Sunjo (; 29 July 1790 – 13 December 1834), personal name Yi Gong (), was a Korean royal who was the 23rd monarch of 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 ...

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 ...

. He was the second son of King Jeongjo by his concubine, Royal Noble Consort Su of the Bannam Park clan. His reign saw oppression against Catholics and his failed attempts at reforms which resulted in riots, notably by Hong Gyeong-nae in 1811.

Biography

He was born with the title of His Royal Highness Prince Yi Gong on 29 July 1790 (18 June 1790 in lunar calendar). Upon the death of his father, King Jeongjo, Yi Gong ascended to the throne at age 10 on the 4 July 1800, lunar calendar. In 1802, aged 13, King Sunjo married Lady Kim, known posthumously as Queen Sunwon, daughter of Kim Jo-sun, who was a leader of the Andong Kim clan. Since he ascended the throne at a young age, Queen Dowager Jeongsun, the second queen of King Yeongjo, ruled as queen regent, which allowed her to wield power over state affairs. Queen Jeongsun's influence was to such extent that during Sunjo's reign, the status of Lady Hyegyŏng, the mother of Jeongjo and the grandmother of Sunjo, became a point of contention. During Jeonjo's reign, Lady Hyegyŏng was treated with respect and as the mother of King Jeongjo despite the fact that Lady Hyegyŏng was married to Crown Prince Sado who had been forced to commit suicide during the reign of Yeongjo, which had greatly affected Hyegyeong's status due to the controversy surrounding Sado's suicide. Following Sunjo's ascension, her status was lowered and despite Sunjo's efforts to reverse this later in his reign, they were unsuccessful. Despite King Sunjo's efforts to reform politics, the fundamental principles of government deteriorated. The state examination became disordered and corruption in the government personnel administration prevailed. This resulted in disorder in society and various riots broke out among the people, including the revolt by Hong Gyeong-nae in 1811–1812. The Ogajaktongbeop (五家作統法), a census registration system to group five houses as one unit, was carried out in this period, and oppression against

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 ...

began in earnest. In 1811 the last diplomatic envoys were sent by Korea to Japan. Based on records of that trip, a reconstruction of the diplomatic vessel has been made for the National Maritime Museum of Korea. King Sunjo died after reigning for 35 years in 1834 at the age of 44. He was first buried next to Jangneung, Paju, the tomb of King Injo and Queen Inryeol but later moved to Illeung,

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 ...

as the Feng Shui at the old site was deemed to be unfavourable.

Family

* Father: King Jeongjo of Joseon (; 28 October 1752 – 18 August 1800) ** Grandfather: King Jangjo of Joseon (; 13 February 1735 – 12 July 1762) ** Grandmother: Queen Heongyeong of the Pungsan Hong clan (; 6 August 1735 – 13 January 1816) * Mother: Royal Noble Consort Su of the Bannam Park clan (; 8 May 1770 – 26 December 1822) ** Grandfather: Park Jun-won (; 1739–1807) ** Grandmother: Lady Won of the Wonju Won clan (; 1740–1783) Consort(s) and their respective issue * Queen Sunwon of the Andong Kim clan (; 8 August 1789 – 21 September 1857) ** Yi Yeong, Crown Prince Hyomyeong (; 18 September 1809 – 25 June 1830), first son ** Princess Myeongon (; 1810–1832), first daughter ** Princess Bokon (; 1818–1832), third daughter ** ''Second son'' (1820–1820) ** Princess Deokon (; 1822–1844), fourth daughter ** Yi Byeon, King Cheoljong of Joseon (; 25 July 1831 – 16 January 1864), adopted son * Royal Consort Suk-ui of the Miryang Park clan (; 1791 – 1854) ** Princess Yeongon (; 1817–1829), second daughter

Ancestry

In popular culture

* Portrayed by Kim Seung-soo in the 2016 KBS2 TV series '' Love in the Moonlight''.

Notes

References