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Crown Princess Gonghoe (Korean: 공회빈 윤씨; 11 July 1553 – 14 April 1592), of the Musong Yun clan, sometimes referred to as Yun Gonghoe-bin, was a Joseon crown princess as the wife of Crown Prince Sunhoe, the only son of King Myeongjong and Queen Insun.

Biography

Early life and relatives

The future Crown Princess Gonghoe was born on the 1st day, 6th month (Lunar calendar) in 1553, as the second daughter of Yun Ok, descending from the Musong Yun clan, and Lady Yun of the Papyeong Yun clan.

She had three siblings, whose marriage were all of connections with the royal family: her elder sister married Gu Sa-yeol (구사열; 具思說), a descendant of King Sejong the Great (great-grandson of Princess Gilan, a granddaughter of Sejong); her elder brother, Yun Baek-sun (윤백순; 尹百順), married a 3rd great-granddaughter of Grand Prince Hyoryeong, named Yi Cheon-yi (이천이; 李賤伊). Her younger sister married Yi Ahn-seong (이안성; 李安性), a descendant of Jeong In-ji as well as another granddaughter of King Sejong. In addition, Yun had a half-brother named Yun Baek-sang (윤백상; 尹百祥), son of a concubine.

On her father's side, Lady Yun's 3rd great-grandfather, Yun Chung-bo (윤충보; 尹忠輔), refused to be an official of Joseon, a new state established after the coup d'état overthrowing Goryeo in 1392; his loyalty was praised by Taejo of Joseon, the founder of the new dynasty.

On her mother's side, Lady Yun was a distant relative to the court through the consort kin, as many Joseon queen consorts came from the Papyeong Yun clan in 15th–16th century, including Queen Jeonghui, Queen Jeonghyeon, Queen Janggyeong, Queen Munjeong. Her maternal grandfather, Yun Bong-jong, was the maternal grandson of Gong Hyo-ro (a 62nd-generation descendant of Confucius, through the Gokbu Gong clan) and a second cousin of Queen Wongyeong. Her maternal grandmother was from the older Andong Kim clan and one of her aunts was Royal Noble Consort Myeong, a consort of King Seongjong, and one of her maternal uncle-in-laws was a 3rd great-grandson of King Jeongjong.

Becoming the Crown Princess

In 1559, King Myeongjong ordered the selection of a suitable bride for his only son, the Crown Prince Yi Bu, from the girls aged 7 to 11 in Yangban families. The king's uncle, Yun Won-hyeong, was a younger brother of Queen Munjeong, and he attempted to retain his control to the politics through the royal marriage; he claimed that one of his relatives, from the Changwon Hwang clan, would be the best candidate to be the crown princess. Yun Won-hyeong hid the fact that Lady Hwang had chronic disease, making her successfully chosen in 1560, and the 5 of 6 etiquettes for the royal wedding was done as of early 1561.

However, Lady Hwang seriously suffered from abdominal pain for months, and Myeongjong thought that an ill girl should not be crown princess, so the marriage was cancelled in the same year, and the court started another round of re-election. Instead, Lady Hwang became a concubine of the Crown Prince, styled "Yangje," known as Royal Consort Yangje, and she died soon afterwards.

On the 21st day, 7th month (Lunar calendar) in 1561, Lady Yun became the final candidate for crown princess. The wedding later took place in the same year, on the 21st day, 10th month, in the Myeongjeongjeon Hall of Changgyeonggung; from then on, Lady Yun was styled Crown Princess Deok (덕빈; 德嬪).

After the marriage, Princess Deok's father Yun Ok became an official in the Six Ministries of Joseon as of 1562, but he fell into disrepute due to corruption. For instance, Yun Ok was accused of accepting bribes from his cousin Jeong Hui, who was a rich merchant, trying to make Jeong to be his daughter's new "milk father," but it did not become a thing because the Crown Princess refused. Less than two years after the wedding, in 1563, the Crown Prince died young in Gyeongbokgung; from then on, Princess Deok's late husband was known as his posthumous name, Crown Prince Sunhoe.

Widowhood

As Princess Deok became a widow around the age of 10, and she never had any children, her mother-in-law Queen Insun ordered that she could still live in the court for the rest of her life. King Myeongjong's mother, Queen Munjeong died in 1565, Queen Insun and Princess Deok participated in the jesa rituals in person, following the funeral traditions of the court. The King also died in 1567; as he died childlessly, Queen Insun adopted one of the King's half-nephews to succeed the throne, later known as King Seonjo. As Seonjo was still underage, Queen Insun became his regent until he came of age to reign later in the same year. It was rumoured that Queen Munjeong and her brother Yun Won-hyeong insisted to move the tomb of King Jungjong out of the Seosamneung, but the new place was unfavorable, causing a series of misfortune in the following years.

In 1569, Seonjo married Queen Uiin; from then on, other than the King, there were in total four members of the royal family: Queen Inseong (wife of King Injong), Queen Insun (wife of King Myeongjong), Princess Deok, and Queen Uiin.

It was recorded that Princess Deok was quite educated, able to teach royal consorts, and she forbade her relatives to visit the court. In addition, Princess Deok was a pious Buddhist, often praying and holding religious ceremonies for her late husband and the royal family. Buddhism at the time was regarded heresy against Neo-Confucianism, but King Seonjo, out of pity, allowed his widowed sister-in-law to do so anyway. Queen Insun and Queen Inseong both died in the 1570s. During his early reign, Seonjo had yet to decide who would become the new crown prince, so Princess Deok lived in Changgyeong Palace, the residence of her late husband, as well as the place where traditionally Joseon crown princes lived.

