Royal Noble Consort Su of the Bannam Park clan (; 1 June 1770 – 31 January 1823) was a

concubine Concubinage is an interpersonal relationship, interpersonal and Intimate relationship, sexual relationship between two people in which the couple does not want to, or cannot, enter into a full marriage. Concubinage and marriage are often regarde ...

Jeongjo of Joseon Jeongjo (; 28 October 1752 – 18 August 1800), personal name Yi San (), sometimes called Jeongjo the Great (), was the 22nd monarch of the Joseon dynasty of Korea. He was the second son of Crown Prince Sado and Lady Hyegyŏng, and succeede ...

and the mother of King Sunjo. Her posthumous honorific "綏" was originally pronounced "yu" (유) in the 19th century, hence her posthumous title was once Royal Noble Consort Yu ().

Biography

Early life

The future

Royal Consort A royal consort is a person of either sex who has an official status through an intimate relationship, often through marriage or concubinage, with a monarch. The term ''consort'' was thereafter extended to encompass similar relationships with othe ...

was born on May 21, 1770, into the Bannam Park clan, as the fourth child and second daughter of Park Jun-won, the Minister of Justice, and Lady Won of the

Wonju Won clan The Wonju Won clan () is a Korean clan. Their Bon-gwan is in Wonju, Gangwon Province. The clan was a prominent yangban family during Korea's Joseon dynasty. According to the research held in 2015, the number of the Wonju Won clan was 126,677. ...

.Hwigyeongwon http://www.nyj.go.kr/english/culture/02_02_05.jsp

Life as Royal Concubine

In 1787, because

King Jeongjo Jeongjo (; 28 October 1752 – 18 August 1800), personal name Yi San (), sometimes called Jeongjo the Great (), was the 22nd monarch of the Joseon dynasty of Korea. He was the second son of Crown Prince Sado and Lady Hyegyŏng, and succeeded ...

was once again heirless, Queen Dowager Yesun decided to choose a new concubine for her step-grandson, and Lady Park was selected on February 8, when she was 16 years old. Three days later, on February 11, Lady Park was invested as a concubine of the '' Bin'' rank, with the prefix ''Su'' (綏), meaning "upright/pacifist". The following day, the new Royal Noble Consort Su entered the palace. On July 27, 1790, she gave birth to a son, Yi Gong (), who was appointed as

Crown Prince A crown prince or hereditary prince is the heir apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The female form of the title, crown princess, is held by a woman who is heir apparent or is married to the heir apparent. ''Crown prince ...

in 1800, at the age of 10. On March 1, 1793, Lady Park gave birth to

Princess Sukseon Princess Sukseon (; 11 April 1793 – 7 June 1836) was the daughter of King Jeongjo of Joseon and Royal Noble Consort Su of the Bannam Park clan, and the only surviving sibling of Sunjo of Joseon. Biography Early life Princess Sukseon was ...

(). Su-bin was described as gentle, well-behaved and courteous. She was also usually taciturn and lived simply. As a result, she was greatly admired as "a benevolent concubine" (賢嬪).Cultural Heritage http://jikimi.cha.go.kr/english/royal_palaces_new/Gwangneung.jsp?mc=EN_05_02_01 She is the only concubine in

Joseon 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 ...

's history who lived long enough to see her son ascend the throne.

Death and burial

On January 31, 1823, Royal Noble Consort Su died at Bogyeongdang Hall in

Changdeokgung Changdeokgung () is a former royal palace in Seoul, South Korea. A UNESCO World Heritage Site and a Historic Sites (South Korea), Historic Site of South Korea, it is among the best preserved of all Korean palaces. It and its neighboring palace Cha ...

. Originally, she was buried in

Dongdaemun District Dongdaemun District () is one of the 25 List of districts of Seoul, districts of Seoul, South Korea. It has a population of 346,770 (2010) and has a geographic area of 14.22 Square kilometre, km2 (5.49 sq mi), and is divided into 14 ''Dong (admin ...

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 ...

, but in 1855 (the 6th year of King Cheoljong's reign), when '' Illeung'', the tomb of King Sunjo, was moved to another location, her tomb was also moved to ''Sungangwon.'' In the 14th year of King Cheoljong's reign, it was moved again to its current place (in

Namyangju Namyangju (; ) is a city in Gyeonggi Province, South Korea. To the east is Gapyeong County, to the west is Guri, and to the north is Pocheon. Namyangju was originally a southern part of Yangju-gun, but was separated into Namyangju-gun in April ...

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, ...

), because the location of the ''Sungangwon'' was reportedly not good, according to

Feng Shui Feng shui ( or ), sometimes called Chinese geomancy, is a traditional form of geomancy that originated in ancient China and claims to use energy forces to harmonize individuals with their surrounding environment. The term ''feng shui'' mean ...

. The tomb is known as ''Hwigyeongwon.'' Her ancestral tablet is enshrined in ''Chilgung'' (or the "Palace of Seven Royal Concubines"). Because of this, she is also known as Lady Gasun () or Lady Gyeongwoo (). Posthumously, Lady Park was firstly honoured as Hyeonmok Subin (), but in 1901, during the 5th year of

Emperor Gwangmu Gojong (; 8 September 1852 – 21 January 1919), personal name Yi Myeongbok (), later Yi Hui (), also known as the Gwangmu Emperor (), was the penultimate Korean monarch. He ruled Korea for 43 years, from 1864 to 1907, first as the last king ...

's reign, her title was changed to Hyeonmok Subi ().

Family

* Father: Park Jun-won (; 1739–1807) * Mother: Lady Won of the

(; 1740–1783) * Siblings ** Older brother: Park Jong-bo (; 1760–1807) ** Older brother: Park Jong-gyeong (; 1765–1817) ** Older sister: Lady Park of the Bannam Park clan () ** Younger brother: Park Jong-ik (; 1773–1791) ** Younger brother: Park Jong-hui (; 1775–1849) ** Younger sister: Lady Park of the Bannam Park clan () ** Younger sister: Lady Park of the Bannam Park clan () ** Younger sister: Lady Park of the Bannam Park clan () ** Younger half-brother: Park Jong-yeom (; 1797–1857) ** Younger half-brother: Park Jong-yeong (; 1804–?) * Husband: Yi San, King Jeongjo of Joseon (; 28 October 1752 – 18 August 1800) * Issue ** Son: Yi Gong, King Sunjo of Joseon (; 29 July 1790 – 13 December 1834) ** Daughter:

(; 1 March 1793 – 7 June 1836)

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Park, Subin 18th-century Korean people 1770 births 1822 deaths Royal consorts of Joseon 18th-century Korean women Mothers of Korean monarchs