Deok-bi Jo
Royal Consort Deok of the Jo clan (Korean: 덕비 조씨; Hanja: 德妃 趙氏), personal name Bonggayi (Korean: 봉가이; Hanja: 鳳加伊) was a Korean Royal Consort as the 7th wife of King U of Goryeo. She was also known as Princess Suknyeong or Consort Heon.
| Royal Consort Deok-Bi Jo 덕비 조씨 | |
|---|---|
| Royal consort of Goryeo | |
| Tenure | c.1385 – 1388 |
| Coronation | c.1385 |
| Predecessor | Royal Consort Jeong |
| Successor | Royal Consort Seon |
| Born | Bonggayi Kingdom of Goryeo |
| Spouse | U of Goryeo |
| House | Jo clan (by birth) House of Wang (by marriage) |
| Father | Jo Yeong-gil (조영길) |
| Mother | servant of Yi In-im |
| Religion | Buddhism |
She firstly met King U at Yi In-im (이인임)'s house in 1384 and became his consort shortly after being favored by him. Following this, her father was given a horse while the king and Bonggayi went to the suburbs everyday to play together. Despite there are old laws called "Cheonjasumobeop" (천자수모법) that if a mother was a slave, then her children were also a slave, which Bonggayi was regarded as Yi's slave too. However, her family status was changed after she became a royal consort.
However, in the same year too, Consort Suk accused an incident to be done by Bonggayi since she was jealous that Bonggayi was the king's most favourite concubine at this time. Then, in 1385, Bonggayi was made as Princess Suknyeong (숙녕옹주, 肅寧翁主) and promoted to Consort Heon (헌비, 憲妃) a year later while stayed in Suknyeong Mansion (숙녕부, 肅寧府) which was specially made for her, but the king became very angry after knowing that there weren't any gem decorations to give to her. She formally became Consort Deok (덕비, 德妃) in 1387 after accused Consort Suk for wearing such impolite accessories and advised the king to not kill innocent people recklessly.
In 1388, alongside the king and his other consorts, they were all exiled to Saga while Bonggayi's father was exiled and died after he caught of sneaking into Gaegyeong.