Around the 1560s, Princess Deok's father, Yun Ok, in the name of the royal wedding, embezzled in the grain trade from Honam and Yeongnam regions; he exchanged the crops from the government for a considerable amount of cotton cloth, as the bride price he could receive. The scandal was revealed in 1580, and Seonjo dismissed Yun Ok from office. As Yun Ok already used the cloth in the wedding, which was approved by King Myeongjong, making it impossible for Yun Ok to return the unjust enrichment, even by confiscating all of his properties, so Seonjo refused to punish him further. Yun Ok died in 1584; his wife, mother of Princess Deok, died 12 years prior.

Death

Princess Deok died in Tongmyeongjeon Hall, Changgyeonggung on 3rd day of the 3rd month in 1592. A month later, the late Crown Princess received a posthumous name Gonghoe (공회; 恭懷), becoming the final title she would be known in history.

Less than a month after the death of Crown Princess Gonghoe, the Japanese invaded Joseon. Before the late Crown Princess could receive a proper funeral, King Seonjo fled to Goyang; there, the King ordered her to be buried temporarily in the backyard of the palace. Soon after the King left the capital, people sacked grave goods in Changgyeong Palace, and before the officials could bury the Crown Princess' coffin in Hamchunwon (함춘원; 含春苑), the garden in the palace, the whole place was burned down. At the time of the King's return in 1593, the Crown Princess' coffin was missing; he considered a ritual to summon her soul for the funeral, which was opposed by the officials as inappropriate. Some surviving lady-in-waiting claimed that, as Crown Princess Gonghoe was a pious Buddhist, such a cremation would meet her last wish. Seonjo attempted to retrieve her body from the presumed temporary burial place, but the officials could only find non-human bones. Her remains have never been found.

Aftermath

Spirit tablet burial

Despite that Crown Princess Gonghoe's remains was never found, the government still sent officials and soldiers to prepare the ancestral rites of the Crown Prince and Princess. Since 1594, the ritual was held on the New Year, Cold Food Festival, Dragon Boat Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival and their death anniversaries every year, at the tomb of Crown Prince Sunhoe, Sunhoemyo (順懷墓). The tomb was guarded by two officials, locating in Goyang, near the burial of Crown Prince Uigyeong. In 1601, Seonjo ordered to build a temple in the capitial, dedicating for jesa ceremonies of the late Crown Prince and Crown Princess.

In 1603, the spirit tablet of Crown Princess Gonghoe and her husband were made; they were missing in Ganghwa Island during the Qing invasion of Joseon, so the new ones were made after the war, in 1637. As of 1678, during the reign of King Sukjong, as Myeongjong's spirit tablet was moved out from the main palace of Jongmyo, the spirit tablets of Crown Prince Sunhoe and Crown Princess Gonghoe was buried in Sunhoemyo, and the only official rite was on annual Cold Food Festivals. However, buddhist monks in Bongeunsa still held rites on their death anniversaries, as of the reign of King Jeongjo. On 30 January 1871, King Gojong renamed Sunhoemyo to Sunchangwon (순창원; 順昌園), unifying the names of royal tombs with the same class.

Legacy

During the Korean Empire, Korea under Japanese rule, and even after the establishment of South Korea, the ancestral rites of the royal tombs has been held annually to date. Currently prepared by the Korean Cultural Heritage Administration and Jeonju Lee Royal Family Association, for Sunchangwon, the rite is on 14 April and 6 October (respectively death anniversary of the Crown Princess and Crown Prince, in Gregorian calendar).

In Mungyeong, North Gyeongsang Province, there is a 16th-century wooden statue of Amitābha, preserved in Bongam temple. The statue was made around 1586, and it is an important relic of early Joseon Buddhist art before the Japanese invasion. Modern scholars believe that it may belonged to the Joseon royal family, likely once possessed by Crown Princess Gonghoe. The Buddhism statue was registered as the 1748th "Treasure of Korea," on 22 February 2012.

Family

• Father - Yun Ok (윤옥; 尹玉; 1511–1584)
• Mother - Lady Yun of the Payeong Yun clan (파평 윤씨; 坡平 尹氏; 1515–1572)
• Sibling(s)
  • Older sister - Lady Yun of the Musong Yun clan (무송 윤씨; 1539–1570)
  • Older brother - Yun Baek-sun (윤백순; 尹百順; 1552–?)
  • Younger half-brother - Yun Baek-sang (윤백상; 尹百祥; 1554–1621)
  • Younger sister - Lady Yun of the Musong Yun clan (무송 윤씨; 1555–1637)
  • Younger sister - Lady Yun of the Musong Yun clan (무송 윤씨; 1556–?)
• Spouse - Yi Bu, Crown Prince Sunhoe (순회세자 부; 11 July 1557 – 16 October 1563) — No issue.
  • Mother-in-law - Queen Insun of the Cheongsong Sim clan (인순왕후 심씨; 7 July 1532 – 22 February 1575)
  • Father-in-law - Yi Hwan, King Myeongjong of Joseon (명종 조선; 13 July 1534 – 12 August 1567)

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• 16th-century Korean people
• 1553 births
• 1592 deaths
• 16th-century Korean women
• Musong Yun clan
• Descendants of Confucius
• Crown princesses