Seongjong of Joseon

Seongjong (28 August 1457 – 29 January 1495), personal name Yi Hyeol, was the ninth monarch of the Joseon dynasty of Korea. Before succeeding his uncle, King Yejong, he was known as Grand Prince Jalsan.

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 which was changed to Prince Jalsan  in 1468.

In 1467, he married Han Song-yi, the youngest daughter of Han Myeong-hoe. One of Lady Han's older sisters was the late Crown Princess 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", while his mother became queen and was given the honorary name "Insu".

Reign
Since Seongjong was only 12 when he was crowned, his grandmother Grand Royal 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.

In 1491, Seongjong started a military campaign against the Jurchens on the northern border, like many of his predecessors. Led by General Heo Jong, the campaign was successful, and the defeated Jurchens commanded by Udige (兀狄哈) retreated to the north of Amrok River.

Death
He died in January 1495 and is buried in the south of Seoul. The tomb is known as Seonneung and 35 years later, his third wife, Queen Jeonghyeon, was also interred here. Seongjong was succeeded by his son, Crown Prince Yi Yung.

Family
Consort(s) and their respective issue
 * Biological father: King Deokjong of Joseon (1438 – 2 September 1457)
 * Adoptive father: King Yejong of Joseon (12 February 1450 – 31 December 1469)
 * Biological mother: Queen Sohye of the Cheongju Han clan (7 October 1437 – 11 May 1504)
 * Adoptive mother: Queen Ansun of the Cheongju Han clan (18 April 1445 – 3 February 1499)
 * Queen Gonghye of the Cheongju Han clan (8 November 1456 – 30 April 1474)
 * Deposed Queen Yun of the Haman Yun clan (15 July 1455 – 29 August 1482)
 * Yi Hyo-shin (1474–1475), first son
 * Crown Prince Yi Yung (2 December 1476 – 30 November 1506), second son
 * Third son (1478–1479)
 * Queen Jeonghyeon of the Papyeong Yun clan (21 July 1462 – 13 September 1530)
 * Princess Sunsuk (1478 – 20 August 1488), first daughter
 * Princess Shinsuk (1481 – 14 July 1486), sixth daughter
 * Eighth daughter (1485-1486)
 * Yi Yeok, Grand Prince Jinseong (25 April 1488 – 9 December 1544), eleventh son
 * Yi Yeon, Prince Euncheon (1490–1524), seventeenth son
 * Fourteenth daughter (1490-1490)
 * Royal Noble Consort Myeong of the Andong Kim clan (1470 – ?)
 * Princess Hwisuk (1481 – ?), fourth daughter
 * Yi Hap-hwan, Princess Gyeongsuk (19 September 1483 – ?), seventh daughter
 * Yi Jong, Prince Musan (1490 – 20 August 1525), sixteenth son
 * Princess Hwijeong (1489 – ?), twelfth daughter
 * Royal Consort Gwi-in of the Yeongwol Eom clan (? – 1504)
 * Princess Gongsin (18 April 1481 – 13 March 1549), fifth daughter
 * Royal Consort Gwi-in of the Chogye Jeong clan (1457–1504)
 * Yi Hang, Prince Anyang (1480–1505), fifth son
 * Yi Bong, Prince Bongan (9 November 1482 – 15 July 1505), eighth son
 * Yi Seung-bok, Princess Jeonghye (4 April 1490 – 22 September 1507), thirteenth daughter
 * Royal Consort Gwi-in of the Andong Kwon clan (1471–1500)
 * Yi Byeon, Prince Jeonseong (1490–1505), fifteenth son
 * Royal Consort Gwi-in of the Uiryeong Nam clan (1467 – ?)
 * Royal Consort So-ui of the Yi clan
 * Royal Consort Suk-ui of the Namyang Hong clan (1457–1510)
 * Yi Su-ran, Princess Hyesuk (6 September 1478 – 1550, second daughter
 * Yi Su, Prince Wanwon (28 January 1481 – 7 December 1509), sixth son
 * Yi Yeom, Prince Hoesan (2 January 1482–1512), seventh son
 * Yi Don, Prince Gyeonseong (1482 – 20 November 1507), ninth son
 * Yi Bok-ran, Princess Jeongsun (1486–1506), ninth daughter
 * Yi Hoe, Prince Ikyang (7 August 1488 – 15 February 1552), twelfth son
 * Yi Chim, Prince Gyeongmyeong (6 October 1489 – 4 July 1552), fourteenth son
 * Yi In, Prince Uncheon (13 January 1491 – 25 June 1524), eighteenth son
 * Yi Hui, Prince Yangwon (1491 – 12 May 1551), nineteenth son
 * Yi Yeo-ran, Princess Jeongsuk (1493 – 22 March 1573), fifteenth daughter
 * Royal Consort Suk-ui of the Namwon Ha clan (1460 – ?)
 * Yi Sun, the Prince Gyeseong (1480–1504), fourth son
 * Royal Consort Suk-ui of the Jeong clan
 * Royal Consort Suk-yong of the Cheongsong Sim clan (1465–1515)
 * Yi Ok-hwan, Princess Gyeongsun (1482–1525), sixth daughter
 * Yi Byeok-hwan, Princess Sukhye (1486 – 23 July 1525), tenth daughter
 * Yi Gwan, Prince Yiseong (1489–1553), thirteenth son
 * Yi Jeon, Prince Yeongsan (1490 – 11 June 1538), twentieth son
 * Royal Consort Suk-yong of the Kwon clan (1473 – ?)
 * Yi Gyeong-seok (1486 – ?), tenth son
 * Yi Jeong-bok, Princess Gyeonghwi (1488 – 6 February 1525), eleventh daughter
 * Royal Consort Suk-won of the Yun clan (? – 1533)
 * Unknown
 * Princess Suksin (1478 - 1487 or 1489), third daughter

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 KBS TV series Jang Nok Soo.
 * Portrayed by Lee Jin-woo in the 1998–2000 KBS TV series King and 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.