Queen Hyojeong

Lady Hong was born on 6 March 1831 into the Namyang Hong clan to Hong Jae-ryeong and Lady Ahn of the Juksan Ahn clan. She was the eldest within four children.

After the first young queen consort, Queen Hyohyeon, had died in 1843, Lady Hong was arranged to become new Queen Consort of Joseon after the mourning period ended. She married Heonjong at the age of 14 in 1844 where the marriage ceremony was held within the palace.

A folding screen which was depicted all the pomp and ceremony of a royal wedding of Heonjong of Joseon and Queen Hyojeong

As she was the king’s wife, her mother was given the royal title of "Internal Princess Consort Yeonchang" (Hangul: 연창부부인, Hanja: 延昌府夫人), and her father was given the royal title of "Internal Prince Ikpung" (Hangul: 익풍부원군, Hanja: 益豊府院君). But her husband soon died in 1849 at the age of 22; leaving no heirs and making her Queen Dowager of Joseon at the age of 19.

After Grand Queen Dowager Myeonggyeong's death in 1857, she was elevated to the rank of Queen Dowager. Together with the Queen Dowager at that time, Queen Cheorin, it was said that to appease her own boredom, Queen Hyojeong had worked with Queen Cheorin to take care of the younger court ladies in the palace.[2] Queen Hyojeong raised a young court attendant at the Dowager’s residence. The court attendant’s name was Cheon Il-cheong (Hangul: 천일청, Hanja: 千一淸); who was supposedly the last court attendant in the Joseon Dynasty.[3]

Because the throne was vacant, this led to a distant relative, Cheoljong of Joseon, to take the throne in 1849, but then the king also died in 1864 leaving the throne empty. The Heungseon Daewongun then approached the Queen Shinjeong, Cheoljong's cousin, as he was a distant relative of King Injo and the adoptive son of Prince Eunsin.

The Heungseon Daewongun was ineligible to throne due to a law that dictated that any possible heir to the kingdom be part of the generation after the most recent incumbent of the throne, but his second son Yi Myeong-bok, was a possible successor to the throne. On 21 January 1864, Yi Myeong-bok was enthroned as King Gojong.

The Queen Dowager’s mother-in-law, Grand Queen Dowager Hyoyu, died in 1890. Although she was the most senior royal member, she did not promote to Grand Queen Dowager and continued being Queen Dowager throughout the reigns of King Cheoljong and King Gojong.

It wasn’t until Gojong’s proclamation of the Korean Empire that the Queen Dowager became and held the title of being the empire’s only Empress Dowager of Korea on 13 October 1897.

She later died on 2 January 1904 within the palace quarters of Gyeongun Palace, now known as the Deoksu Palace, during the 7th year of Emperor Gwangmu’s reign.

She was later given “Hyojeong” (효정, 孝定) for her posthumous title along with “Seong” (성, 成) added to it. She is sometimes called Queen Myeongheon (명헌왕후, 明憲王后) but her actual posthumous title is Queen Hyojeong.

Her tomb, Gyeongneung, is located in Donggureung, in the city of Guri, Gyeonggi Province, and is buried with her husband, Heonjong, and his first wife, Queen Hyohyeon.