Yi Hae-won or Lee Hae-won (Hangul: 이해원, Hanja: 李海瑗; 24 April 1919 – 8 February 2020) was a Korean princess and a descendant of 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 ...

and

Empire of Korea The Korean Empire () was a Korean monarchical state proclaimed in October 1897 by Emperor Gojong of the Joseon dynasty. The empire stood until Japan's annexation of Korea in August 1910. During the Korean Empire, Emperor Gojong oversaw the Gwan ...

. She was born as the second daughter of Prince Imperial Ui who was the fifth son of

Emperor Gojong of Korea Gojong (; 8 September 1852 – 21 January 1919) was the monarch of Korea from 1864 to 1907. He reigned as the last King of Joseon from 1864 to 1897, and as the first Emperor of Korea from 1897 until his forced abdication in 1907. He is known ...

, her mother was one of Prince Ui's concubine, Lady Yi of Sudeok Hall. Yi was one of the pretenders, as well as her nephew,

Yi Won Yi Won () (born Yi Sang-Hyeob on 23 September 1962) is a great-grandson of Gojong of Korea and one of several who claim to be current head of the House of Yi. He worked as a general manager of Hyundai Home Shopping, a Hyundai Department Store ...

, who claimed to be the legitimate heir to the throne of the

Korean Imperial Household The House of Yi, also called the Yi dynasty (also transcribed as the Lee dynasty), was the royal family of the Joseon dynasty and later the imperial family of the Korean Empire, descended from the Joseon founder Yi Seong-gye. All of his descendant ...

. Yi died in February 2020 at the age of 100 in her house on Hanam City,

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 ...

Birth and marriage

Yi Haewon was born in Sadong Palace, which was an official residence of her family in

Keijō Keijō, or Gyeongseong, was an administrative district of Chōsen that corresponds to the present Seoul, the capital of South Korea. :ko:경성부, -(Seoul of Korea under Japanese rule) Honmachi The central district of Gyeongseong was Ho ...

and raised in Unhyeon Palace. After she graduated from Kyunggi Girls' High School in 1937, she then married Yi Seunggyu, who was kidnapped and compulsorily taken to North Korea during 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 ...

. They had three sons and one daughter.

Coronation

Following the death of her cousin

Yi Ku Francis Yi Ku (December 29, 1931 July 16, 2005) was a Korean prince who was head of the House of Yi from 1970 until 2005. He was a grandson of Emperor Gojong of the Joseon dynasty. Early life Ku was born in Kitashirakawa Palace (which is cu ...

on 16 July 2005, members of the imperial family chose his adopted son,

, as the next Head of the Korean Imperial Household, bestowing on him the title, the Hereditary Prince Imperial of Korea (Hwangsason), representative of an inherited title from Yi Ku. Contesting her nephew's claim and appointment to the throne, Yi Haewŏn announced the restoration of the

. A private coronation ceremony was held on 29 September 2006, during which Yi Haewŏn was bestowed the title, the "Empress of Korea". According to one of her half-brothers,

Yi Seok Yi Seok ( ko, 이석, ; born 3 August 1941) is a member of royalty from the House of Yi, the royal house of Joseon and Korean Empire. He is the 10th son of Prince Yi Kang, the fifth son of Emperor Gojong of Korea, and one of his consorts, Lady ...

, who was another pretender, other close royal member didn't approve such a ceremony; Yi Seok himself was also invited, but he didn't attend the ceremony, for he didn't know who the members of the "Imperial Family Association of Daehanjeguk" are.

Family

Yi Hae-won's husband, Yi Seung-gyu, descended from the Yongin Yi clan (용인 이씨, 龍仁李氏), according to the

Genealogy book A genealogy book or register is used in Asia and Europe to record the family history of ancestors. Greater China It is the Chinese tradition to record family members in a book, including every male born in the family, who they are married to, e ...

of the clan published in 1983. (Volume 3, Page 324) * Great-Grandfather ** Grand Internal Prince Heungseon (흥선대원군, 興宣大元君) (24 January 1820 - 22 February 1898) * Great-Grandmother ** Grand Internal Princess Consort Sunmok 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� ...

(순목대원비 민씨, 純穆大院妃閔氏) (3 February 1818 - 8 January 1898) * Grandfather **

Emperor Gojong Gojong (; 8 September 1852 – 21 January 1919) was the monarch of Korea from 1864 to 1907. He reigned as the last King of Joseon from 1864 to 1897, and as the first Emperor of Korea from 1897 until his forced abdication in 1907. He is known ...

(고종) (8 September 1852 - 21 January 1919) * Grandmother ** Imperial Consort Gwi-in 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 ...

(귀인 장씨, 貴人張氏) *Father: Yi Kang, Prince Imperial Ui (이강 의친왕) (30 March 1877 - 16 August 1955) *Mother: **Biological: Lady Yi Hui-chun of Sudeok Hall (수덕당 이희춘); Yi Kang's 5th concubine **Adoptive: Kim Su-deok, Princess Consort Imperial Ui (김수덕 의친왕비) ***Younger half-brother:

(이석, 李錫; born 3 August 1941) *Husband: **Yi Seung-gyu (이승규, 李昇圭; born 4 September 1917) ***Father-in-law: Yi Wan-yeong (이완영, 李完榮) (1895 - 1943), the only son of Yi Ju-sang (이주상, 李胄相). ***Mother-in-law: Lady Yi Hui-gyeong of the Hansan Yi clan (이희경, 李喜慶; born 1895), the daughter of Yi Deok-gyu (이덕규, 李德珪). *Children: #Son: Yi Jin-hyu (이진휴, 李鎭烋; born 24 January 1941) ##Daughter-in-law: Lady Yi Ae-seon (이애선, 李愛仙) #Son: Yi Jin-wang (이진왕, 李鎭旺; 14 November 1945 - December 2019) ##Daughter-in-law: Lady Park Jong-mi (박종미, 朴鍾美) #Daughter: Yi Jin-ju (이진주, 李鎭珠) (11 September 1947 - 1994), died unmarried. #Son: Yi Jin-hong (이진홍, 李鎭弘; born 24 July 1949)

References

External links

Coronation of Korea’s new empress leads to royal family controversy
{{DEFAULTSORT:Yi, Hae-won 1919 births 2020 deaths House of Yi South Korean centenarians People from Seoul Pretenders to the Korean throne Women centenarians

Birth and marriage

Coronation

Family

See also

References

External links