Queen Inseon, of the Deoksu Jang clan, was a posthumous name bestowed to the wife and queen consort of Yi Ho, King Hyojong.
15 Facts About Queen Inseon
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Queen Inseon was queen consort of Joseon from 1649 until her husband's death in 1659, after which she was honoured as Queen Dowager Hyosuk.
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Queen Inseon was the first Joseon queen consort with the experience of living in a foreign country.
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Queen Inseon was the youngest child and second daughter within her eldest sister and older brother.
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Queen Inseon's mother was from the Andong Kim clan and was the maternal grandniece of Kwon Yul; thus making Lady Jang the great-grandniece of the latter.
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Queen Inseon's maternal step-grandmother was a member of the Gwangsan Kim clan.
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Queen Inseon became a concubine of King Gojong, the last king of the Joseon Dynasty, and was the mother of Yi Kang, Prince Imperial Ui.
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Queen Inseon supported her husband by doing all sorts of difficult tasks for eight years, and she gave birth to 3 daughters and two sons there; one of them being her only son to reach adulthood, Yi Yeon.
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When this became known, the King tried to punish Yi An-bin, but the Queen Inseon adamantly persuaded the King to let it pass.
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The Queen Inseon exchanged written letters with her daughters who were married and among them, 70 copies of letters in Korean, sent between the Queen Inseon to Princess Sukshin and Princess Sukmyeong, are available currently.
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The Queen Inseon cherished Princess Suknyeong, Yi An-bin's daughter and the only child of Hyojong from his royal concubine, without discrimination.
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Furthermore, as the Queen Inseon advocated the expedition to conquer the north as much as Hyojong, during her tenure as queen consort, she eradicated exorcism and prohibited drinking.
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On this, even though the Queen Inseon expressed her sorrow through severe wailing, she gave her best to make the funeral process meaningful, and it's told that she personally trimmed his fingernails as well as toenails and washed his body.
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Queen Inseon's tomb is in Yeongneung, located in Wangdae-ri, Neungseo-myeon, Yeoju, Gyeonggi Province, and is buried together with her husband in the Dongwonsanghareung cluster.
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When Queen Inseon passed away, and because Injo's second consort, who was her six years younger mother-in-law, Queen Dowager Jaui, was present, the problem was known as "Yesong Dispute", which had become an issue after Hyojong's death, cropped up again.