Heonjong of Joseon

Heonjong of Joseon (8 September 1827 – 25 July 1849) was the 24th king of the Joseon Dynasty of Korea. He was the grandson of Sunjo. His father was Crown Prince Hyomyeong (posthumously named Ikjong), who died at the age of 21 before becoming king and his mother was Queen Sinjeong of the Pungyang Jo clan. Heonjong was born three-years before Hyomyeong's death.

Biography

Heonjong ascended to the throne in 1834 at the age of 8 after his grandfather, King Sunjo, died. Like King Sunjo, Heonjong took the throne at a young age and his grandmother, Queen Sunwon served as regent. Although King Heonjong ascended to the throne, he had no political control over Joseon. When Heonjong reached adulthood, Queen Sunwon refused to give up control. In 1840, the control over the kingdom was then handed down to the Andong Kims, the family of his grandmother Queen Sunwon, following the anti-Catholic Gihae persecution of 1839.

King Heonjong died after reigning for 15 years in 1849 at the age of 21. He was buried at the Gyeongneung tomb withn the Donggureung Tomb Cluster in Seoul, where several kings and queens of the Joseon Dynasty was buried.^[1] As King Heonjong died without an heir, the throne passed to a distant descendant of King Yeongjo, King Cheoljong.

As was customary with the Annals of the Joseon Dynasty, the chronicle of Heonjong's reign was compiled after his death, in 1851. The compilation of the 16-volume chronicle was supervised by Jo In-yeong.

Family

• Father: Prince Munjo, then Crown Prince Hyomyeong (효명 세자, 1809–1830). Posthumous name: "Ikjong" (익종).
• Mother: Queen Sinjeong of the Pungyang Jo clan (신정왕후 조씨, 1808–1890), daughter of Jo Man-yeong (조만영, 1776–1846) and Lady Seong.
• Consorts and their Respective Issue(s):

1. Queen Hyohyeon of the Andong Kim clan (효현왕후 김씨), daughter of Kim Jo-geun (김조근), posthumously known as "Hyohyeon, The Seong Empress" (효현성황후)
   1. No issue
2. Queen Myeongheon of the Hong clan (명헌왕후 홍씨)^[2]
   1. A Daughter, who died at childbirth
3. Royal Noble Consort Gyeong of the Kim clan (경빈 김씨)
   1. No issue
4. Kim Suk-ui (숙의 김씨)
   1. A Daughter, who died at childbirth" />

Full posthumous name

• King Heonjong Jangsuk Chegeon Gyegeuk Jungjeong Gwangdae Jiseong Gwangdeok Hongun Janghwa Gyungmun Wimu Myeongin Cheolhyo the Great of Korea
• 헌종장숙체건계극중정광대지성광덕홍운장화경문위무명인철효대왕
• 獻宗莊肅體健繼極中正光大至聖廣德弘運章化經文緯武明仁哲孝大王

Ancestry

See also

• List of Rulers of Korea
• Joseon Dynasty politics
• Joseon Dynasty
• History of Korea
• List of Korea-related topics

References