Kim Su-deok (

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 ** ...

: 김수덕;

Hanja Hanja (Hangul: ; Hanja: , ), alternatively known as Hancha, are Chinese characters () used in the writing of Korean. Hanja was used as early as the Gojoseon period, the first ever Korean kingdom. (, ) refers to Sino-Korean vocabulary, wh ...

: 金修德) (22 December 1880 – 14 January 1964), posthumously known as Lady Kim of Deokindang Hall (

: 덕인당 김씨;

: 德仁堂金氏), was the wife of Yi Kang, Imperial Prince Ui of

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

. After the

Korean independence The Korean independence movement was a military and diplomatic campaign to achieve the independence of Korea from Japan. After the Japanese annexation of Korea in 1910, Korea's domestic resistance peaked in the March 1st Movement of 1919, which ...

of 1945, she lived in her own palace in

Seoul 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 ...

Biography

Kim Su-deok was born into the Yeonan Kim clan on 22 December 1880 in

Goyang Goyang (''Goyang-si''; ) is a city in Gyeonggi Province in the north of South Korea. It is part of the Seoul Capital Area, making Goyang one of Seoul's satellite cities. It is one of the largest cities in the Seoul Capital Area, with a populatio ...

Gyeonggi Province Gyeonggi-do (, ) is the most populous province in South Korea. Its name, ''Gyeonggi'', means "京 (the capital) and 畿 (the surrounding area)". Thus, ''Gyeonggi-do'' can be translated as "Seoul and the surrounding areas of Seoul". Seoul, the na ...

, during the

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 ...

of King Gojong’s 16th year of reign. She was the only child of Kim Sa-jun and Lady Hwang of the

Changwon Hwang clan Changwon Hwang clan () is a Korean clan. With its bon-gwan in Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province, it remains the largest Hwang clan in South Korea. Origins Hwang Rak (), a minister in the Han dynasty, began the clan in Korea after being cast as ...

. Through her paternal line, she shares some distant connections with the royal family. Through her 9th great-grandfather, Lady Kim is a 14th maternal great-granddaughter of Princess Jeongui, who was the second daughter of

King Sejong Sejong of Joseon (15 May 1397 – 8 April 1450), personal name Yi Do (Korean: 이도; Hanja: 李祹), widely known as Sejong the Great (Korean: 세종대왕; Hanja: 世宗大王), was the fourth ruler of the Joseon dynasty of Korea. Initial ...

and

Queen Soheon Queen Soheon (소헌왕후 심씨, 12 October 1395 – 19 April 1446), of the Cheongsong Sim clan, was a posthumous name bestowed to the wife and queen consort of Yi Do, King Sejong and the mother of Yi Hyang, King Munjong and Yi Yu, King Sejo ...

. Through her 9th great-grandmother, Lady Kim is a 14th great-granddaughter of

Grand Prince Imyeong Yi Gu (이구; 6 January 1420 – 21 January 1469), formally known as Grand Prince Imyeong (임영대군), was an imperial prince of the Joseon dynasty. He was the fourth son of King Sejong. His brothers were King Munjong of Joseon and King Sejo ...

, who was the fourth son of King Sejong and Queen Soheon, and a younger brother of Princess Jeongui. Through her paternal 8th great-grandfather, Kim Gyu, Lady Kim was a first cousin fourteen times removed of

Kim Ahn-ro Kim Ahn-ro ( ko, 김안로, 金安老; 1481 – 27 October 1537) was a Korean Joseon Dynasty politician and scholar. His pen name was Huirakdang, Yongcheon, Toejae, and his customary name was Yisuk. He was from the Yeonan Kim clan. Family ...

(father-in-law of

Princess Hyohye Princess Hyohye (; 13 June 1511 - 6 May 1531), born Yi Ok-ha (), was a Joseon Dynasty princess as the daughter of King Jungjong and Queen Janggyeong. She was the older sister of Injong of Joseon. Biography Early life Yi Ok-ha was born on ...

, eldest daughter of King Jungjong with Queen Janggyeong), a first cousin thirteen times removed-in-law of

Yun Won-hyeong Yun Won-hyeong ( ko, 윤원형, 尹元衡; 1503 – 18 November 1565) was a Korean political figure of the Joseon period. He was the younger brother of Queen Munjeong, the 3rd wife of 11th King Jungjong and was the maternal uncle of the 13th Ki ...

(the younger brother of

Queen Munjeong Queen Munjeong (Hangul: 문정왕후, Hanja: 文定王后; 2 December 1501 – 5 May 1565), of the Papyeong Yun clan, was a posthumous name bestowed to the wife and third queen consort of Yi Yeok, King Jungjong. She was queen consort of Joseon ...

and son-in-law of her 9th great-grandfather), a first cousin nine times removed of

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 ...

(

Queen Inmok Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mothe ...

’s and

King Seonjo Seonjo of Joseon (26 November 1552 – 16 March 1608) was the fourteenth king of the Joseon Dynasty of Korea from 1567 to 1608. He was known for encouraging Confucianism and renovating state affairs at the beginning of his reign. However, politi ...

