Kim Su-deok (; 22 December 1880 – 14 January 1964), posthumously known as Lady Kim of Deokindang Hall (), was the wife of Yi Kang, Imperial Prince Ui of

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 ...

. After the Korean independence of 1945, she lived in her own palace in

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 ...

Biography

Early life

Kim Su-deok was born into the

Yonan Kim clan Yŏnan County is a county in South Hwanghae Province, North Korea. History Yonan County was formed from regions traditionally associated with the name Yonan, a region during the Joseon era where it was adjacent to Paechon in the east, Pyongsan in ...

on 22 December 1880 in

Goyang Goyang (; ) is a city in Gyeonggi Province in the north of South Korea. It is part of the Seoul Metropolitan Area, making Goyang one of Seoul's Satellite city, satellite cities. It is one of the largest cities in the Seoul Metropolitan Area, w ...

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, ...

, during the

Joseon dynasty Joseon ( ; ; also romanized as ''Chosun''), officially Great Joseon (), was a dynastic kingdom of Korea that existed for 505 years. It was founded by Taejo of Joseon in July 1392 and replaced by the Korean Empire in October 1897. The kingdom w ...

of King Gojong's 16th year of reign. Her parents were Kim Sa-jun and Lady Hwang of the

Changwon Hwang clan Changwon Hwang clan () is a Korean clan. With its bon-gwan in Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province, it remains the largest Hwang clan in South Korea. Origins Hwang Rak (), a minister in the Han dynasty, began the clan in Korea after being cast as ...

. Through her paternal line, she shares some distant connections with the royal family. Through her 9th great-grandfather, Lady Kim is a 14th maternal great-granddaughter of Princess Jeongui, who was the second daughter of

King Sejong Sejong (; 15 May 1397 – 8 April 1450), commonly known as Sejong the Great (), was the fourth monarch of the Joseon, Joseon dynasty of Korea. He is regarded as the greatest ruler in Korean history, and is remembered as the inventor of Hangu ...

and

Queen Soheon Queen Soheon (; 20 October 1395 – 28 April 1446), of the Cheongsong Sim clan, was a posthumous name bestowed to the wife and queen consort of Sejong the Great, Yi Do (King Sejong) and the mother of Munjong of Joseon, Yi Hyang (King Munjong) and ...

. Through her 9th great-grandmother, Lady Kim is a 14th great-granddaughter of

Grand Prince Imyeong Yi Gu (; 7 January 1420 – 21 January 1469), formally known as Grand Prince Imyeong (), was an imperial prince of the Joseon dynasty. He was the fourth son of King Sejong. His brothers were King Munjong of Joseon and King Sejo of Joseon. Biog ...

, who was the fourth son of King Sejong and Queen Soheon, and a younger brother of Princess Jeongui. Through her paternal 8th great-grandfather, Kim Gyu, Lady Kim was a first cousin fourteen times removed of

Kim Allo Kim Allo (; 1481 – 27 October 1537) was a Korean politician and scholar of the Joseon period. His art names were Hŭiraktang, Yongch'ŏn, and T'oejae, and his courtesy name A courtesy name ( zh, s=字, p=zì, l=character), also known a ...

(father-in-law of

Princess Hyohye Princess Hyohye (; 13 June 1511 – 6 May 1531), born Yi Ok-ha (), was a Joseon Dynasty princess as the daughter of King Jungjong and Queen Janggyeong. She was the older sister of Injong of Joseon. Biography Early life Yi Ok-ha was born o ...

, eldest daughter of

King Jungjong Jungjong (; 25 April 1488 – 9 December 1544), personal name Yi Yeok (), firstly titled Grand Prince Jinseong (), was the 11th monarch of the Joseon dynasty of Korea. He succeeded to the throne after the deposition of his elder half-brother, ...

with Queen Janggyeong), a first cousin thirteen times removed-in-law of

Yun Won-hyeong Yun may refer to: *Yǔn, Chinese name of Xionites, a nomadic tribe of Central Asia * Yun (Chinese name) (云/雲), a Chinese family name * Yun (ancient surname), an ancient Chinese surname * Yeon, or Yun, Korean (or Dutch given name) family name * ...

