Sunjo of Joseon (29 July 1790 – 13 December 1834, reigned 1800–1834) was the 23rd king of the

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 ...

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 r ...

. Sunjo was the 2nd son of King

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

with

Royal Noble Consort Su Royal Noble Consort Su of the Bannam Park clan (Hangul: 수빈 반남 박씨, Hanja: 綏嬪潘南朴氏; 8 May 1770 – 26 December 1822) was a concubine of Jeongjo of Joseon and the mother of King Sunjo. Biography Early life The future R ...

, one of King Jeongjo's concubines.

Biography

He was born with the title of

His Royal Highness Royal Highness is a style used to address or refer to some members of royal families, usually princes or princesses. Monarchs and their consorts are usually styled ''Majesty''. When used as a direct form of address, spoken or written, it t ...

Prince Yi Gong on 29 July 1790 (18 June 1790 in lunar calendar). Upon the death of his father, King Jeongjo, Yi Gong ascended to the throne at age 10 on 4 July 1800 lunar calendar. In 1802, King Sunjo married Lady Kim, later known posthumously as Queen Sunwon, daughter of

Kim Jo-sun Kim Jo-Sun ( ko, 김조순, born June 13, 1975) is a female South Korean archer Archery is the sport, practice, or skill of using a bow to shoot arrows.Paterson ''Encyclopaedia of Archery'' p. 17 The word comes from the Latin ''ar ...

who was a leader of Andong Kim clan. Since he ascended the throne at a young age, Queen Dowager Jeongsun, the second queen of King Yeongjo, ruled as queen regent, which allowed her to wield power over state affairs. Despite King Sunjo's efforts to reform politics, the fundamental principles of government deteriorated. The state examination became disordered and corruption in the government personnel administration prevailed. This resulted in disorder in society and various riots broke out among the people, including the revolt by Hong Gyeong-nae in 1811–1812. The Ogajaktongbeop (五家作統法), a census registration system to group five houses as one unit, was carried out in this period, and oppression against Roman Catholicism began in earnest. King Sunjo died after reigning for 35 years in 1834 at the age of 44. He was first buried next to Jangneung,

Paju Paju () is a city in Gyeonggi Province, South Korea. Paju was made a city in 1997; it had previously been a county (''gun''). The city area of Paju is ,"Paju (Gyeonggi-do Province)." ''Naver Encyclopedia of Knowledge''. Naver, 2015. 4 Mar. 2016. ...

, the tomb of

King Injo Injo of Joseon (7 December 1595 – 17 June 1649), born Yi Jong, was the sixteenth ruler of the Joseon Dynasty of Korea. He was the grandson of King Seonjo and son of Prince Jeongwon. He was the king during the Later Jin invasion of Joseon, in ...

and

Queen Inryeol 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 mother ...

but later moved to Illeung,

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

as the Feng Shui at the old site was deemed to be unfavourable.

Family

*Father:

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

(28 October 1752 – 18 August 1800) (조선 정조) **Grandfather: King Jangjo of Joseon (13 February 1735 – 12 July 1762) (조선 장조) **Grandmother: Queen Heongyeong of the Pungsan Hong clan (6 August 1735 – 13 January 1816) (헌경왕후 홍씨) *Mother: Royal Noble Consort Su of the Bannam Park clan (8 May 1770 – 26 December 1822) (수빈 박씨) **Grandfather: Park Jun-won (1739 – 1807) (박준원) **Grandmother: Lady Won of the Wonju Won clan (1740 – 1783) (부인 원주 원씨) *Consorts and their Respective Issue(s): ** Queen Sunwon of the Andong Kim clan (순원 왕후 안동 김씨; 8 August 1789 – 21 September 1857) *** Yi Yeong, Crown Prince Hyomyeong (이영 효명세자; 18 September 1809 – 25 June 1830), first son ***

Princess Myeongon Princess Myeongon (Hangul: 명온공주, Hanja: 明溫公主; 1810 - 1832) was a Joseon Dynasty princess, as the eldest daughter of King Sunjo and Queen Sunwon of the Andong Kim clan. Biography She was born in 1810, as the eldest daughter and s ...

(명온 공주; 1810 – 1832), first daughter ***

Princess Bokon Princess Bokon (Hangul: 복온공주, Hanja: 福溫公主; 26 October 1818 - 12 May 1832) was a Korean princess, as the second daughter of Sunjo of Joseon and Queen Sunwon of the Andong Kim clan. Biography She was born on October 26, 1818 as the ...

(복온 공주; 1818 – 1832), third daughter ***Unnamed Grand Prince (대군; 1820 – 1820), ''second son'' ***

Princess Deokon Princess Deokon (Hangul: 덕온공주, Hanja: 德溫公主; 1822 - 1844) was the youngest daughter of Sunjo of Joseon and Queen Sunwon of the Andong Kim clan. She was the last Princess of Korea born to a King and Queen. Biography The Princess wa ...

(덕온공주; 1822 – 1844), fourth daughter *** Yi Byeon, Prince Deokwan (이변 덕완군; 25 July 1831 — 16 January 1864),Biological son of Grand Internal Prince Jeongye and Grand Internal Princess Consort Yongseong. adoptive (third) son ** Royal Consort Suk-ui of the Miryang Park clan (숙의 밀양 박씨; d. 1854) ***

Princess Yeongon Princess Yeongon (Hangul: 영온 옹주; Hanja: 永溫翁主; 1817 – 1829) was the daughter of King Sunjo of Joseon and Royal Consort Sug-ui of the Miryang Park clan. Biography Princess Yeongon was born on May 11, 1817, as the only child of K ...

(영온옹주; 1817 – 1829), second daughter

His full posthumous name

King Sunjo has the 2nd longest posthumous name for an emperor of Korea. * English: King Sunjo Seongak Yeondeok Hyeondo Gyeongin Sunhui Cheseong Eungmyeong Heumgwang Seokgyeong Gyecheon Baegeuk Yungwon Donhyu Euihaeng Soyun Huihwa Junryeol Daejung Jijeong Honghun Cheolmo Geonsi Taehyeong Changun Honggi Gomyeong Bakhu Ganggeon Sujeong Gyetong Suryeok Gongyu Beommun Anmu Jeongryeong Gyeongseong-hyo the Great of Korea *

Hangul The Korean alphabet, known as Hangul, . Hangul may also be written as following South Korea's standard Romanization. ( ) in South Korea and Chosŏn'gŭl in North Korea, is the modern official writing system for the Korean language. The l ...

: *

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, ...

: 純祖先覺淵德顯道景仁純禧體聖凝命欽光錫慶繼天配極隆元敦休懿行昭倫熙化峻烈大中至正洪勳哲謨乾始泰亨昌運弘基高明博厚剛健粹精啓統垂曆建功裕範文安武靖英敬成孝肅皇帝

Ancestry

In popular culture

* Portrayed by Kim Seung-soo in the 2016 KBS2 TV series '' Love in the Moonlight''.

References