Queen Sapyeong of the Jeonju Yi clan (; 1158 – ?) was the first and primary wife of King Gangjong of Goryeo when he was still a crown prince who just reigned for 9 months. Descended from Yi Yong-bu, she would become the first cousin fifth removed to

Yi Seonggye Taejo (; 4 November 1335 – 27 June 1408), personal name Yi Seong-gye (), later Yi Dan (), was the founder and first monarch of the Joseon dynasty of Korea. After overthrowing the Goryeo dynasty, he ascended to the throne in 1392 and abdi ...

and only royal wife in Korean history who was born and came from the

Jeonju Yi clan The Jeonju Yi clan () is a Korean clan with the surname Yi. Their ''bon-gwan'' is in Jeonju, North Jeolla Province. The clan includes the House of Yi that led Joseon and the Korean Empire. Their founder was . He was Minister of Works () durin ...

Biography

Early life

The future Queen Sapyeong was born into the

as the only daughter of

Yi Ŭi-bang Yi Ŭi-bang (; 1121 – 12 January 1175) was a military ruler of Korea during the Goryeo period. He was one of many military dictators of Goryeo in the aftermath of the 1170 warrior rebellion. Biography Background Yi originated from the Jeonj ...

, son of Yi Yong-bu and Lady Cho in

Jeonju Jeonju (, , ) is the capital and List of cities in South Korea, largest city of North Jeolla Province, South Korea. It is both urban and rural due to the closeness of Wanju County which almost entirely surrounds Jeonju (Wanju County has many resi ...

North Jeolla Province North Jeolla Province, officially Jeonbuk State (), is a Special Self-governing Province of South Korea in the Honam region in the southwest of the Korean Peninsula. Jeonbuk borders the provinces of South Chungcheong to the north, North Gyeo ...

Marriage and later life

In 1174, she married Crown Prince Wang Suk as his primary and first wife since her father had a big influence in the court. However, after 5 months reign, her father was assassinated in the coup led by Chŏng Kyun (), son of

Chŏng Chung-bu Chŏng Chung-bu (; 1106 – 18 October 1179) was a medieval Korean soldier and military dictator during the Goryeo period (918–1392). He was a career soldier, qualified on military part of civil service examination. He was most noted for lea ...

(), which she later expelled from her position and out the palace according to the opinion that, :"You cannot have the rebel's daughter as a spouse and companion for you."
"반역자의 딸을 동궁의 배필로 둘 수 없다." After her husband's ascension to the throne, she then received her title back and

posthumously Posthumous may refer to: * Posthumous award, an award, prize or medal granted after the recipient's death * Posthumous publication, publishing of creative work after the author's death * Posthumous (album), ''Posthumous'' (album), by Warne Marsh, 1 ...

honoured as a

Queen Consort A queen consort is the wife of a reigning king, and usually shares her spouse's social Imperial, royal and noble ranks, rank and status. She holds the feminine equivalent of the king's monarchical titles and may be crowned and anointed, but hi ...

. The couple had a

daughter A daughter is a female offspring; a girl or a woman in relation to her parents. Daughterhood is the state, condition or quality of being someone's daughter. The male counterpart is a son. Analogously the name is used in several areas to show r ...

who later married Wang Ch'un, Duke Hawon (). After that, her whereabouts has not appeared in both of ''

Goryeosa ''Goryeosa'' (), or ''History of Goryeo'', is an extensive historical record of the Goryeo dynasty, compiled by the officials of Goryeo's successor state, Joseon. Its compilation started during the reign of Taejo of Joseon, Taejo (the founding ...

'' or ''

jeolyo''.

Family

*Father:

(1121 – 12 January 1174) **Grandfather: Yi Yong-bu (; 1102 – ?) ** Grandmother: Lady Yi of the Gyeongwon Yi clan (; 1102 – ?); youngest daughter of Yi Ho (이호, 李顥; 1040-?) *Mother: Lady Cho () (1134 – ?); Yi Ŭi-bang's second wife *Husband: Crown Prince Wang Suk (10 May 1152 – 26 October 1213); son of King Myeongjong and

Queen Uijeong Queen Uijeong of the Kim clan (; d. 1170) or known as Queen Mother Gwangjeong () was a Goryeo royal family member as the third daughter Duke Gangneung who married her half second cousin once removed, King Myeongjong as his first and primary wife ...

. **Daughter: Princess Suryeong (1178 – ?)

In popular culture

* 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 ...

in the 2003–2004 KBS TV series ''

Age of Warriors ''Age of Warriors'' () is a South Korean historical television series. It aired on KBS1 from February 8, 2003, to August 15, 2004, every Saturday and Sunday at 21:45 ( KST) for 158 episodes. It's KBS' third histocal series set in Goryeo after ' ...

''.

References

External links

Queen Sapyeong
on the ''

Encyclopedia of Korean Culture The ''Encyclopedia of Korean Culture'' () is a Korean-language encyclopedia published by the Academy of Korean Studies and DongBang Media Co. It was originally published as physical books from 1991 to 2001. There is now an online version of the ...

'' . {{DEFAULTSORT:Sapyeong, Queen Royal consorts of Goryeo Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown Jeonju Yi clan People from Jeonju