Queen Myeongseong

Queen Myeongseong (13 June 1642 – 21 January 1684) also known as Queen Dowager Hyeonryeol (현렬왕대비) was a wife and the Queen Consort of King Hyeonjong of Joseon, the 18th monarch of the Joseon Dynasty.She was of the Cheongpung Kim clan (명성왕후 김씨)

She was the queen consort of Hyeonjong and mother of Sukjong. Queen Myeongseong (명성왕후) was a wise and intelligent figure, but her fierce personality was said to be the reason why her husband did not have any concubine throughout his lifetime. She became Royal Queen Dowager Hyeonryeol (현렬왕대비) when her son, Sukjong, was crowned as the king. Queen Myeongseong frequently intervened in the court, criticizing the Southerners (Namin) and framed Grand Prince Inpyeong’s sons (Princes Bokchang, Bokseon, and Bokpyeong) with the accusation of adultery with the palace maids. The reason was that she viewed them as threats to her son’s position.

However, there was no evidence to support her accusation and because of her claim, her father ended up being the suspect of initiating the slander against the princes. Queen Myeongseong took it up to herself and knelt outside her quarters, pleading for her son Sukjong to prove the princes’ crime. In the end, Sukjong exiled the three princes and the Southerners mocked her as a reincarnation of Queen Munjeong because of her intervention in the politics. Her father chose to confine himself in his house following the incident as he felt humiliated and he died because of severe depression.

After hearing about Sukjong’s relationship with a palace attendant (Lady Jang), Queen Myeongseong sent the attendant out of the palace since her low status would make the woman ignorant and wicked in her opinion. However, the real reason was the woman’s family background as Southerners made the queen thought that she entered the palace to become a spy for the Southerners. She set up a ceremony to pray for her son’s recovery after Sukjong felt unconscious. Queen Myeongseong was a firm believer of Shamanism and upon consulting with a shaman, decided to pray and get doused with water while wearing summer clothes although it was winter at that time. She was hit with a bad flu and died in the same year. Although the ministers urged for the shaman to be executed, Sukjong decided to exile her.