House of Yi

House of Yi
(Korean Imperial Household)

Country	Joseon Dynasty, Korean Empire
Ancestral house	Jeonju Yi
Titles	King of Korea, Emperor of Korea
Founder	King Taejo
Final sovereign	Emperor Sunjong
Current head	Yi Won^[1]
Founding	1392
Deposition	1910: Korea annexed by Japan
Cadet branches	125 cadet branches (approximately 105 extant) including: House of Grand Prince Royal Hyoryeong House of Grand Prince Royal Gwangpyeong House of Prince Royal Deokcheon House of Prince Royal Milseong House of Grand Prince Royal Yangnyeong

The House of Yi, also called the Korean Imperial Household, was the household of the Joseon Dynasty and Korean Empire, consisting of the descendants of the Yi Seong-gye, the founder of the Joseon Dynasty. Yi Seong-gye is known as Taejo: The Great Ancestor. All his descendants are members of the Jeonju Yi clan, including the imperial family of the Korean Empire (1897–1910).

After the annexation of the Korean Peninsula by Empire of Japan in 1910, some members of the Yi clan were mediatized into the Korean royal family and the Korean peerage by the Japanese government^[2] until 1947, just before the Japanese Constitution was promulgated.^[3] Since then, their status as royalty has not been acknowledged by any country, however they continue to attract occasional media attention in South Korea. This happened most recently with the July 2005 funeral of Prince Gu, former head of the royal household.

At present, Prince Chung is the de jure genealogical heir to the heads of the imperial family, when male primogeniture is applied. However, he has not taken an active position on the debate over the leadership of the imperial family between his two relatives, Hereditary Prince Imperial Won (a first cousin and the son of the 9th son of Prince Ui) and Princess Haewon (his aunt and second eldest daughter of Prince Ui).

1 History
2 Known Descendants Today
3 Title
4 House of Yi family tree
5 The Korean throne since 1910
6 Notes
7 See also

History

Colonial rule (1910–1945)

In a complicated series of manoeuvres and counter-manoeuvres, Japan pushed back the Russian fleet in 1905.

Korea became a protectorate of Japan in 1895 when Japan forced Emperor Gojong to abdicate and Japanese assassinated his consort, Myeongseong. Japan annexed the country in 1910, and Korea became part of Imperial Japan.

During the colonial rule, the members of Yi family were mediatized into the royal family (Ōkōzoku, 王公族) or made Korean nobles (Chosen-kizoku, 朝鮮貴族).

Eunists

Emperor Gojong had nine sons and four daughters, but only three princes, as well as one princess: the second son, Crown Prince Cheok; the sixth son, Prince Gang and the seventh son, Prince Eun. The second son, Cheok became Emperor Sunjong of Korea, the last monarch of Korea. As Emperor Sunjong died without issue, his younger brother, Prince Eun became the crown prince. His elder brother Prince Gang should have taken the position but was passed over because Eun's mother, Princess Sunheon, had a higher status in the court than Gang's mother, Lady Chang.

After Emperor Sunjong died in 1926, Crown Prince Eun was called "King Lee of Korea", a nominal title because the country had already lost its sovereignty to Japan. Crown Prince Eun married Japanese noblewoman Princess Masako Nashimoto (later, Crown Princess Bangja of Korea), a member of Miyake family. Some Koreans accused Japan that Princess Bangja, once one of three candidates considered to be the bride of the Japanese emperor, was instead designated as Eun's wife because a medical test indicated she could be barren. As a result some media claimed the arranged marriage was Japan's imperialist conspiracy to terminate the Korean imperial lineage. However, Princess Bangja gave birth to Prince Jin in 1921 and Prince Gu in 1931.

Post-liberation

After Korea's liberation in 1945, President Syngman Rhee suppressed the imperial family in order to prevent the restoration of the monarchy as he feared that the its return would challenge his emerging authority as the new republic's founding father. Rhee seized and nationalized most of the family's properties. The imperial family also had to shoulder the psychological and historical burden of their ancestors' responsibility for the "collapse of the nation". Stripped of most of their wealth and authority, some fled to the United States and Latin America. In addition, many of the former members of the Gaeseong branch of the family had their lands repossessed and were forced to leave Korea after the military/republican government took hold in the South. Known descendants currently reside in New Jersey and New York, one of which married the daughter of a former Italian Duchess.

It was only in 1963 that a new president, Park Chung-hee, allowed the imperial family, including Princess Dukhye, to return to Korea. However, they could only stay at Nakseon Hall, a small residence in a corner of Changdeok Palace in Seoul. Crown Prince Eun died seven years later after a long illness resulting from strokes. Prince Gu was forced by other family members to divorce his American wife, the former Julia Mullock, in 1982 due to her sterility (the couple, however, had an adopted daughter). A series of business failures left Prince Gu without support, and he died alone at the Akasaka Prince Hotel in Tokyo on July 16, 2005. The site of the hotel had been his birthplace 74 years prior.

Gangists

Emperor Gojong's sixth son, Prince Gang, fathered 13 sons and 9 daughters by 14 women. With an extremely wide range of historical evaluations over him—womanizer and behind the scene leader of the independent movement—the Japanese authorities limited the activities of the prince throughout the occupation. President Syngman Rhee's seizure of the imperial properties deprived Prince Gang of most of his wealth. According to the prince's 11th son, Prince Seok, his mother, Hong Chong-sun, was forced to sell noodles as a street vendor to make a living.

In 1998, it was reported that Prince Gang's eighth son died alone in a social center in eastern Seoul. The eleventh son, Prince Seok, works as a lecturer at the University of Jeonju as of 2005. Among Prince Gang's surviving four sons and seven daughters, four lost touch with the family after they left for the United States. The other family members hold an ancestral ritual two times a year for Prince Gang, but usually only two or three of the 11 surviving siblings attend the ceremonies.

