Jo (; 1619 – 24 January 1652) of the , widely known as Jo, was a concubine of King

Injo of Joseon Injo (; 7 December 1595 – 17 June 1649), personal name Yi Jong (), was the 16th monarch of the Joseon dynasty of Korea. He was a grandson of King Seonjo and the eldest son of Prince Jeongwon. He ascended to the throne after leading a '' cou ...

. She is one of the best-known ''

femme fatales A ( , ; ), sometimes called a maneater, Mata Hari, or vamp, is a stock character of a mysterious, beautiful, and seductive woman whose charms ensnare her lovers, often leading them into compromising, deadly traps. She is an archetype of litera ...

'' in

Korea Korea is a peninsular region in East Asia consisting of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and smaller islands. Since the end of World War II in 1945, it has been politically Division of Korea, divided at or near the 38th parallel north, 3 ...

n history.

Biography

Early life

She was initially arranged to become the maid of a lord's daughter, but instead became a palace woman. She used to serve Queen Inryeol's brother-in-law, and the Queen was the one who arranged for her to enter the palace.

Royal favorite

She caught

King Injo Injo (; 7 December 1595 – 17 June 1649), personal name Yi Jong (), was the 16th monarch of the Joseon dynasty of Korea. He was a grandson of King Seonjo and the eldest son of Prince Jeongwon. He ascended to the throne after leading a ''coup ...

's eye, and became his favourite consort overnight; her

rank A rank is a position in a hierarchy. It can be formally recognized—for example, cardinal, chief executive officer, general, professor—or unofficial. People Formal ranks * Academic rank * Corporate title * Diplomatic rank * Hierarchy ...

also changed rapidly, from the lowest to , , , and was finally declared as a royal consort of the first junior rank, . No one could beat her in terms of receiving the King’s affection; both

Queen Jangryeol Queen Jangryeol (; 6 December 1624 – 10 September 1688), of the Yangju Jo clan, was a posthumous name bestowed to the wife and second queen consort of Yi Jong, King Injo, the 16th Joseon monarch. She was queen consort of Joseon from 1638 until ...

of the Yangju Jo clan and Jang failed to receive Injo’s love. Her personality was described as that of a sensual but cunning woman, and those who were in her bad book would not be safe in front of the King. Because of this, people inside the palace were very afraid of her. It was rumored that Lady Jo disturbed the relationship between Injo and

, with the intention to tear them apart.

Feud with the crown princess

Lady Jo harbored hatred towards the family of Yi Wang, Crown Prince Sohyeon, particularly Crown Princess Minhoe. Since the day she reached the rank of , she would badmouth them in front of Injo and it became a common thing for her to slander them with false accusations. Although there was no record of her involvement with Crown Prince Sohyeon’s death, her slanders did not stop after the prince died. Because of that, Crown Princess Minhoe suspected Jo of poisoning her husband. Lady Jo accused the Crown Princess of attempting to poison Injo, leading to the princess’ execution. The acupuncturist who treated Prince Sohyeon before his death was Yi Hyeong-ik, who was rumored to be in a relationship with Lady Jo's mother. There was even a record about this.

Later life

After Injo's death, she was discovered to be involved in an attempt to put a curse on

and on the Queen's niece. Kim Ja-jeom was her accomplice and was executed. King Hyojong decided to spare the life of Princess Hyomyeong, his half-sister, since she was not involved in the incident. Lady Jo was sentenced to death by poisoning and her mother, who was also an accomplice, died before she could receive her punishment. There were officials suggesting for Jo to be stripped of her position as a royal consort but out of respect for his father, who treasured her, King Hyojong did not go through with the idea. She had a daughter and two sons with King Injo.

Family

*Father: Jo Gi (; 1574–?) *Mother ** Biological: Han Ok, Lady Han of the

Cheongju Han clan The Cheongju Han clan () is a Korean clan well known for their many female members including six queens. The Cheongju Han clan was one of the most prominent clans during the Goryeo period and Joseon period, currently, the Cheongju Han is kno ...

