing (vestiphobia) became intensely problematic.
Late in 1757, Sado took another secondary consort, Park Bing-ae (Royal Noble Consort Gyeong), who had been a lady-in-waiting to
his grandmother, so his relations with her were considered to breach the
incest taboo
Incest ( ) is sex between close relatives, for example a brother, sister, or parent. This typically includes sexual activity between people in consanguinity (blood relations), and sometimes those related by lineage. It is condemned and con ...
. When Yeongjo found out, he berated his son and Sado eventually jumped down a well to attempt drowning himself, but a guard pulled him out. Lady Hyegyŏng had, by this point, managed to have Bing-ae hidden in the home of Sado's sister,
Princess Hwawan.
On his birthday in 1760, Sado suffered a burst of outrage at his parents, berating his mother
Lady Yeong-bin, as well as his own son, and two daughters. After this, he demanded that Princess Hwawan use her influence over
King Yeongjo to move palaces and allow Sado to visit the springs at
Onyang. He also threatened to "slash Princess Hwawan with
issword", an event witnessed by Lady Hyegyŏng and Lady Yeong-bin. While Lady Hyegyŏng said he was not violent to her, she also noted he would beat any women who resisted his sexual overtures until he "rent their flesh" and they gave in. There was one documented incident where Sado was physically violent toward his wife, in which he threw a go board at her face and made it necessary for Lady Hyegyŏng to avoid court events to hide the bruises.
In 1761, Sado beat his secondary consort Bing-ae, who had birthed several of his children, in a fit of rage while getting dressed. He left her on the floor, where she died of her injuries. Lady Hyegyŏng prepared her body for the funeral rites, but, on his return, Sado reportedly said nothing about Bing-ae's death.
Execution
In the summer of 1762, an altercation with an official at court enraged Sado. In revenge, he threatened to kill the official's son, and attempted to sneak through a water passage to the upper palace. He failed to find the son and, instead, confiscated clothing and items belonging to him. Rumours that Sado had attempted to enter the upper palace to kill King Yeongjo spread around the court. Fearing for the safety of her grandchildren, Royal Consort Yeong begged Yeongjo to deal with Sado. By court rules, the body of a royal could not be defiled and, under the then-common practice of communal punishment, Sado's wife and son (the family's only direct male heir) could also face death or banishment if he were executed as a criminal and traitor. As a solution, Yeongjo ordered Sado to climb into a
wooden rice chest (roughly 1.3m square / 4 feet square) on a hot July day in 1762. According to
Lady Hyegyŏng's memoirs, Sado begged for his life before getting into the chest, though he attempted to get out again.
Along with her children, Lady Hyegyŏng was taken back to her father's house on the same day. After two days, King Yeongjo had the chest containing Sado tied with rope, covered with grass, and moved to the upper palace. Sado responded from inside the chest until the night of the seventh day; the chest was opened and he was pronounced dead on the eighth day. Yeongjo then restored him to the position of crown prince and gave him the posthumous title Sado, meaning "thinking of with great sorrow".
Conspiracy theory
During the 19th century, there were rumours that Prince Sado had not been mentally ill, but had been framed; however, these rumours are contradicted by his wife, Lady Hyegyŏng, in ''
The Memoirs of Lady Hyegyŏng''. According to historians, there is no evidence that Sado was the victim of a conspiracy.
Burial
Crown Prince Sado was buried on Mount Baebong in Yangju. His body was moved by his son,
King Jeongjo, to its current location in 1789, then called
Hyeonnyungwon near
Suwon
Suwon (; ) is the largest city and capital of Gyeonggi Province, South Korea's most populous province. The city lies approximately south of the national capital, Seoul. With a population of 1.2 million, Suwon has more inhabitants than Ulsan, tho ...
, 30 kilometres south of Seoul. Five years later the
Hwaseong Fortress was built by King Jeongjo, specifically to memorialize and honour his father's tomb (the construction lasted from 1794 to 1796, while the official reception was 1795). Lady Hyegyŏng died and was buried with her husband in 1816.
