Heonjong of Joseon


Heonjong of Joseon was the 24th king of the Joseon Dynasty of Korea. He was the grandson of Sunjo. His father was Crown Prince Hyomyeong, who died at the age of 20 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 7 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 within the Donggureung Tomb Cluster in Seoul, where several kings and queens of the Joseon Dynasty were buried. 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

  1. Queen Hyohyeon of the Andong Kim clan
  2. Queen Hyojeong of the Namyang Hong clan
  3. Royal Noble Consort Gyeong of the Gwangsan Kim clan
  4. Royal Noble Consort Jeong of the Yun clan
  5. Royal Consort Suk-ui of the Gimhae Kim clan
  6. #Unnamed daughter

    Full posthumous name