Queen Insu


Queen Insu was the only wife of Crown Prince Uigyeong of Joseon. She was given the title honorary Queen Insu when her son became king in 1469. 'Queen Sohye' is her posthumous name. She was co-regent of Korea during the minority of her sons alongside her mother-in-law Queen Jeonghui.

Life

She was a member of the Chongju Han family, a powerful yangban family with a long tradition of providing male family members to the royal administration offices and women members to the posts of royal consorts. She was given a high education in Confucian values and the Chinese classics.
She was selected to be the consort of the crown prince in accordance to tradition. In 1455, her husband was appointed crown prince, and she his first ranked consort. In the royal palace, she became known for her scholarly interest in Confucian education and devoted to the education of the royal grandsons. She had a good relationship to the king, who referred to her as a good daughter-in-law. When her husband died, her father-in-law entrusted her with the care of her son the crown prince.
When her son succeeded to the throne in 1468, he gave her the title Queen Insu. In 1474, she was given the title Queen Dowager Insu. She was named regent during the minority of her son, in co-regency with her mother-in-law.
She died when she was pushed by her grandson king Yeonsangun after an altercation.
After her death, he named her Queen Sohye.

Authorship

She was the author of the Naehun from 1475, a Confucian morality guidebook for women, describing appropriate behavior for a woman in accordance with Confucian ideals; with the exception of a few poems, this is the first known book written by a woman in Korea.

Family