Cheoljong

Cheoljong 25th King of the Joseon Dynasty
Fragment of a painting from 1861 showing King Cheoljong in a traditional military uniform.
Spelling of names
Hangeul	철종
Hanja	哲宗
Revised Romanization	Cheoljong
McCune-Reischauer	Ch'ŏljong
Reign
Reign of	1849
Reign until	1864
predecessor	King Heonjong
successor	King Gojong
Life dates
Born on the	July 25, 1831
place of birth	Hanseong , Joseon
Birth Name	이변
Hanja	李 昪
Revised Romanization	Yi Byeon
McCune-Reischauer	Yi Pyŏn
father	Prince Jeongye Daewongun
mother	Princess Yongseong
Death dates
Died on	January 16, 1864
Place of death	Hanseong , Joseon
tomb	Yereung, Seosamneung Area
Spouses, mistresses, offspring
Woman (s)	Queen Cheorin and six other ladies of the court
Sons	five sons whose names are not known
Daughters	Princess Yeonghye and five daughters, whose names are not known

Cheoljong ( Korean : 철종 ) (* July 25, 1831 in Hanseong , Joseon ; † January 16, 1864 ibid) was the 25th king of the Joseon Dynasty ( König 왕조 ) (1392–1910) in his reign from 1849 to 1864 Korea .

Life

Yi Byeon ( 이변 ) was 18 years old when King Heonjong ( 헌종 ) suddenly died in 1849, without leaving an heir to the throne, and Yi Byeon, the great-great-grandson of King Yeongjo ( 영조 ), was the only one in the royal line to succeed to the royal throne . His father Jeongye Daewongun ( 전계 대원군 ) was the son of Prince Euneongun ( 은언군 ) (Yi In ( 이인 )), who in turn was the third son of Prince Sado ( 사도 ) and was the second son of King Yeongjo.

In order to avoid the political entanglements at court for security reasons, Yi Byeon's family moved to Ganghwado Island ( 강화도 ), around 45 km northwest of the capital Hanseong . But their calm came to an abrupt end with the death of King Heonjong. While searching for the rightful successor within the Yi family, the Prime Minister of the country Yi Byeon found his family plowing a field in the country. He was quickly brought to the seat of government in Hanseong, where he was immediately crowned king under the name Cheoljong and just as quickly married to a woman from the powerful Kim clan from Andong ( 안동 ) who entered the country as Queen Cheorin ( 철인 ) Annals.

King Cheoljong was said to have remained a simple man despite his status as king and that his past and origins could always be seen in him. In 1862 this is probably why Yi Ha-jon 이하 존 , who saw himself as a member of the royal family as a better and more worthy possible king, tried to overthrow King Cheoljong, which he failed, and instead of being executed, he killed himself with poison could.

King Cheoljong, who was not averse to food and drink, fell victim to his own excesses and finally died on January 16, 1864. Although he had fathered five sons and six daughters, only one daughter survived him, and the kingdom was again in the same place Situation, like on his predecessor's death, that no son of the reigning king could succeed him and an heir to the throne had to be found again within the widely ramified Yi family.

literature

• Han Young Woo : Joseon Era . In: A Review of Korean History . Volume 2 . Kyongsaewon Publishing Company , Pajubookcity, Gyeonggi-do 2010, ISBN 978-89-8341-092-4 (English).

Individual evidence

1. ↑ 철종 어진 ( 哲宗 御 眞 ). In: Cultural Heritage Administration . December 29, 2006, accessed March 18, 2019 .  
2. ↑ Han : Joseon Era . 2010, p.  308 .
3. ↑ ^{a b c} Robert Neff : Child kings . In: Korea Times . January 4, 2013, accessed March 18, 2019 .