Empress Sunmyeonghyo or literally known as Sunmyeong, the Filial Piety Empress (; 8 November 1872 – 23 October 1904), of the Yeoheung Min clan, was the first wife and Crown Princess Consort of Crown Prince Yi Cheok, who later became the last emperor of the

Korean Empire The Korean Empire, officially the Empire of Korea or Imperial Korea, was a Korean monarchical state proclaimed in October 1897 by King Gojong of the Joseon dynasty. The empire lasted until the Japanese annexation of Korea in August 1910. Dur ...

Biography

Lady Min was born on 20 November 1872 into the

Yeoheung Min clan The Yeoheung Min clan () is a Korean clan that traces its origin to Yeoju, Gyeonggi Province. The 2015 Korean census counted 167,124 members of the Yeoheung Min clan. Origin The progenitor of the Yeoheung Min clan was long thought to be Min C ...

to Min Tae-ho, leader of the Yeoheung Min clan, and his second wife, Lady Song of the Jincheon Song clan. She had an older half-brother and one younger brother. It was said that her family was poor when she was young until her older half-brother, Min Yeong-ik, became the adoptive son of Min Seung-ho; who was a relative of the clan. This was because Min Seung-ho was the adoptive son of Min Chi-rok, the father of

Empress Myeongseong Empress Myeongseong (; 17 November 1851 – 8 October 1895) was the official wife of Gojong, the 26th king of Joseon and the first emperor of the Korean Empire. During her lifetime, she was known by the name Queen Min (). After the founding o ...

. Thus making her adoptive uncle the adoptive older brother of Empress Myeongseong who became Queen in 1866 which helped her family thrive. Despite having another son, her father adopted another son from a relative within their clan. Lady Min also became the adoptive niece to Grand Internal Princess Consort Yeoheung and Grand Internal Prince Heungseon. Making her be adoptive cousins with Min Yeong-hwan, Min Yeong-chan, Prince Heungchin, and

Emperor Gojong Gojong (; 8 September 1852 – 21 January 1919), personal name Yi Myeongbok (), later Yi Hui (), also known as the Gwangmu Emperor (), was the penultimate List of monarchs of Korea, Korean monarch. He ruled Korea for 43 years, from 1864 to 19 ...

. Through her 4th great-grandfather, Min Jin-won, she was a 4th great-grandniece to

Queen Inhyeon Queen Inhyeon (; 23 April 1667 – 14 August 1701), of the Yeoheung Min clan, was the second wife of King Sukjong, the 19th Joseon monarch. She was queen of Joseon from 1681 until her deposition in 1688, and from her reinstatement in 1694 ...

, and was a distant cousin of

Queen Wongyeong Queen Wongyeong (; 6 August 1365 – 27 August 1420) of the Yeoheung Min clan, was the primary wife of King Taejong of Joseon, and the mother of Sejong the Great. She was queen consort of Joseon from 1400, and was honored as Consort Jeong () un ...

as they shared Min Jeok as their ancestor. She was also a distant degree cousin of

. She became Crown Princess Consort when she married Crown Prince Yi Cheok on 6 April 1882 at the age of 11. She was known as Crown Princess Consort Min (). Around that year, her mother and her father’s third wife died. With the marriage, it granted her parents royal titles: her father was given the title of “Internal Prince Yeoeun” (), and her mother was given the title of “Internal Princess Consort Jinyang of the Jincheon Song clan” (). Her father's other two wives were also given royal titles as well since Lady Min was their step-daughter. The princess, aged 22, was a witness to her mother-in-law's assassination on 8 October 1895, when she stood in front of the Empress, attempting to protect her. This may have contributed to her early death, as she was plagued by severe depression thereafter. In 1897, when the Korean Empire became established, her royal title changed to Imperial Crown Princess Consort Min (). Although the Crown Princess and Crown Prince were at the age and stage to have an heir, they did not have children of their own. This was probably due to the Coffee Poisoning Plot that might have gotten her husband infertile from the poison. She died on 5 November 1904 in Kangtaeil, Gyeongun Palace (now known as Deoksu Palace), before her husband was enthroned. The 13-year-old Yun Jeung-sun was selected and arranged to take her position as crown princess consort in 1907. She was firstly given the posthumous title of Primary Consort Sunyeol (), but it was soon changed to Primary Consort Sunmyeong (). Her title was once again changed to her well-known posthumous title, Empress Sunmyeonghyo (), when Sunjong became emperor on 19 July 1907. Empress Sunmyeong was first buried in Nae-dong, Yongmasan, Yangju,

