Deposed Queen Yun of the Haman Yun clan (15 July 1455 – 29 August 1482) was the second wife of Yi Hyeol, King Seongjong and the mother of Yi Yung, Prince Yeonsan. She was Queen of Joseon from 1476 until her deposition in 1479. She was an 11th generation descendant of General

Yun Kwan Yun Kwan (; 12 July 1040 – 15 June 1111) was a Korean military general of Goryeo who was known for training the Byeolmuban and leading it to victory against the aggressive Jurchen tribes. Early life Yun was born as a descendant of off ...

. Originally a

concubine Concubinage is an interpersonal relationship, interpersonal and Intimate relationship, sexual relationship between two people in which the couple does not want to, or cannot, enter into a full marriage. Concubinage and marriage are often regarde ...

of the King, she was elevated to queen rank after Han Song-yi's death. The ousting of the Queen in 1479, and her subsequent death by poison in 1482 became a source of recurrent political turmoil, culminating with the First literati purge organized in 1498 by Yeonsan in the 4th year of his reign.

Biography

Early life

Lady Yun was born on 15 July 1455 during King Danjong’s reign as the only daughter to Yun Gi-Gyeon of the Haman Yun clan and his second wife, Lady Shin of the Goryeong Shin clan. She had three older half-brothers and an older brother. Through her brother, her grandniece married

Yi Ryang Yi Ryang (; 17 November 1519 – 8 March 1583), also spelle Lee Lyang, was a powerful politician during the Joseon period. His courtesy name was Gonggeo (). Biography Yi Ryang was a member of the ruling Jeonju Yi clan and was a great-great ...

; the maternal uncle of

Queen Insun Queen Insun (; 27 June 1532 – 12 February 1575), of the Cheongsong Sim clan, was a posthumous name bestowed to the wife and queen consort of Yi Hwan, King Myeongjong. She was queen consort of Joseon from 1545 until her husband's death in 1567, ...

, the wife of King Myeongjong. Through her mother, Lady Yun is a first cousin once removed of

Shin Suk-ju Sin Sukchu (; August 2, 1417 – July 23, 1475) was a Korean politician during the Joseon period. He served as Prime Minister from 1461 to 1466 and again from 1471 to 1475. He came from the Goryeong Sin clan (). Sin was an accomplished poly ...

Palace life

In a first time, she was a concubine of Seongjong, granted the title ''Suk-ui'' (), junior 2nd rank concubine of the King. In 1473, Han Song-yi who was Seongjong's first queen consort died and posthumously honoured as

Queen Gonghye Queen Gonghye (; 17 November 1456 – 9 May 1474), of the Cheongju Han clan (), was the first wife of King Seongjong, 9th monarch of Joseon. She was the Queen of Joseon from 1469 until her death in 1474. Biography Han Song-yi was born Novem ...

. Because she died without issue, the King was urged by counselors to take a second queen consort to secure the royal succession. Royal Consort Suk-ui was chosen as new queen and was instated in 8 August 1476 at the age of 21. Several months later, she gave birth to Yi Yung, later to become King

Yeonsan Yeonsan or Yŏnsan may refer to: *Yeonsangun of Joseon (1476–1506), Joseon king *Prince Yeonsan (film), a 1961 South Korean film directed by Shin Sang-ok * Yonsan County, a county in North Hwanghae Province, North Korea *Yeonsan-myeon Yeonsan-m ...

. The new queen proved to be temperamental and highly jealous of Seongjong's remaining concubines, even stooping to poisoning one of them in 1477. When it comes to Queen Yun, the most famous story is that she "scarred King Seongjong's face with her fingernails," but in the Annals of the Joseon Dynasty, there is no record of it and since it is a rumor passed down only through private history, the possibility seems very slim given the circumstances and strong male dominant culture plus the fact that her husband was the King at the time. After several rehabilitation attempts initiated by her party, influential government officials petitioned for her execution. The deposed queen was sentenced to death by poisoning. She gave the cloth with her blood on it to her mother and asked for it to be given to her son. She later became known as Deposed Queen Yun. The meaning of "Pyebi Yun-ssi" (), her current name in Korea, is "deposed consort of the Haman Yun family". Western references are rather using Deposed Lady Yun as in.