Prince Sado and Lady Hyegyŏng were posthumously elevated in status and given the titles Emperor Yangjo and Empress Heonyeong in 1899 during the reign of
Emperor Gwangmu (
Gojong). Their tomb and the adjacent tomb of their son, King Jeongjo, and his wife, Queen Hyoui, were upgraded accordingly and renamed
Yungneung.
Taboo and reinstatement
Prince Sado was reinstated fifteen days after he died but King Yeongjo banned any mention of the prince's name for the rest of his reign. Because of this decision, Prince Sado's son, Jeongjo, ascended the throne following the passing of King Yeongjo as the heir to his deceased half-uncle (
Crown Prince Hyojang). Upon becoming king, however, one of Jeongjo's first statements was to declare, "I am the son of Prince Sado." Jeongjo always showed great filial devotion to his father, Crown Prince Sado, and he changed the
posthumous name
A posthumous name is an honorary Personal name, name given mainly to revered dead people in East Asian cultural sphere, East Asian culture. It is predominantly used in Asian countries such as China, Korea, Vietnam, Japan, Malaysia and Thailand. ...
of his father's to a longer one, which is the origin of the latter's alternative title, Crown Prince Jangheon.
Family
*Father:
King Yeongjo of Joseon (; 31 October 1694 – 22 April 1776)
**Grandfather:
King Sukjong of Joseon (; 7 October 1661 – 12 July 1720)
**Biological grandmother:
Royal Noble Consort Suk of the Haeju Choe clan (; 17 December 1670 – 9 April 1718)
**Adoptive grandmother:
Queen Inwon the Gyeongju Kim clan (; 3 November 1687 – 13 May 1757)
*Biological mother:
Royal Noble Consort Yeong of the Jeonui Yi clan (; 15 August 1696 – 23 August 1764)
**Grandfather: Yi Yu-beon (; 1670–?)
**Grandmother: Lady Kim of the Hanyang Kim clan (; 1670–?)
* Adoptive mother:
Queen Jeongseong of the Daegu Seo clan (; 12 January 1693 – 3 April 1757)
Consorts and their Respective Issue(s):
#
Queen Heongyeong of the Pungsan Hong clan (; 6 August 1735 – 13 January 1816)
##
Yi Jeong, Crown Prince Uiso (; 27 September 1750 – 17 April 1752), first son
##
Grand Heir Yi San (; 28 October 1752 – 18 August 1800), second son
##
Royal Princess Cheongyeon (; 1754 – 9 June 1821), first daughter
## Royal Princess Cheongseon (; 1756 – 20 July 1802), second daughter
# Royal Noble Consort Suk of the Buan Im clan (; 1732–1773)
##
Yi In, Prince Euneon (; 1 February 1754 – 30 June 1801), third son
##
Yi Jin, Prince Eunsin (; 1755–1771), fourth son
# Royal Noble Consort Gyeong of the Park clan (; 1735–1761)
## Princess Cheonggeun (; 1758–1835), third daughter
## Yi Chan,
Prince Eunjeon (; 14 August 1759 – 26 August 1778), fifth son
#
Court Lady
A lady-in-waiting (alternatively written lady in waiting) or court lady is a female personal assistant at a court, attending on a royal woman or a high-ranking noblewoman. Historically, in Europe, a lady-in-waiting was often a noblewoman but o ...
Yi ()
# Ga-seon (; 1735–1762)
In popular culture
* Portrayed by Hwang Hae-nam in the 1956 film ''The Tragic Prince''.
* Portrayed by Do Kum-bo in the 1963 film ''Mangbuseok (A Wife Turned to Stone)''.
* Portrayed by
Jeong Bo-seok
Jeong Bo-seok (; born 1961) is a South Korean actor.
Filmography Television series
Film
Television shows
Theater
Awards and nominations
References
External linksJung Bo-seok Fan Cafeat Daum
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jeo ...
in the 1988 TV series ''O, Heaven''.