’s daughter) and a first cousin five times removed 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 ...

(the 3rd great-granddaughter of Princess Jeongmyeong). Through her paternal 8th great-granduncle, Kim Nae, she is a first cousin eight times removed of

Queen Sunwon Queen Sunwon (순원왕후; 8 June 1789 – 21 September 1857), of the Andong Kim clan was the queen consort and wife of Sunjo of Joseon. She was known as Queen Dowager Myeonggyeong (명경왕대비) after her husband's death in 1834. She served ...

(Kim Nae’s daughter is her 5th great-grandmother), and a first cousin nine times removed of

Queen Hyohyeon Queen Hyohyeon (27 April 1828 – 18 October 1843) (Hangul: 효현왕후 김씨, Hanja: 孝顯王后金氏) of the Andong Kim clan, was the wife and the queen consort of King Heonjong of Joseon, the 24th monarch of the Joseon Dynasty. She was p ...

and

Queen Cheorin Queen Cheorin (27 April 1837 – 12 June 1878), of the Andong Kim clan, was queen consort of Joseon by marriage to Cheoljong of Joseon, King Cheoljong. She was known as Queen Dowager Myeongsun (명순대비) after the death of her husband and du ...

(Kim Nae’s daughter is their 6th great-grandmother). She lived in

Yangju Yangju () is a city in Gyeonggi Province, South Korea. Yangju is located south of Dongducheon and north of Uijeongbu, not far from Seoul. History * 1395 - Renamed to Yangju. * January 1, 1963 - Uijeongbu is separated and becomes a city. * Apr ...

for a while before she and her family moved to

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 ...

(modern-day

) in 1881 where she spent most of her life before marriage. In 1886, she had changed her name from Kim Su-deok to Kim Suk (

: 김숙;

: 金淑).

Marriage

After three rounds of selection by

Queen Min Empress Myeongseong or Empress Myungsung (명성황후 민씨; 17 November 1851 – 8 October 1895In lunar calendar, the Empress was born on 25 September 1851 and died on 20 August 1895), informally known as Empress Min, was the official wife ...

, Kim Sa-jun's daughter was chosen and was arranged to marry Yi Kang, at the time known as Prince Uihwa, the son of King Gojong and his concubine, Lady Jang of the

Deoksu Jang clan The Deoksu Jang clan () is one of the bon-gwan or Korean clans from Kaepung County, North Hwanghae Province.The clan was founded by , an Arab- Uiguric Muslim civil servant who served in the Goryeo court. According to the research held in 2015, th ...

, on 6 December 1893. Prior to the marriage, her father had given to Queen Min a letter written by

which stated that women from her clan should never marry into the royal family due to the events of her marriage, but Queen Min was adamant in her decision as she liked Lady Kim's virtue. After the couple married,

Yi Kang Yi Kang, Prince Imperial Ui (Korean: 의친왕 이강, 30 March 1877－15 August 1955), also known as Prince Uihwa, was the second son of Emperor Gojong of Korea and his concubine, Lady Jang, who was a court lady-in-waiting. It was not until 1 ...

had started to collect a lot of lawsuits, debt, and bribes so he could live in luxury. As she was the wife of a prince, her title was "Princess Consort Yeonwon". She and her husband never had children of their own as they didn't get along which led to Prince Uihwa to have 13 concubines, producing 12 step-sons and 9 step-daughters, during their marriage.

Korea's Annexation

When Yi Kang was promoted to "Prince Imperial Ui" on 17 August 1900, she was given the royal title of "Consort Princess Imperial Ui". Sometime after Gojong's abdication from the throne, her title changed to "Duchess Consort of Yi Kang". Kim Suk had witnessed the Japan-Korea Annexation Treaty on 22 August 1910, Korea's Independence on 15 August 1945, and the start of the

Korean war , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

on 25 June 1950. After Korea's liberation on 15 August 1945, she lived at Byeol Palace in

Jongno District Bosingak bell pavilion Jongno District () is a district () in central Seoul, South Korea. It takes its name from a major local street, Jongno, which means "Bell Road". Characteristics Jongno District has been the center of the city for 600 yea ...

, and started to do

calligraphy Calligraphy (from el, link=y, καλλιγραφία) is a visual art related to writing. It is the design and execution of lettering with a pen, ink brush, or other writing instrument. Contemporary calligraphic practice can be defined as "t ...

work.

Later life

On 9 August 1955, Lady Kim and her husband were baptized and converted from

Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...

Roman Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...

. They were given the names "Maria" and "Pius". Yi Kang died six days later on 15 August 1955 as the age of 78 in his mansion. She would outlive him by 8 years.

