Seongjong (Korean: 성종; Hanja: 成宗; 28 August 1457 – 29 January 1495), personal name Yi Hyeol, was the ninth monarch of Joseon. The younger son of Crown Prince Uigyeong and a grandson of King Sejo, he acceded to the throne upon the death of his sickly uncle, King Yejong.
Contents
Biography
Early life
Yi Hyeol was born as the second son of Crown Prince Yi Jang and Crown Princess Su of the Cheongju Han clan. His father however died few months after his birth. In 1461, he was named Prince Jasan (자산군) which was changed to Prince Jalsan (잘산군) in 1468.
In 1467, he married Han Song-yi, the youngest daughter of Han Myŏnghoe. One of Lady Han's older sisters was the late Queen Jangsun, first wife of King Yejong.
Despite having an older brother and his uncle leaving behind a biological son, Jalsan was chosen as successor and was made the adopted son of King Yejong and his second wife, Queen Han (posthumously known as Queen Ansun).
After he ascended to the throne, his biological father was honored with the temple name "Deokjong" (덕종; 德宗), while his mother became queen and was given the honorary name "Insu" (인수; 仁粹).
Reign
Since Seongjong was only 12 when he was crowned, his grandmother Grand Queen Dowager Jaseong, ruled the nation along with his biological mother Queen Insu, and his aunt (and adoptive mother) Queen Dowager Inhye. In 1476, at the age of 19, he began to govern the country in his own name.
After the death of his first wife in 1474, Seongjong decided to promote one of his concubines, Lady Yun, to the status of primary wife and queen. Lady Yun was later executed due to her attempts to poison other concubines and harm the King, and her execution would become a major reason behind the tyranny of Seongjong's successor, Yeonsangun of Joseon.
His reign was marked by the prosperity and growth of the economy, based on the laws laid down by Taejong, Sejong, and Sejo. He himself was a gifted ruler. In 1474, the Grand Code for State Administration, started by his grandfather, was completed and put into effect. Seongjong also ordered revisions and improvements to the code.
He greatly expanded the Office of Special Advisors (Hongmungwan; 홍문관, 弘文館), an advisory council to the king, which also served as royal library and research institute; he strengthened the Three Offices (Samsa; 삼사, 三司) – Office of the Inspector General (Saheonbu), Office of Censors (Saganwon) and Office of Special Advisors (Hongmungwan)– as a check and balance on the royal court. For the first time since Sejong the Great, Confucian scholars whose political views clashed with those of the conservative officials (members of the nobility who had helped Taejong and Sejo in their rise to power), were brought to court. By appointing able administrators regardless of their political views, Seongjong made his rule more effective and his policies resulted in many positive innovations, increasing his number of supporters. During Seongjong's reign, he also prohibited the construction of new monasteries and the ordination of new monks.
The king himself was an artist and intellectual, and liked to argue about the finer points of politics with the more liberal scholars. He encouraged the publication of numerous books about geography and social etiquette, as well as areas of knowledge that benefited the common people.
It was under Seongjong's reign that the "Widow Remarriage Ban" (1477) was enacted, which strengthened pre-existing social stigma against women who remarried by barring their sons from public office. In 1489, Yi Gu-ji, a woman from the royal clan, committed suicide at his order and was erased from family records, when it was discovered that she had cohabited with her slave after being widowed.
Death
He died in January 1495 and is buried in the south of Seoul. The tomb is known as Seonneung (선릉) and 35 years later, his third wife, Queen Jeonghyeon, was also interred here. Seongjong was succeeded by his son, Crown Prince Yi Yung.
Family
Biological father: King Deokjong (덕종대왕; 12 October 1438 – 29 September 1457)
Grandfather: King Sejo (세조대왕; 11 November 1417 – 2 October 1468)
Grandmother: Queen Jeonghui (정희왕후), of the Papyeong Yun clan (파평 윤씨; 25 December 1418 – 15 May 1483)
Adoptive father: King Yejong (예종대왕; 23 January 1450 – 9 January 1470)
Biological mother: Queen Sohye (소혜왕후), of the Cheongju Han clan (청주 한씨; 16 October 1437 – 21 May 1504)
Grandfather: Han Hwak (한확), Internal Prince Seowon (서원부원군; 1400 – 19 October 1456)
Grandmother: Internal Princess Consort Namyang (남양부부인), of the Namyang Hong clan (남양 홍씨; 1403–1450)
Adoptive mother: Queen Ansun (안순왕후), of the Cheongju Han clan (청주 한씨; 27 April 1445 – 12 February 1499)
Consort(s) and their respective issue
Queen Gonghye (공혜왕후), of the Cheongju Han clan (청주 한씨; 17 November 1456 – 9 May 1474), personal name Song-yi (송이)
Deposed Queen (폐비), of the Haman Yun clan (함안 윤씨; 24 July 1455 – 7 September 1482)
Unnamed son (1474–1475)
Yi Yung (이융), Yeonsangun (연산군; 2 December 1476 – 30 November 1506), first son
Unnamed son (1479)
In popular culture
Portrayed by Yun Sun-hong in the 1985 film Eoudong.
Portrayed by Yoon Yang-ha in the 1988 film Diary of King Yeonsan.
Portrayed by Hyun Suk in the 1995 KBS2 TV series Jang Nok Soo.
Portrayed by Lee Jin-woo in the 1998–2000 KBS1 TV series The King and the Queen.
Portrayed by Yoo Seung-ho and Go Joo-won in the 2007–2008 SBS TV series The King and I.
Portrayed by Choi Won-hong and Baek Sung-hyun in the 2011–2012 JTBC TV series Insu, the Queen Mother.
Portrayed by Choi Moo-sung in the 2017 MBC TV series The Rebel.
Portrayed by Kim Jeong-hak in the 2017 KBS2 TV series Queen for Seven Days.
Portrayed by Song Geon-hee in the 2023 MBC TV series Joseon Attorney.