* Portrayed by
Choi Soo-jong
Choi Soo-jong (; born December 18, 1962) is a South Korean actor. Choi made his debut in 1987 as a young actor in the TV soap opera ''Love Tree''. He has appeared in movies, on television and as an MC for various award shows. He has received worl ...
in the 1988 MBC TV series ''500 Years of Joseon: The Memoirs of Lady Hyegyeong''.
* Portrayed by
Im Ho in the 1998 MBC TV series ''The Great King's Road''.
* Portrayed by
Lee Chang-hoon in the 2007 MBC TV series ''
Lee San, Wind of the Palace
''Lee San, Wind of the Palace'' (), also known as ''Yi San'', is a 2007 South Korean historical drama, starring Lee Seo-jin and Han Ji-min. It aired on MBC from September 17, 2007 to June 16, 2008 on Mondays and Tuesdays at 21:55. The seri ...
''.
* Portrayed by Jo Han-jun in the 2007 CGV TV series ''
Eight Days, Assassination Attempts against King Jeongjo''.
* Portrayed by ?? in the 2008
KBS2
KBS 2TV is a South Korean free-to-air
Free-to-air (FTA) services are television (TV) and radio services broadcast in unencrypted form, allowing any person with the appropriate receiving equipment to receive the signal and view or listen ...
TV series ''
The Great King, Sejong
''The Great King, Sejong'' () is a 2008 South Korean historical television series depicting the life of the fourth monarch of Joseon, Sejong the Great (played by Kim Sang-kyung). Considered one of the greatest kings in Korean history, Sejong cre ...
.''
* Portrayed by
Oh Man-seok
Oh Man-seok (; born January 30, 1975) is a South Korean actor. Best known for playing the titular transgender singer in rock musical ''Hedwig and the Angry Inch'', Oh's acting career spans theater, television and film.
After graduating from the ...
in the 2011
SBS TV series ''
Warrior Baek Dong-soo
''Warrior Baek Dong-soo'' () is a 2011 South Korean fusion historical/action television series starring Ji Chang-wook in the title role, with Yoo Seung-ho, Yoon So-yi, Shin Hyun-been, Choi Min-soo and Jun Kwang-ryul. It aired on SBS from Jul ...
''.
* Portrayed by
Lee Je-hoon
Lee Je-hoon (; born July 4, 1984) is a South Korean actor. Having found success in both film and television, Lee first gained recognition for his roles in the films '' Bleak Night'' (2011) and '' The Front Line'' (2011), receiving numerous awar ...
in the 2014 SBS TV series ''
Secret Door''.
* Portrayed by
Yoo Ah-in
Uhm Hong-sik (; born October 6, 1986), known professionally as Yoo Ah-in (), is a South Korean actor, creative director, and gallerist. He is known for playing a diverse spectrum of roles in both television and film, where he often portrays dyn ...
in the 2015 film ''
The Throne''.
* Portrayed by
Do Sang-woo
Do Sang-woo (born December 25, 1987) is a South Korean actor and model. Do has been gaining attention after starring as Gong Hyo-jin's character's ex-boyfriend in the television series ''It's Okay, That's Love
''It's Okay, That's Love'' () i ...
in the 2021
MBC TV series ''
The Red Sleeve
''The Red Sleeve'' () is a South Korean television series starring Lee Jun-ho (entertainer), Lee Jun-ho, Lee Se-young, and Kang Hoon. It is a fictionalised account of the lives of Jeongjo of Joseon, King Jeongjo and his royal consort Royal No ...
''.
* Portrayed in a fictitious manner in the webcomic "Vampire of the East" by Joohee Jo and Seunghee Han published by NETCOMICS
* A fictionalized version of the prince appears in the novel The Red Palace by June Hur
Ancestry
References
Works cited
*
External links
Biography of Crown Prince Sado of Korea
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sado, Crown Prince
1735 births
1762 deaths
18th-century Korean people
18th-century regents
Executed Korean royalty
Executed serial killers
Korean crown princes who never acceded
House of Yi
People executed by starvation
Korean murderers
Princes of Joseon
Korean rapists
Korean serial killers
People from Jongno District
People from Seoul
Deaths by dehydration