Chungseon of Goryeo

King Chungseon of Goryeo (20 October 1275 – 23 June 1325), born Wang Wŏn, later changed his name to Wang Chang , also known by his Mongolian name Ijir Bukhqa (益知禮普花), was the 26th ruler of the Goryeo dynasty of Korea. He reigned in 1298, and again from 1308 to 1313.

Adept at calligraphy and painting, rather than politics, he generally preferred the life in Dadu (the capital of the Yuan dynasty, present-day Beijing) to that in Gaegyeong (the capital of Goryeo, present-day Kaesong). He was the eldest son of King Chungnyeol and Queen Jangmok; since Wonjong of Goryeo requested to marry his son to a daughter of the Khan in 1269, which Kubilai obliged with the youngest one of his daughters. This made King Chungseon the first Goryeo monarch with Mongolian ancestry.

Biography
In 1277, King Chungseon was confirmed as Crown Prince; the following year he travelled to China and received his Mongolian name.

In 1296, he married Borjigin Budashiri, a Yuan princess and great-granddaughter of Kublai Khan. However, he already had three Korean wives, who were daughters of the powerful nobles.

King Chungseon's mother died in 1297, and this was followed by a violent purge brought on by allegations that she had been murdered. Perhaps upset by these events, King Chungnyeol petitioned Yuan to abdicate the throne and was accordingly replaced by his son in 1298. Faced with intense plotting between the faction of his Mongol Queen and his Korean wife, Royal Consort Jo of the Pungyang Jo clan, King Chungseon returned the throne to his father shortly thereafter.

As the grandson of Kublai Khan, Chungseon had significant sway in the Kuriltais of the early 14th century gathered to elect the new Khan. When Temür Khan's death spurred a competition to the throne, his wife Bulugan put Ananda as successor. Ayurbarwada, who was put to exile, rebelled with his brother Khayishan. King Chungseon who was their cousin, was intimate with them since his days in China, supported them. He supported Khayishan (Külüg Khan) to the throne in 1307, and supported Ayurbarwada (Buyantu Khan) to the throne in 1311. Thus he sat 7th in hierarchy in the empire after the sons of the Khan in their Kurultai.

Külüg Khan thanked his efforts by giving him a new title on top of his kingship of Goryeo, the Prince/King of Shenyang, in 1307 or 1308 specifically mentioned as thanks to his efforts of bringing the Khan to power. After his father's death in 1308, King Chungseon obliged to return to the throne of Goryeo and made efforts to reform court politics, but spent as much time as possible in China. In 1310, his Chinese title was changed to Prince/King of Shen. He is a very rare case of personal unions in East Asia.

He retired from the throne in 1313, and was replaced by his son, Wang Do. After the death of Buyantu Khan (Renzong of Yuan 元仁宗) in 1320, King Chungseon was briefly sent into exile to Tibet (lately Sakya) by the new Khan, but was permitted to return to Khanbaliq soon thereafter, where he died in 1325.

Family

 * Father: Chungnyeol of Goryeo (1236–1308)
 * Grandfather: Wonjong of Goryeo (1219–1274)
 * Grandmother: Queen Jeongsun of the Gyeongju Kim clan (1222–1237)
 * Mother: Queen Jangmok of the Yuan Borjigin clan (1251–1297)
 * Grandfather: Kublai Khan of Yuan (1215–1294)
 * Grandmother: Chabi khatun of Yuan (1216–1281)
 * Consorts and their respective issue:
 * 1) Borjigin Budashiri, Princess Supreme of Gye State(d. 1315) – No issue.
 * 2) Yasokjin, Royal Consort Ui (d. 1316)
 * 3) Wang Kam, Prince Gwangneung
 * 4) Wang To, Chungsuk of Goryeo
 * 5) Royal Consort Jeong of the Kaeseong Wang clan(d. 1345) – No issue.
 * 6) Royal Consort Cho of the Pungyang Cho clan – No issue.
 * 7) Lady Sunhwa, Royal Consort Won of the Namyang Hong clan(d. 1306) – No issue.
 * 8) Royal Consort Sun of the Yangcheon Heo clan (1271–1335) – No issue.
 * 9) Royal Consort Suk of the Eonyang Kim clan– No issue.
 * 10) Unknown
 * 11) Wang Hye, Prince Deokheung
 * 12) Princess Suchun

Popular culture

 * Portrayed by Park Yoon-jae in the 2012 SBS TV series Faith.
 * Portrayed by Moon Woo-jin, Nam Da-reum and Im Si-wan in the 2017 MBC TV series The King in Love.