Hong Guk-yeong (

Korean Korean may refer to: People and culture * Koreans, ethnic group originating in the Korean Peninsula * Korean cuisine * Korean culture * Korean language **Korean alphabet, known as Hangul or Chosŏn'gŭl **Korean dialects and the Jeju language ** ...

: 홍국영,

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...

: 洪國榮, 1748 – 28 April 1781), was a noted Korean scholar and politician of

Joseon dynasty Joseon (; ; Middle Korean: 됴ᇢ〯션〮 Dyǒw syéon or 됴ᇢ〯션〯 Dyǒw syěon), officially the Great Joseon (; ), was the last dynastic kingdom of Korea, lasting just over 500 years. It was founded by Yi Seong-gye in July 1392 and re ...

who first strongly supported

King Jeongjo Jeongjo of Joseon (28 October 1752 – 18 August 1800), personal name Yi San (Korean language, Korean: 이산; Hanja: 李祘), sometimes called Jeongjo the Great (Korean language, Korean: 정조대왕; Hanja: 正祖大王), was the 22nd monarc ...

's accession and toiled to improve the king's power, but ended up being expelled because of his desire for power. He served the king in the closest proximity of all government officials and often enjoyed great power that was derived from the king's favor. Hong Guk-yeong and

Han Myeong-hoe Han Myeong-hoe (Hangul: 한명회, Hanja: 韓明澮; 26 November 1415 – 28 November 1487) was a Korean politician and soldier during the Joseon period. He was the most trusted tactician of Grand Prince Suyang during the 1453 coup and the subs ...

(during

Sejo Sejo of Joseon (2 November 1417 – 23 September 1468), personal name Yi Yu (Korean language, Korean: 이유; Hanja: 李瑈), sometimes known as Grand Prince Suyang (Korean language, Korean: 수양대군; Hanja: 首陽大君), was the sevent ...

's reign) are some examples of chief royal secretaries who were the most powerful officials of their time.

Life

Hong Guk-yeong was born in 1748 in

Hanseong Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 of ...

into the Pungsan Hong clan. He was the only son of Hong Nak-chun and his wife, Lady Yi of the Ubong Yi clan. Through his father, he was an 11th degree great-nephew of

Lady Hyegyeong Lady Hyegyeong of the Pungsan Hong clan (혜경궁 풍산 홍씨, 惠慶宮豊山洪氏; 6 August 1735 – 13 January 1816), also known as Queen Heongyeong (헌경왕후, 獻敬王后), was a Korean writer and Crown Princess during the Jose ...

(mother of

), as well as the 5th great-grandson of Hong Joo-won and

Princess Jeongmyeong Princess Jeongmyeong (27 June 1603 – 8 September 1685) was a Joseon Royal Princess as the tenth daughter of King Seonjo, from Queen Inmok. During her older half-brother's reign, she suffered hardships, and her title was revoked, but later it wa ...

. He served as one of the most trusted advisors and close confidantes to Jeongjo when he was the Crown Prince Yi San. He was also the main tutor of the Crown Prince Yi San. After Yi San ascended the throne as Jeongjo, Hong was promoted to Chief Inspector, Chief of the Royal Guard, and Chief Secretary due to his skill at politics and investigation. His younger sister Lady Hong also became one of Jeongjo's concubines and Hong Guk-yeong hoped to enhance his influence by being related to the King's future heir. However, his sister would die out of grief after a failed cover-up of a

phantom pregnancy False pregnancy (or pseudocyesis, from the Greek "false" and "pregnancy") is the appearance of clinical or subclinical signs and symptoms associated with pregnancy although the individual is not physically carrying a baby. The mistaken impressi ...

(due to potential scandal). Enraged over the fact that she died unforgiven by

Queen Hyoui Queen Hyoui (Hangul: 효의왕후, Hanja: 孝懿王后; 5 January 1754 – 10 April 1821), of the Cheongpung Kim clan (Hangul: 청풍김씨, Hanja: 淸風金氏), was the wife and queen consort of King Jeongjo of Joseon. In 1899, Emperor Gojong ...

and her remark that he would have no influence over the next heir, he made a bargain with

Queen Jeongsun Queen Jeongsun (정순왕후 김씨; 2 December 1745 – 11 February 1805), of the Gyeongju Kim clan, was a posthumous name bestowed to the wife and second queen consort of Yi Geum, King Yeongjo, the 21st Joseon monarch. She was queen consort ...

to allow him to be the adoptive parent of a member of the royal family. In the end, he was exiled for trying to poison Queen Hyoui out of anger over his sister's death and to prevent his bargain from being exposed, for Queen Hyoui discovered it and threatened to tell King Jeongjo. He aborted the attempt after discovering that the King was taking her place at the food ceremony and tearfully confessed. He later died on 28 April 1781 at peace due to health issues after being forgiven by the king.

In popular culture

*Portrayed by

Kim Sang-kyung Kim Sang-kyung (born June 1, 1972; ) is a South Korean actor. He is known for his leading roles in '' Memories of Murder'' (2003) and ''May 18'' (2007). Two of his films directed by Hong Sang-soo, '' Tale of Cinema'' (2005) and '' Ha Ha Ha'' ( ...

in the 2001 MBC TV series ''Hong Guk-yeong''. * Portrayed by

Han Sang-jin Han Sang-jin (born January 17, 1978) is a South Korean actor. He is best known for starring in television dramas such as ''Behind the White Tower'' (2007), '' Yi San'' (2007), '' My Too Perfect Sons'' (2009), ''Marry Me, Please'' (2010), and ' ...

in the 2007 MBC TV series ''

Lee San, Wind of the Palace ''Yi San'' (), also known as ''Lee San, Wind of the Palace'', is a 2007 South Korean historical drama, starring Lee Seo-jin and Han Ji-min. It aired on MBC from September 17, 2007 to June 16, 2008 on Mondays and Tuesdays at 21:55. The serie ...

''. * Portrayed by

Kang Hoon Kang Hoon (Korean: 강훈, born May 23, 1991) is a South Korean actor. He is best known for his role in the historical drama ''The Red Sleeve ''The Red Sleeve'' () is a South Korean television series starring Lee Jun-ho, Lee Se-young, and ...

in the 2021 MBC TV series ''

The Red Sleeve ''The Red Sleeve'' () is a South Korean television series starring Lee Jun-ho, Lee Se-young, and Kang Hoon. It aired from November 12, 2021, to January 1, 2022, on MBC's newly established Fridays and Saturdays at 22:00 ( KST) time slot. Syn ...

''.

References

External links

Hong Guk-yeong
on

Namuwiki Namuwiki ( ko, 나무위키) is a Paraguay-based Korean language wiki launched on April 17, 2015, powered by the proprietary wiki software ''The Seed''. Its name, "Namu" (나무) translates literally to "tree" in Korean. According to its slogan ...

. Joseon scholar-officials 18th-century Korean people 1748 births 1781 deaths {{Korea-bio-stub Joseon politicians