Princess Yi Gu-ji (; ? - 7 March 1489) was a

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 princess, writer, artist, and poet. She was forced to commit suicide after it was discovered that she had cohabited with a slave after being widowed.Veritable Records of Seongjong, volume 225.

Life

Yi Gu-ji was an illegitimate daughter of

Prince Yangnyeong Grand Prince Yangnyeong (Hangul: 양녕대군, Hanja: 讓寧大君, 1394–1462) was a former Crown Prince of the Joseon Dynasty of Korea. He was the first son and fourth child of King Taejong and his wife, Queen Wongyeong. Yangnyeong was the ...

, first son of the third Joseon king,

Taejong of Joseon Taejong of Joseon (13 June 1367 – 8 June 1422), personal name Yi Bang-won (Korean: 이방원; Hanja: 李芳遠), was the third ruler of the Joseon dynasty of Korea and the father of King Sejong the Great. Before ascending to the throne, he wa ...

and

Queen Wongyeong Queen Wongyeong (원경왕후 민씨; 29 July 1365 – 18 August 1420) of the Yeoheung Min clan, was the primary wife of Taejong of Joseon, and the mother of Sejong the Great. She was queen consort of Joseon from 1400, and was honored as Queen J ...

. Her mother was a palace slave of Crown Prince Yangnyeong, whom he had two children with. She had an unnamed sister. Yi was given the title of Princess () and married Gwon Deok-young (), a lesser official, and went to live in

Gwangju Gwangju () is South Korea's sixth-largest metropolis. It is a designated metropolitan city under the direct control of the central government's Home Minister. The city was also the capital of South Jeolla Province until the provincial office ...

, her husband's hometown. They had two sons. Gwon died in 1470 and Yi was prevented from remarrying by social stigma, then by the issuing of the Anti-Remarriage Law of 1477.

Investigation

In 1475, it was reported to the

Saheonbu Saheonbu ( ko, 사헌부; Hanja: , ) administered inspections during Goryeo and Joseon dynasty in Korea. The organ inspected Hanyang, the capital, and periphery. It has several nicknames. It was also responsible for licensing officials, impeachmen ...

that Yi had been cohabiting with her slave. Heo Gye (허계), the head department of the Saheonbu, requested that the situation be investigated without resorting to interrogation. He proposed that Cheonrye be moved to his residence, where the man could be questioned.Veritable Records of Seongjong, volume 62 One official reported that his son travelling from

had heard rumours of an aristocratic lady who was liaising with a slave, while another official said that his servant had observed Cheonrye sleeping and eating in the room next to his mistress' bedchamber. Seongjong, however, refused to arrest Yi based on gossip alone. This caused much dispute amongst officials on the policy of 'arresting regardless of suspicion', which some argued should apply only to common people and not the private affairs of an aristocratic lady. In 1489, the

reported that Yi Guji had mothered a daughter by her slave, who had married the previous year. The officials now argued that, though any previous investigation had been dismissed, this was a case of public morality. Seongjong ordered that all servants be tortured to investigate the claim.Veritable Records of Seongjong, volume 218 Cheonrye died during the interrogation and more than 40 people were arrested.Veritable Records of Seongjong, volume 221 Though some members of the government argued that death was too strong a punishment for a woman of the royal clan, it was agreed that death was more respectful than torture, and Yi was condemned.Veritable Records of Seongjong, volume 226 Yi’s daughter, Jun-bi, was not involved in her mother’s investigation as she had already left home in 1488, a year before Yi was executed, and was considered a part of her husband’s family.

Posthumous

Yi was deleted from the royal family lineage (Sunwonrok) and her name remained taboo until the end of the Joseon Dynasty. Eoudong, Yu Gam-dong, Hwang Jin-yi, and Princess Consort Daebang (the aunt of

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 ...

) are said to be examples of obscene women who didn’t stay faithful during the Joseon Dynasty. In the 1970s, her name was found in the

Veritable Records of the Joseon Dynasty The ''Veritable Records of the Joseon Dynasty'' (also known as the ''Annals of the Joseon Dynasty'' or the ''True Record of the Joseon Dynasty''; ko, 조선왕조실록 and ) are the annual records of Joseon, the last royal house to rule ...

during the production of a new

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 let ...

version.

Family

* Father - Yi Je, Grand Prince Yangnyeong (이제 양녕대군) (1394 - 7 September 1462) ** Grandmother -

of the

Yeoheung Min clan The Yeoheung Min clan () is a Korean clan that traces its origin to Yeoju, Gyeonggi Province. The 2015 Korean Census counted 167,124 members of the Yeoheung Min clan. Origin The Yeoheung Min clan's progenitor was Min Ching-do (민칭도, 閔� ...

(원경왕후 민씨) (29 July 1365 - 18 August 1420) ** Grandfather - King Taejong of Joseon (조선 태종) (13 June 1367 - 30 May 1422) * Mother ** Unknown slave * Sibling(s) ** Older sister - Lady Yi of the Jeonju Yi clan (전주 이씨, 全州李氏) *** Brother-in-law - Gwon Chi-jong (권치중, 權致中) * Husbands and their children ** Gwon Deok-yeong (권덕영, 權德榮) (? - 1470) *** Unnamed son *** Unnamed son ** Cheonrye (천례, 天禮) (? - 4 October 1488) *** Daughter - Jun-bi (준비, 准非) (1475? - ?) **** Unnamed son-in-law

References

Notes

Works cited

* *

External links

조선왕조실록
{{DEFAULTSORT:Yi, Guji Year of birth unknown 1489 deaths Korean writers Korean female dancers 15th-century Korean poets Korean artists 15th-century Korean women writers 15th-century Korean writers 15th-century Korean painters People from North Chungcheong Province House of Yi Korean women poets 15th-century dancers Princesses of Joseon 15th-century Korean women