Known Descendants Today

Yi Chung (born 1936) is the genealogical male-line heir of Emperor Gojong. He is the eldest son of Prince Wu of Korea, who inherited the title of Prince Heung with the 4th head of Unhyun Palace and his wife Princess Chanju, a granddaughter of Marquis Park Yeonghyo, who was a son-in-law of King Cheoljong of Joseon.

At the age of nine, Prince Heung inherited Unhyeon Palace, where Emperor Gojong was born, after his father died in the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. In 1947, his father's elder brother, Prince Gun (Momoyama Ken'ichi), acquired Japanese citizenship. This change of citizenship made Prince Chung the direct heir of his grandfather, Prince Imperial Ui, who died in 1955. On 1991, after the death of his mother, Prince Chung returned his ancestral home of Unhyeon Palace to the Seoul city government.

At present, Prince Chung is de jure genealogical heir to the headship of the Imperial family when male primogeniture is applied. However, he has not taken an active position on the debate between leadership of Imperial family between his two relatives, Hereditary Prince Imperial Won (a first cousin and the son of the 9th son of Prince Ui) and Princess Haewon (aunt of Prince Won and second eldest daughter of Prince Ui). Titularly reigning since the death of her predecessor, Prince Hoeun, on 16 July 2005, Princess Haewŏn was enthroned as symbolic monarch of Korea on 29 September 2006 by the Korean Imperial Family Association, organized by about a dozen descendants of Joseon Dynasty. She lays claim to the title of Empress of Korea and declared the restoration of Imperial House in her own succession ceremony. The private enthronement was not approved or supported by the republican government of South Korea.

Title

At present, the is no official recognition title conferred to the head of Korean Imperial Household by the Korean republican government. Nevertheless, it is assumed that the current title hold by the present enthroned descendant Princess Yi Haewon titular Empress of Korea is - Her Imperial Highness. Although Prince Yi Chung of Korea is the head of the household inherited from his father by male primogeniture.

House of Yi family tree

adoption

1335–1408
Taejo
1392–1398⁽¹⁾

1357–1419
Jeongjong
1398–1400⁽²⁾

1367–1422
Taejong
1400–1418⁽³⁾

1397–1450
Sejong the Great
1418–1450⁽⁴⁾

1414–1452
Munjong
1450–1452⁽⁵⁾

1417–1468
Sejo
1455–1468⁽⁷⁾

1441–1457
Danjong
1452–1455⁽⁶⁾

1438–1457
Crown Prince Uigyeong

1450–1469
Yejong
1468–1469⁽⁸⁾

1457–1494
Seongjong
1469–1494⁽⁹⁾

1476–1506
Yeonsangun
1494–1506⁽¹⁰⁾

1486–1544
Jungjong
1506–1544⁽¹¹⁾

1515–1545
Injong
1544–1545⁽¹²⁾

1530–1559
Prince Deokheung

1534–1567
Myeongjong
1545–1567⁽¹³⁾

1552–1608
Seonjo
1567–1608⁽¹⁴⁾

1574–1641
Gwanghaegun
1608–1623⁽¹⁵⁾

1580–1619
Grand Prince Jeongwon

1598–1624
Prince Heungan

1595–1649
Injo
1623–1649⁽¹⁶⁾

1612–1645
Crown Prince Sohyeon

1619–1659
Hyojong
1649–1659⁽¹⁷⁾

1622–1658
Grand Prince Inpyeong

1641–1674
Hyeonjong
1659–1674⁽¹⁸⁾

Prince Boknyeong

1661–1720
Sukjong
1674–1720⁽¹⁹⁾

Prince Uiwon

1688–1724
Gyeongjong
1720–1724⁽²⁰⁾

1694–1776
Yeongjo
1724–1776⁽²¹⁾

Prince Anheung

1719–1728
Crown Prince Hyojang

1735–1762
Crown Prince Sado

Yi Shin Ik

1752–1800
Jeongjo
1776–1800⁽²²⁾

1754–1801
Prince Euneon

1755–1771
Prince Eunsin

Yi Byeong Won

1790–1834
Sunjo
1800–1834⁽²³⁾

1785–1841
Prince Jeongye

1788–1836
Prince Namyeon

1809–1830
Crown Prince Hyomyong

1831–1863
Cheoljong
1849–1863⁽²⁵⁾

1821–1898
Heungseon Daewongun

1827–1849
Heonjong
1834–1849⁽²⁴⁾

1852–1919
Gojong (Gwangmu)
King 1863–1897⁽²⁶⁾
Emp. 1897–1907

1874–1926
Sunjong (Yunghui)
Emp. 1907–1910⁽²⁷⁾
[1910–1926]

1877–1955
Prince Uihwa

1897–1970
Crown Prince Euimin
[1926–1970]⁽²⁸⁾

1912–1989
Princess Deokhye

1912–1945
Prince Wu

1919–
Princess Haewon
[2005– ]?

1938–
Prince Gap

1931–2005
Prince Hoeun
[1970–2005]⁽²⁹⁾

1936–
Prince Chung

1962–
Yi Won
[2005– ]?

The Korean throne since 1910

Emperor Sunjong (1910–1926)
Crown Prince Yi Un (1926–1970)
Prince Yi Ku (1970–2005)
Yi Won or Prince Yi Seok (2005–present)

— Royal house — House of Yi Founding year: 1392
Preceded by House of Wang	Ruling House of Korea 1392–1910	Vacant Dynasty deposed (Japanese annexation)

Notes

^ Choi Sung-Un, "Reviving Joseon", Invest Korea Journal, Mar-Apr 2010.
^ Japan-Korea Annexation Treaty article 3
^ 皇室令及附屬法令廢止ノ件