(한옥, 청주 한씨; 1578–1652); Jo Gi’s second wife ** Step: Lady Sim of the Cheongsong Sim clan (청송 심씨; 1575–?); daughter of Sim Heun (심흔; 沈忻; 1549–?) * Sibling(s) ** Older half-brother: Jo Yang-pil (조양필; 趙良弼; 1600–?) *** Sister-in-law: Lady Yi of the Seongju Yi clan (성주 이씨; 1600–?) **** Adoptive Nephew: Jo Jeong-gu (조정구; 趙鼎耉; 1633–?); eldest son of Jo Hyeon-pil (조현필; 1608–?) *Husband: Yi Jong, King Injo of Joseon (; 7 December 1595 – 17 June 1649) **Father-in-law: Grand Internal Prince Jeongwon (; 2 August 1580 – 29 December 1619) **Mother-in-law: Queen Inheon of the Neungseong Gu clan (; 17 April 1578 – 14 January 1626) * Issue ** Daughter: Princess Hyomyeong (; 1637–1700) *** Son-in-law: Kim Se-ryong, Prince Consort Nakseong (; 1636–1651) ** Son: Yi Jing, Prince Sungseon (; 17 October 1639 – 6 January 1690) *** Daughter-in-law: Princess Consort Yeongpung of the

Pyeongsan Shin clan The Pyongsan Shin clan () is a clan of the Shin family, originating from Korea. The founding member of the clan participated in the foundation of the Goryeo dynasty and gained its power during this time. The founder was bestowed this last name ...

(; 1639–1692) **** Grandson: Yi Hang, Prince Dongpyeong (; 1660–1701) **** Grandson: Yi Kang (; 1662–?) **** Granddaughter: Lady Yi (; 1664–?) **** Granddaughter: Lady Yi (; 1666–?) **** Granddaughter: Lady Yi (; 1668–?) **** Granddaughter: Lady Yi (; 1670–?) **Son: Yi Suk, Prince Nakseon (; 9 December 1641 – 26 April 1695) *** Daughter-in-law: Princess Consort Dongwon of the Gangneung Kim clan (; 1643–1722) **** Adoptive grandson: Yi Hwan, Prince Imyang (; 1654–1729); adopted in 1662

In popular culture

* Portrayed by

Seo Hyun-jin Seo Hyun-jin (; born February 27, 1985) is a South Korean actress and singer. Seo debuted as the vocalist of South Korean girl group M.I.L.K. in 2001 and continued until the group disbanded in 2003. She contributed songs as a solo artist after ...

in the 2012 MBC TV series ''

The King's Doctor ''The King's Doctor'' (; lit. ''Horse Doctor'') is a 2012 South Korean television series depicting Baek Gwang-hyeon (1625–1697), Joseon Dynasty veterinarian, starring Cho Seung-woo and Lee Yo-won. It aired on MBC from October 1, 2012 to Ma ...

''. * Portrayed by

Kim Hyun-joo Kim Hyun-joo (; born April 24, 1977) is a South Korean actress. She is best known for her leading roles in the television dramas '' Glass Slippers'' (2002), '' Toji, the Land'' (2004), '' Twinkle Twinkle'' (2011), '' What Happens to My Family? ...

Lee Chae-mi Lee Chae-mi (; born June 23, 2006) is a South Korean actress. She is best known for playing the daughter in need of a bone marrow transplant Hematopoietic stem-cell transplantation (HSCT) is the transplantation of multipotent hematopoieti ...

and

Heo Jung-eun Heo Jung-eun (; born September 14, 2007) is a South Korean actress. She first drew public attention with her performances in hit dramas, '' My Lawyer, Mr. Jo'' (2016) and ''Love in the Moonlight'' (2016). At age nine, she took on her first leadin ...

in the 2013

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 '' Blooded Palace: The War of Flowers''. * Portrayed by

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in the 2015 MBC TV series ''

Splendid Politics ''Splendid Politics'' () is a 2015 South Korean television series starring Cha Seung-won, Lee Yeon-hee, Kim Jaewon, Seo Kang-joon, Han Joo-wan and Jo Sung-ha. It aired on MBC from April 13 to September 29, 2015 on Mondays and Tuesdays at 2 ...

''. * Portrayed by Ahn Eun-jin in the 2022 film '' The Night Owl''. * Portrayed by

So Yoo-jin So Yu-jin (; born August 11, 1981) is a South Korean actress. She is best known for her leading roles in the television dramas ''Rookie'' (2000), '' Delicious Proposal'' (2001), ''Fox and Cotton Candy'' (2001), as well as in ''Rival'' (2002) and ...

in the 2023 MBC TV Series ''

My Dearest ''My Dearest'' () is a 2023 South Korean television series starring Namkoong Min, Ahn Eun-jin, Lee Hak-joo, Lee Da-in, Kim Yoon-woo, and Lee Chung-ah. According to writer Hwang Jin-young, it is inspired by the 1936 novel ''Gone with the Win ...

''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jo, Gwiin 1652 deaths Royal consorts of Joseon Executed Korean women 1619 births Korean concubines