Deokhye, Princess of Korea
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| Deokhye, Princess of Korea | |
|---|---|
| Hangul: |
덕혜옹주
|
| Hanja: |
德惠翁主
|
| Revised Romanization: | Deokhye Ongju |
| McCune-Reischauer: | Tŏkhye Ongju |
Princess Deokhye of Korea (25 May 1912 - 21 April 1989) was the last Princess of Korea.
She was born on 25 May 1912 at Changdeok Palace in Seoul. She was the youngest daughter of Emperor Gwangmu and his concubine, Lady Boknyung. In 1917, her name was formally entered into the Imperial Family's registry. Her father, Emperor Gwangmu, loved her greatly, and established the Deoksu Palace Kindergarten for her in Jeukjodang, Hamnyeong hall. Girls her age from noble families attended the kindergarten. In 1919, she was secretly engaged to Kim Jang-han, a nephew of Kim Hwangjin (a court chamberlain) and was taken to Japan under the pretense of continuing her studies. Like her brothers, she attended the Gakushuin. In the Spring of 1930, upon the onset of mental illness (manifested by sleepwalking), she moved to King Lee's Palace, her brother Crown Prince Eun's house in Tokyo. Her physician diagnosed her illness as precocious dementia, but by the following year, her condition seemed to have improved.
In May 1931, after "matchmaking" by Empress Sadako, a wife of Emperor Taisho of Japan, she married Count Takeyuki Sou, a Japanese nobleman. She gave birth to a daughter, Masae (正惠) on 14 August 1932. Suffering an unhappy marriage, her grief was compounded by the loss of her only daughter who committed suicide by drowning. After this, her condition deteriorated, and she finally divorced her husband in 1953.
She returned to Korea at the invitation of the Korean government on 26 January 1962. She cried while approaching her motherland, and despite her mental state, accurately remembered the court manners. She lived in Nakseon Hall, Changdeok Palace, with Crown Prince and Princess Eun, their son Prince Gu, his wife Princess Julia, and Mrs Byeon Bokdong, her lady-in-waiting. She died on 21 April 1989 at Sugang Hall, Changdeok Palace, and was buried at Hongryureung in Namyangju, near Seoul.