Death

On 10 November 1963, Kim Suk started to have health complications as she struggled with her low blood pressure, and eventually died two months later, on 24 January 1964 at the age of 83 within Byeol Palace,

Anguk-dong Anguk-dong is a '' dong'', neighbourhood of Jongno-gu in Seoul, South Korea. It is a legal dong (법정동 ) administered under its administrative dong (행정동 ), Samcheong-dong. See also *Administrative divisions of South Korea South K ...

, Seoul, South Korea. She is buried with her husband in Hongneung.

Trivia

Lady Kim is the 8th great-grandniece of

, the second wife of

, and mother of

and

Grand Prince Yeongchang Grand Prince Yeongchang (12 April 1606 – 19 March 1614, personal name Yi Ui) was a Joseon royal prince as the only legitimate son of King Seonjo, from Queen Inmok who was born when his father was already 55 years old. Due to this, Yeonguijeong ...

Family

* Great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-grandfather ** Kim An-do (김안도, 金安道) * Great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-grandmother ** Lady Kang (강씨, 姜氏) * Great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-grandfather ** Kim Oh (김오) (1526 – 1570) * Great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-grandmother ** Lady Kwon of the Andong Kwon clan (안동 권씨) * Great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-grandfather ** Kim Je-nam (김제남, 金悌男) (1562 – 1 June 1613);

's father * Great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-grandmother ** Internal Princess Consort Gwangsan of the

Gwangju No clan Gwangju No clan () was one of the Korean clans. Their Bon-gwan was in Gwangju, Gyeonggi Province. According to the research in 2000, the number of Gwangju No clan was 15158. Lu’s surname was Chinese origin, and the surname came from the fact t ...

(광산부부인 노씨, 光山府夫人盧氏) (1557 – 1637) * Great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-grandfather ** Kim Gyu (김규, 金珪) (1596 – 1613);

's younger brother * Great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-grandmother ** Seo Mi-saeng (서미생, 徐楣生), Lady Seo of the Daegu Seo clan (대구 서씨, 大丘徐氏) (1597 – 1666)She is the eldest daughter of Princess Jeongshin (정신옹주) (1582/1583v– 1653), (a daughter of

and younger sister of

Prince Jeongwon Wonjong of Joseon or Prince Jeongwon (2 August 1580 – 2 February 1619) was a prince during the Joseon dynasty. He was a son by a concubine to the Joseon dynasty's 14th monarch, king Seonjo, and half brother of king Gwanghaegun and father of k ...

), and Seo Gwang-jo (서경주, 徐景霌) (1579 – 1643). * Great-great-great-great-great-great-great-grandfather ** Kim Hong-seok (김홍석, 金弘錫) (1612 - ?) * Great-great-great-great-great-great-grandfather ** Kim Ho (김호, 金澔) * Great-great-great-great-great-grandfather ** Kim Sang-yoon (김상윤, 金相尹) * Great-great-great-great-grandfather ** Kim Sik (김식, 金烒) * Great-great-great-grandfather ** Kim Jae-jeong (김재정, 金載鼎) * Great-great-grandfather ** Kim Han (김한, 金鋎) * Great-grandfather ** Kim Seung-yeon (김승연, 金升淵) * Grandfather ** Kim Deok-su (김덕수) (1832 – 1867) * Grandmother ** Lady Jeong of the Dongnae Jeong clan (동래 정씨) (1832 – 1861) * Father ** Kim Sa-jun (김사준, 金思濬) (1855 – 1917) * Mother ** Lady Hwang of the

(본관: 창원 황씨, 昌原黄氏) (1855– ?) * Husband ** Yi Kang, Prince Uihwa (의친왕 이강, 義親王李堈) (30 March 1877 – 15 August 1955) — No issue.

Titles

* 22 December 1880 - 6 December 1893: 1. Kim Su-deok (김수덕, 金修德) 2. Kim Suk (김숙, 金淑) 3. Lady Kim (김씨, 金氏) * 6 December 1893 - 17 August 1900: ''Her Highness, Princess Consort Yeonwon'' (연원군부인, 延原君夫人) * 17 August 1900 - 20 July 1907: ''Her Imperial Highness, Consort Princess Imperial Ui'' (의친왕비, 義親王妃) * 20 July 1910 - 29 August 1910: ''Her Highness, Duchess Consort of Yi Kang'' (이강공비, 李堈公妃) * Posthumous title: Lady Kim of Deokindang Hall (덕인당 김씨, 德仁堂金氏)

In popular culture

* Portrayed by Kim Bok-hui in the 1981 MBC TV series ''The 1st Republic.'' * Portrayed by Byeon So-jeong in the 1990 MBC TV series ''500 Years of Joseon: Daewongun.'' * Portrayed by Lee Ju-eun in the 2001–2002 KBS TV series ''

Empress Myeongseong Empress Myeongseong or Empress Myungsung (명성황후 민씨; 17 November 1851 – 8 October 1895In lunar calendar, the Empress was born on 25 September 1851 and died on 20 August 1895), informally known as Empress Min, was the official wife ...

.''

Notes

{{King Yi of Korea Princesses of Joseon 1880 births 1964 deaths