Aftermath

After her death, court officials urged Seongjong to pick a wife from within his concubines. One court official’s daughter, Royal Consort Suk-ui of the Paepyeong Yun clan, became Queen Consort. It is argued that

Queen Jeonghyeon Queen Jeonghyeon (; 30 July 1462 – 29 September 1530), of the Papyeong Yun clan, was a posthumous name bestowed to the wife and third queen consort of Yi Hyeol, King Seongjong and the mother of Yi Yeok, King Jungjong. She was queen consort o ...

helped to bring Queen Yun’s demise along with her father Yun Ho and her 6th cousin, Yun Pil-sang. But it is unknown how much Queen Jeonghyeon, who was 17 years old at the time, was involved in the abolition of the now deposed Queen Yun. It’s speculated that

Queen Jeongsun Queen Jeongsun (; 2 December 1745 – 11 February 1805), of the Gyeongju Kim clan, was a posthumous name bestowed to the wife and second queen consort of Yi Geum, King Yeongjo, the 21st Joseon monarch. She was queen consort of Joseon from 1759 ...

was also behind it. Her son, Yeonsangun, grew up thinking Queen Jeonghyeon was his birth mother. But in 1494, the young king eventually learned of what had happened to his biological mother and attempted to posthumously restore her titles and position. Because of officials standing in his way, the manner and matter of her death became a pretext for her son to purge the court and government of opponents and critics of his rule. During Yeonsan's reign, he honored his mother with the posthumous title "Queen Jeheon" ().

Family

Parent * Father − Yun Gi-gyeon (; 1416–?) * Mother − Lady Shin of the Goryeong Shin clan (증 부부인 고령 신씨 (贈府夫人高靈申氏; 1426–1504); Yun Gi-gyeon's second wife * Stepmother − Lady Yi of the Yangseong Yi clan () Sibling * Older half-brother − Yun Woo (; 1442–?) * Older half-brother − Yun Hae (; 1444–?) * Older half-brother − Yun Hu (; 1446–?) * Older brother − Yun Gu (; 1448–1513) Husband * King Seongjong of Joseon (; 20 August 1457 – 20 January 1494) Issue * Son − Yi Yung, King Yeonsan (; 23 November 1476 – 20 November 1506). Wife: Queen Jeinwondeok of the Geochang Shin clan (; 15 December 1476 – 16 May 1537) * Son - unnamed grand prince (; 1478–1479)

In popular culture

Media depictions

* Portrayed by Lee Gi-sun in the 1984–1985 MBC TV series ''500 Years of Joseon – The Ume Tree in the Midst of the Snow.'' *Portrayed by

Sunwoo Eun-sook Sunwoo Eun-sook (; born December 24, 1959) is a South Korean actress. Sunwoo made her acting debut in 1978, and rose to fame in the 1980s. Personal life Sunwoo married actor Lee Young-ha in 1981 when they were both at the peak of their caree ...

in the 1987 film ''Prince Yeonsan.'' *Portrayed by Kim Yeong-ae in the 1988 film '' Diary of King Yeonsan.'' *Portrayed by

Jang Seo-hee Jang Seo-hee (; born January 5, 1972) is a South Korean actress. She has starred in numerous television dramas, including '' Miss Mermaid'' (2002) and '' Temptation of Wife'' (2008), which were both extremely successful in the ratings and earne ...

in the 1994

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TV series ''Han Myeong-hoe.'' *Portrayed by

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in the 1998–2000

TV series ''The King and the Queen.'' *Portrayed by Lee Joo-hee in the 2003–2004 MBC TV series ''

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.'' *Portrayed by

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and

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in the 2007–2008 SBS TV series ''

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''. * Portrayed by

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and

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in the 2011–2012

JTBC JTBC (shortened from Joongang Tongyang Broadcasting Company; ; stylized in all lowercase) is a South Korean nationwide pay television network. Its primary shareholder is JoongAng Holdings, with a 25% stake. It was launched on December 1, ...

TV series ''

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''. * Portrayed by Kim Ji-young in the 2015 film ''

The Treacherous ''The Treacherous'' (; lit. "Treacherous Subject" or "Treacherous Retainer") is a 2015 South Korean period drama film about Joseon's king Yeonsan, directed by Min Kyu-dong. It follows Im Sung-jae, a notorious vassal who, alongside his father Im S ...

''. * Portrayed by

Woo Hee-jin Woo Hee-jin (; born May 24, 1975) is a South Korean actress. Woo began modeling in commercials when she was in sixth grade, then made her acting debut in 1987. She became a household name when she starred in campus drama ''Feelings'' (1994), si ...

in the 2017

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 ''

Queen for Seven Days ''Queen for Seven Days'' () is a South Korean television series starring Park Min-young as the titular Queen Dangyeong, with Yeon Woo-jin and Lee Dong-gun. It aired on KBS2 every Wednesday and Thursday at 22:00 ( KST) from May 31, 2017, to A ...

''.

Novels

* Blood on the Royal Sleeve by Park Chong-hwa.

External links

Deposed Queen Lady Yun's Death Events

Deposed Queen Lady Yun-Omaynews
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Yun, Queen 1455 births 1482 deaths Executed Korean women Executed Korean royalty 15th-century executions People executed by poison Royal consorts of Joseon Queens consort of Korea People from Gyeonggi Province Mothers of Korean monarchs