The following is a list of queen consorts, queen dowagers and grand queen dowagers of Kingdom of Joseon and empress consort and empress dowager of Korean Empire.

Title

The

Joseon 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 ...

dynasty (also transcribed as Chosŏn or Chosun, ko, 대조선국; 大朝鮮國, ) was a

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 ** ...

dynastic kingdom that lasted for five centuries. Joseon King accepted Chinese

suzerainty Suzerainty () is the rights and obligations of a person, state or other polity who controls the foreign policy and relations of a tributary state, while allowing the tributary state to have internal autonomy. While the subordinate party is cal ...

and acknowledged the Chinese emperor as their nominal overlordKang, Etsuko H. (1997)
''Diplomacy and Ideology in Japanese-Korean Relations: from the Fifteenth to the Eighteenth Century,'' p. 49.
/ref> until the Gabo Reform in December 1894. The Primary Consort of the Joseon King bore the title ''wangbi'' (왕비, 王妃), translated as Queen in English, with the style of "Her Royal Highness" (''mama''; 마마, 媽媽). The title used in the court language was ''junggungjeon'' (중궁전, 中宮殿) or ''jungjeon'' (중전, 中殿), translated as "Center Palace" in English. ''Wanghu'' (왕후, 王后), the title for the Primary Consort of the King the during pre-Joseon era, became a posthumous title. The title Royal Queen Dowager (왕대비, 王大妃) was given to the widow of a king. Queen Dowager (대비, 大妃), originally was the short form of Royal Queen Dowager, but it became a lesser rank title during the reign of King Cheoljong and King Gojong. The Widow of the former former previous king was called the Grand Royal Queen Dowager (대왕대비, 大王大妃),. After Second

Gabo Reform The Gabo Reform, also known as the Kabo Reform, describes a series of sweeping reforms suggested to the government of Korea, beginning in 1894 and ending in 1896 during the reign of Gojong of Korea in response to the Donghak Peasant Revolution. ...

in December 1894, which proclaimed the severance of the subordinate relationship with China, royal titles also changed. The title changed from ''wangbi'' to ''wanghu'' and from ''wangdaebi'' to ''wangtaehu'' (왕태후, 王太后). In October 1897, King Gojong proclaimed Korea as an

empire An empire is a "political unit" made up of several territories and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the empire (sometimes referred to as the metropole) ex ...

and he assumed the title of

Emperor An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereignty, sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), ...

(''hwangje''; 황제, 皇帝) in order to assert Korea's independence. Automatically, his wife held the title of empress consort (''hwanghu''; 황후, 皇后) and the monarch's widow held the title

empress dowager Empress dowager (also dowager empress or empress mother) () is the English language translation of the title given to the mother or widow of a Chinese, Japanese, Korean, or Vietnamese emperor in the Chinese cultural sphere. The title was also g ...

(''hwangtaehu''; 황태후, 皇太后). From all the consorts of Joseon's ruler, only

Empress Sunjeong 36-year-old Empress Sunjeonghyo in 1930. Empress Sunjeonghyo,or literally known as Sunjeong, the Filial Piety Empress (Hangul: 순정효황후, Hanja: 純貞孝皇后; 19 September 1894 – 3 February 1966), of the Haepyeong Yun clan, was ...

held the rank of empress consort during her lifetime.

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 ...

died in 1895, two years before the Korean Empire was proclaimed.

List

Queens and empress consort

Kingdom of Joseon Korean Empire

Queens and empress dowager

Kingdom of Joseon Korean Empire

Grand queens dowager

Notes

References

{{Reflist Lists of queens Royal consorts of the Joseon dynasty Joseon, List of royal consorts of