Queen Wonseong of the Ansan Kim clan (; 995 – 15 August 1028) or formally called as Grand Queen Mother Wonseong () was a Korean queen consort as the 3rd wife of King Hyeonjong of Goryeo who became the mother of his successors, Deokjong and Jeongjong. She was born into the

Ansan Kim clan The Ansan Kim clan () is a Korean clan that was an aristocratic family from the Goryeo Goryeo (; ) was a Korean state founded in 918, during a time of national division called the Later Three Kingdoms period, that unified and ruled the Kor ...

as the eldest daughter of Kim Unbu and Lady Yi, daughter of Yi Hogyom () from the Gyeongwon Yi clan. Kim Unbu was an influential royal court favorite and official. In 1010, King Hyeonjong who had fled to

Naju Naju (; ) is a city in South Jeolla Province, South Korea. The capital of South Jeolla Province was located at Naju until it was moved to Gwangju in 1895. The name Jeolla Province actually originates from the first character of Jeonju () and the ...

Jeolla Province Jeolla Province (, ) was one of the historical Eight Provinces of Korea during the Kingdom of Joseon in southwestern Korea. It consisted of the modern South Korean provinces of North Jeolla, South Jeolla and Gwangju Metropolitan City as well as J ...

due to the Khitan's invasion, stayed overnight in

Gongju Gongju (; ) is a city in South Chungcheong Province, South Korea. History Gongju was formerly named Ungjin and was the capital of Baekje from AD 475 to 538. In this period, Baekje was under threat from Goguryeo. Goguryeo had overrun the previ ...

South Chungcheong Province South Chungcheong Province (), informally called Chungnam, is a Administrative divisions of South Korea, province of South Korea in the Hoseo region in the southwest of the Korean Peninsula. South Chungcheong borders the provinces of Gyeonggi to ...

at Kim Unbu's house and Kim welcomed him with made his eldest daughter serve Hyeonjong comfortably. It was said too that Lady Kim made and dedicated clothes to Hyeonjong own. After this, Unbu's two other daughters also married to Hyeonjong. According to ''

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 ...

'', she firstly entered the palace in 1011 and was honoured as Primary Lady Yeongyeong () not long after bearing her eldest son, Wang Heum in 1016. Then, she was given the "Yeongyeong Palace" () and became Princess Yeongyeong () after bearing her second son, Wang Hyeong in 1018. Beside Heum and Hyeong, she also had two other daughters from Hyeonjong. In 1022, she formally became 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 ...

and in 1027 stayed in "Janggyeong Palace" (). However, she eventually died a year later and was buried in Myeongneung tomb (); she was later enshrined in her husband's shrine.

Family

*Father: Kim Un-bu (d. 11 June 1017) **Grandfather: Kim Kŭng-pil () ***1st Older brother: Kim Chung-chan (김충찬, 金忠贊; d. July 1036) ***2nd Older brother: Kim Nan-won (김난원, 金爛圓; 1055–1101) ***1st Younger sister: Queen Wonhye (d. 1022) ***2nd Younger sister: Queen Wonpyeong (d. 1028) *Mother: Grand Lady of Ansan County of the Gyeongwon Yi clan (); formally called as "Grand Lady of the Anhyo State" () **Grandfather: Yi Ho-gyom () – the founder of the Gyeongwon Yi clan. **Grandmother: Grand Lady of Ansan County of the Gyeongju Kim clan () *Husband: King Hyeonjong of Goryeo (992–1031) **1st son: King Deokjong of Goryeo (1016–1034) **2nd son: King Jeongjong of Goryeo (1018–1046) **1st daughter: Queen Inpyeong **2nd daughter: Princess Gyeongsuk ()

Posthumous name

*After King Deokjong's ascension to the throne in 1031, he honoured his late mother as Grand Queen Mother () and gave her a

posthumous name A posthumous name is an honorary Personal name, name given mainly to revered dead people in East Asian cultural sphere, East Asian culture. It is predominantly used in Asian countries such as China, Korea, Vietnam, Japan, Malaysia and Thailand. ...

as Yong-ui () and Gong-hye (). *In October 1056 (10th year reign of King Munjong), name Yeong-mok (); Yang-deok (); Sin-jeol (); and Sun-seong () was added. *In April 1140 (18th year reign of King Injong), name Ja-seong () was added. *In October 1253 (40th year reign of King Gojong), name Gwang-seon () was added to her

too.

In popular culture

*Portrayed by Jung Han-bi in the 2009

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 ''

Empress Cheonchu ''Empress Cheonchu'' (; also known as ''The Iron Empress'') is a 2009 South Korean period television series based on the title character, an actual historical figure and her lifelong struggle to protect the country her ancestors built. The gran ...

''. *Portrayed by Ha Seung-ri in the 2023–2024

TV series '' Korea-Khitan War''.

Notes

References

External links

Queen Wonseong
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 ...

'' .
Queen Wonseong
on Digital Ansan Cultural Exhibition .
원성태후
on ''

Doosan Encyclopedia ''Doosan Encyclopedia'' () is a Korean-language encyclopedia published by Doosan Donga (). The encyclopedia is based on the ''Dong-A Color Encyclopedia'' (), which comprises 30 volumes and began to be published in 1982 by Dong-A Publishing (). ...

'' . *Eckert, Lee, Lew, Robinson and Wagner, ''Korea Old and New: A History'', Harvard University Press, 1990. {{DEFAULTSORT:Wonseong, Queen 10th-century births Year of birth unknown 1028 deaths Consorts of Hyeonjong of Goryeo Queens consort of Korea 11th-century Korean women 11th-century Korean people Ansan Kim clan Mothers of Korean monarchs