(the younger brother of

Queen Munjeong Queen Munjeong (; 12 December 1501 – 15 May 1565), of the Papyeong Yun clan, was a posthumous name bestowed to the third wife and queen consort of Jungjong of Joseon, Yi Yeok, King Jungjong. She was queen consort of Joseon from 1517 until he ...

and son-in-law of her 9th great-grandfather), a first cousin nine times removed of

Princess Jeongmyeong Princess Jeongmyeong (; 27 June 1603 – 8 September 1685) was a Joseon Royal Princess as the tenth daughter of King Seonjo from Queen Inmok. During her older half-brother's reign, she suffered hardships, and her title was revoked, but later it ...

(

Queen Inmok Queen Inmok (; 5 December 1584 – 3 August 1632), of the Yonan Kim clan, was a posthumous name bestowed to the wife and second queen consort of Yi Yeon, King Seonjo, the 14th Joseon monarch. She was queen consort of Joseon from 1602 until her ...

's and

King Seonjo Seonjo (; 6 December 1552 – 6 March 1608), personal name Yi Yeon (), was the 14th monarch of the Joseon dynasty of Korea. He was known for promoting Confucianism and attempting reforms at the beginning of his reign. However, he later gained ...

's daughter) and a first cousin five times removed of

Lady Hyegyeong ''Lady'' is a term for a woman who behaves in a polite way. Once used to describe only women of a high social class or status, the female counterpart of lord, now it may refer to any adult woman, as gentleman can be used for men. "Lady" is al ...

(the 3rd great-granddaughter of Princess Jeongmyeong). Through her paternal 8th great-granduncle, Kim Nae, she is a first cousin eight times removed of

Queen Sunwon Queen Sunwon (; 8 June 1789 – 21 September 1857), of the Andong Kim clan was the queen consort and wife of Sunjo of Joseon. She was known as Queen Dowager Myeonggyeong () after her husband's death in 1834. She served as regent between 1834 and ...

(Kim Nae's daughter is her 5th great-grandmother), and a first cousin nine times removed of

Queen Hyohyeon Queen Hyohyeon (; 27 April 1828 – 6 October 1843) of the Andong Kim clan, was the wife and the queen consort of King Heonjong of Joseon, the 24th monarch of the Joseon Dynasty. She was posthumously called as Hyohyeon, the Accomplishment Empress ...

and

Queen Cheorin Queen Cheorin (; 27 April 1837 – 12 June 1878), of the Andong Kim clan, was queen consort of Joseon by marriage to King Cheoljong. She was known as Queen Dowager Myeongsun () after the death of her husband and during King Gojong's reign. Whe ...

(Kim Nae's daughter is their 6th great-grandmother). She lived in

Yangju Yangju (; ) is a city in Gyeonggi Province, South Korea. Yangju is located south of Dongducheon and north of Uijeongbu, not far from Seoul. In the past, it was one region with Uijeongbu-si, Guri-si, Namyangju-si, Dongducheon-si, and some parts ...

for a while before she and her family moved to

Hanseong The region now corresponding to Seoul, South Korea has been inhabited since the Paleolithic Age. It has been the capital of a number of kingdoms since it was established. Prehistoric It is believed that humans were living in the area that is n ...

(modern-day

) in 1881 where she spent most of her life before marriage. In 1886, she had changed her name from Kim Su-deok to Kim Suk ().

Marriage

After three rounds of selection by

Queen Min 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 ...

, Kim Sa-jun's daughter was chosen to marry Yi Kang, at the time known as Prince Uihwa, the son of King Gojong and his concubine, Lady Jang of the

Deoksu Jang clan The Deoksu Jang clan () is the bon-gwan or Korean clan from Kaepung County, North Hwanghae Province. The clan was founded by , an Arab- Uiguric Muslim civil servant who served in the Goryeo court. According to the Korean census held in 2015, the ...