Gyeonggi Province Gyeonggi Province (, ) is the most populous province in South Korea. Seoul, the nation's largest city and capital, is in the heart of the area but has been separately administered as a provincial-level ''special city'' since 1946. Incheon, ...

where the Neungho at the time was called Yugangwon. She was then moved to Geumgok-dong, Namyangju where the Neungho was changed to Yureung when Sunjong died in 1926. The crown princess is buried with her husband and his second wife, Empress Sunjeong. In 1970, by order of President Park Chung-hee, construction of the Seoul Children's Grand Park started and opened the following year in the Yugangwon (Now Gwangjin-gu,

Seoul Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...

Family

* Father ** Min Tae-ho, Duke Chungmun, Internal Prince Yeoeun (여은부원군 충문공 민태호, 閔台鎬/閔泰鎬; 1834 – 18 October 1884); became the adoptive son of Min Chi-sam (민치삼, 閔致三; 1800–1837) *** Adoptive Aunt - Grand Internal Princess Consort Sunmok (; 3 February 1818 – 8 January 1898) **** Adoptive Uncle -

Heungseon Daewongun Heungseon Daewongun (; 24 January 1821 – 22 February 1898) was the title of Yi Ha-eung, the regent of Joseon during the minority of Emperor Gojong in the 1860s. Until his death, he was a key political figure of late Joseon Korea. He was also ca ...

(; 1820–1898) *****Adoptive Cousin - Lady Yi of the Jeonju Yi clan (; 1838–1869) ***** Adoptive Cousin -

Prince Imperial Heung Prince Imperial Heung (, 22 August 1845 – 9 September 1912) was a prince of the Joseon dynasty and of the Korean Empire. He was the son of Heungseon Daewongun and the elder brother of Emperor Gojong of Korea. By birth, his original name was Yi ...

chin (; 1845–1912) ***** Adoptive Cousin - Yi Myeong-bok, King Gojong of Joseon (; 8 September 1852 – 21 January 1919) *****Adoptive Cousin - Lady Yi of the Jeonju Yi clan (; 1861–1899) * Mother ** Step - Internal Princess Consort Paseong of the Paepyeong Yun clan (; 1833–1865); Min Tae-ho’s first wife ** Biological - Internal Princess Consort Jinyang of the Jincheon Song clan (; 1849–1882); Min Tae-ho's second wife ** Step - Internal Princess Consort Uichang of the

Uiryeong Nam clan Uiryeong Nam clan () is a Korean clan. Their Bon-gwan is in Uiryeong County, South Gyeongsang Province. According to research from 2015, the number of people in Uiryeong Nam clan was 162729. Their founder was . Before he became naturalized, he w ...

(; 1859–1882); Min Tae-ho’s third wife * Siblings ** Older half-brother - Min Yeong-ik (; 1860–1914); became the adoptive son of Min Seung-ho ** Adoptive younger brother - Min Yeong-rin (; 1873 – 1 June 1932); son of Min Sul-ho (민술호; 1838–1921) ** Younger brother - Min Yeong-seon (; 1875–1924) * Husband ** Yi Cheok, Emperor Sunjeong (; 25 March 1874 – 25 April 1926) — No issue. *** Mother-in-law - Min Ja-yeong, Empress Myeongseong of the

(; 17 November 1851 – 8 October 1895) *** Father-in-law - Yi Myeong-bok, Emperor Gojong (; 9 September 1852 – 21 January 1919)

In popular culture

* Portrayed by Gwak Jin-yeong in 1990 MBC TV series ''500 Years of Joseon: Daewongun'' * Portrayed by

Park Eun-bin Park Eun-bin (; born September 4, 1992) is a South Korean actress. She began her career as a child model in 1996, and made her small screen debut as a child actor, child actress in 1998's ''White Nights 3.98''. Park received international recog ...

, Kim So-yeong, and

Lee Yu-ri Lee Yu-ri (; born January 28, 1980) is a South Korean actress. Lee first became known for her role in the teen drama series ''School 4'', and subsequently gained popularity with her role in the family drama ''Precious Family'' (2005). In rece ...

in the 2001–2002

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 ''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sunmyeong, Empress Korean posthumous empresses 1872 births 1904 deaths Yeoheung Min clan People from Seoul