Chungseon of Goryeo


King Chungseon of Goryeo was the 28th king of the Goryeo dynasty of Korea. He is sometimes known by his Mongolian name, Iǰirbuqa. Adept at calligraphy and painting, rather than politics, he generally preferred the life of the Yuan capital Beijing to that of the Goryeo capital Kaesong. He was the eldest son of King Chungryeol; his mother was a Yuan royal, Queen Jangmok, a daughter of Khublai Khan also known by her Mongolian name/title Qutlugh-kelmysh.

Biography

In 1277, King Chungseon was confirmed as Crown Prince; in the following year he travelled to China and received his Mongolian name.
In 1296, he was married to the Yuan Princess Botapsillin. However, the king already had three Korean wives, the daughters of the powerful nobles Jo In-gyu, Hong Mun-gye, and Seo Won-hu.
King Chungseon's mother died in 1297, and this was followed by a violent purge brought on by allegations that she had been murdered. Perhaps upset by these events, King Chungnyeol petitioned Yuan to abdicate the throne and was accordingly replaced by King Chungseon in 1298. Faced with intense plotting between the faction of his Mongolian queen and his Korean queen, King Chungseon returned the throne to his father shortly thereafter.
He became the Prince of Shenyang, a new title, in 1307 or 1308. After his father's death in 1308, King Chungseon was obliged to return to the throne of Goryeo and made efforts to reform court politics, but spent as much time as possible in China. The title King of Shenyang was renamed Prince of Shen in 1310. He is a very rare case of personal unions in East Asia. He retired from the throne in 1313, and was replaced by King Chungsuk of Goryeo. King Chungseon was briefly sent into exile in Tibet after the death of the emperor Renzong of Yuan but was permitted soon thereafter to return to Beijing, where he died in 1325.

Family

  1. Grand Princess Gyeguk of the Borjigin clan
  2. Royal Consort Yasokjin Ui-Bi
  3. #Wang Gam, Prince Gwangreung
  4. #King Chungsuk of Goryeo
  5. Royal Consort Jeong-Bi of the Kaesong Wang clan
  6. Royal Consort Jo-Bi of the Pyeongyang Jo clan
  7. Royal Consort Sunhwa Won-Bi of the Namyang Hong clan
  8. Royal Consort Sun-Bi of the Yangcheon Heo clan
  9. Unnamed consort
  10. #Wang Hye, Prince Deokheung
  11. #Unnamed son
  12. #Princess Suchun

    Popular culture