, on 6 December 1893. Prior to the marriage, her father had given to Queen Min a letter written by

which stated that women from her clan should never marry into the royal family due to the events of her marriage, but Queen Min was adamant in her decision as she liked Lady Kim's virtue. After the couple married,

Yi Kang Yi Kang, Prince Imperial Ui (; 30 March 1877 – 15 August 1955), also known as Prince Uihwa (1891–1900) or King Ui (1900–1955) was the second son of Emperor Gojong of Korea and his concubine, Lady Jang, who was a court lady-in-waiting. I ...

had started to collect a lot of lawsuits, debt, and bribes so he could live in luxury. As she was the wife of a prince, her title was "Princess Consort Yeonwon". She and her husband never had children of their own as they didn't get along which led to Prince Uihwa to have 13 concubines, producing 12 step-sons and 9 step-daughters, during their marriage.

Korea's annexation

When Yi Kang was promoted to "Prince Imperial Ui" on 17 August 1900, she was given the royal title of "Consort Princess Imperial Ui". Sometime after Gojong's abdication from the throne, her title changed to "Duchess Consort of Yi Kang". Kim Suk had witnessed the Japan-Korea Annexation Treaty on 22 August 1910, Korea's Independence on 15 August 1945, and the start of the

Korean war The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

on 25 June 1950. After Korea's liberation on 15 August 1945, she lived at Byeol Palace in

Jongno District upright=1, Bosingak bell pavilion Jongno District () is one of the 25 districts of Seoul, South Korea. It is the historic center of Seoul that contains Gyeongbokgung, the main royal palace of the Joseon dynasty, and the Blue House, the for ...

, and started to do

calligraphy Calligraphy () is a visual art related to writing. It is the design and execution of lettering with a pen, ink brush, or other writing instruments. Contemporary calligraphic practice can be defined as "the art of giving form to signs in an e ...

work.

Later life

On 9 August 1955, Lady Kim and her husband were baptized and converted from

Buddhism Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

Roman Catholicism The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

. They were given the names "Maria" and "Pius". Yi Kang died six days later on 15 August 1955 as the age of 78 in his mansion. She would outlive him by 8 years.

Death

On 10 November 1963, Kim Suk started to have health complications as she struggled with her low blood pressure, and eventually died two months later, on 24 January 1964 at the age of 83 within Byeol Palace,

Anguk-dong Anguk-dong is a '' dong'', neighbourhood of Jongno District, Seoul, South Korea. It is a legal dong () administered under its administrative dong (), Samcheong-dong. See also *Administrative divisions of South Korea South Korea is made u ...

, Seoul, South Korea. She is buried with her husband in Hongneung.

Family

* Father ** Kim Sa-jun (; 1855–1917) * Mother ** Lady Hwang of the

(본관: 창원 황씨, 昌原黄氏; 1855– ?) * Husband ** Yi Kang, Prince Uihwa (; 30 March 1877 – 15 August 1955) — No issue.

Titles

* 22 December 1880 – 6 December 1893: 1. Kim Su-deok () 2. Kim Suk () 3. Lady Kim () * 6 December 1893 – 17 August 1900: ''Her Highness, Princess Consort Yeonwon'' () * 17 August 1900 – 20 July 1907: ''Her Imperial Highness, Consort Princess Imperial Ui'' () * 20 July 1910 – 29 August 1910: ''Her Highness, Duchess Consort of Yi Kang'' () * Posthumous title: Lady Kim of Deokindang Hall ()

In popular culture

* Portrayed by Kim Bok-hui in the 1981 MBC TV series ''The 1st Republic.'' * Portrayed by Byeon So-jeong in the 1990 MBC TV series ''500 Years of Joseon: Daewongun.'' * Portrayed by Lee Ju-eun in the 2001–2002 KBS TV series ''

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 ...

.''

Notes

{{King Yi of Korea Princesses of Joseon 1880 births 1964 deaths People from Goyang