King Hyeonjong | Queen Myeongseong Kim | The Flood Incident | King Sukjong | Cheongpung Kim Clan | Annals of the Joseon Dynasty
King Hyeonjong, the 18th king of Joseon, did not have a single concubine.
It is rare for a king of Joseon to leave such a record. His queen was only one woman of the Kim clan, and the mother of his children was also only one woman of the Kim clan. When the court urged him to expand his lineage, the King replied, "I have a Queen Consort."
However, the Annals did not record the reason for this. The records do not state whether the King chose only his wife, or whether the Queen prevented him from making other choices. The only certainty is that this couple's family was very small.
Because of that simplicity, the mother's fears would later be entirely directed toward her single son.
In the summer of 1674, her 33-year-old husband suddenly passed away. The son who ascended the throne was 14 years old. And on the night of March 14 of the following year, when candlelight was lit in the palace's Yadaecheong, the sound of a woman weeping leaked out from behind the closed doors. Only then did the ministers realize that the Queen Dowager was sitting just across the street.
Today's video follows the forty-two years of Queen Myeongseong Kim from beginning to end.
From the day she was chosen as Crown Princess at the age of ten in 1651, to 1659 when she ascended to the position of Queen Consort while wearing mourning clothes in front of her father-in-law King Hyojong's funeral hall, to her son Sun, whom she had waited seven years for, to 1673 when she buried two daughters in the same year, to the night she crossed the gate after her husband's departure, to the final moments of her father Kim U-myeong, to 1680 when she sent her son's mistress out of the palace, and finally to her last moments in Jeoseungjeon Hall in the winter of 1683.
The widely known story of the "water splash"—the tale of her dying after having cold water poured over her in the dead of winter to save her sick son—does not appear in the Annals of the Joseon Dynasty, nor in the biographical records written by her son. The person you will meet today is not a legend, but the real Kim recorded in historical records.
※ The Queen Myeongseong featured in this video is Queen Myeongseong Kim (1642–1683), the consort of the 18th King Hyeonjong. This is a different person from Empress Myeongseong, the consort of the 26th King Gojong. ────────────────
[Timeline]
00:00 A King Without Concubines
03:47 A Ten-Year-Old Bride
08:48 The Queen in Mourning Clothes
10:51 The Awaited Son
16:55 Two Daughters in One Year
19:38 The Thirty-Three-Year-Old Husband
21:05 The Fourteen-Year-Old King
23:16 The Incident of the Flood
26:07 Separated by a Single Gate
36:07 The Woman Sent Out of the Palace
42:58 There Was No Water Splash
47:04 The Chronicle Written by His Son
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📖 Historical Sources and References
· 『Hyunjong Sillok』 · 『Hyunjong Gaesu Sillok』
The absence of records regarding the appointment of concubines during the 15-year reign of King Hyunjong, and the lack of records regarding children other than those born to Queen Kim.
· 『Sukjong Sillok』 Year 1 of King Sukjong (1675) March 12
The memorial submitted by Kim U-myeong accusing Prince Bokchang, Prince Bokpyeong, and court ladies Kim Sang-eop and Gwi-rye — The Hongsu Incident
· *Annals of King Sukjong*, Year 1 of King Sukjong (1675), March 14
The night hall. The incident where a woman's weeping was heard from inside the door as candlelight was lit and the ministers entered,
The incident where the Queen Dowager explained the circumstances of the event through a single door,
The incident where King Sukjong stated, "I was unaware of the affairs of the royal court," and the incident where a royal decree was written on the spot.
· *Annals of King Sukjong*, Year 1 of King Sukjong (1675), March 14–15
The punishment of exile for those involved who were being discussed for the death penalty.
· *Annals of King Sukjong*, Year 1 of King Sukjong (1675), June
The death of Kim U-myeong. There are no historical records to confirm the accounts regarding illness or suicide.
· *Sukjong Sillok*, Year 6 of Sukjong (1680)
The Gyeongsin Restoration, and the expulsion of court lady Jang from the palace following the death of Queen Ingyeong.
· *Sukjong Sillok*, December 5, Year 9 of Sukjong (1683)
Passed away at Jeoseungjeon. The entry regarding the water splashing is not included in the record of the death.
· *Sukjong Sillok*, Appendix "Haengnok"
A writing left by Sukjong himself regarding his mother. The fact that King Hyojong took great care of the young Lady Kim and chose her as the Crown Princess,
The fact that she stayed by her parents-in-law's side all night, and the fact that she ate only porridge from the time of King Hyeonjong's mourning until the funeral procession,
"It is difficult to go from extravagance to frugality, but easy to go fro...
