Queen Munjeong (; 12 December 1501 – 15 May 1565In Lunar Calendar, the Queen was born on 22 October 1501 and died on 6 April 1565), of the Papyeong Yun clan, was a posthumous name bestowed to the third wife and queen consort of Yi Yeok, King Jungjong. She was queen consort of Joseon from 1517 until her husband's death in 1544, after which she was honoured as Queen Dowager Seongryeol () during the reign of her step-son, Yi Ho, King Injong. She was later honored as Grand Queen Dowager Seongryeol () during the reign of her son, Yi Hwan, King Myeongjong.
Queen Munjeong acted as regent during the minority of her son between 1545 and 1553 when she stepped down from the position formally but retained enough power to become the de facto ruler of the Joseon Empire for nearly 20 years She was an effective administrator and the most influential supporter of Buddhism during the early Joseon dynasty. She gave out the land to the common people that had been formerly owned by the nobility. During her regency, her brother, Yun Wŏnhyŏng, wielded enormous power to wipe out their opposition and led the Fourth Literati Purge of 1545 as she also exercised enormous power to eventually become one of the most powerful Queens of the Joseon Dynasty.
Biography Early life and background The future queen was born on 12 December 1501 during the reign of King Yeonsan. Her father, Yun Ji-Im, was member of the Papyeong Yun clan. Her mother was member of the Jeonui Lee clan.
She was a 12th great-granddaughter of Yun Kwan, a Goryeo Dynasty general. Her nephew eventually married the only daughter of Princess Hyohye, who was also the granddaughter of Kim Allo. She was also a 5th cousin once removed of Queen Janggyeong, the second spouse of her future husband. As well as a 3rd great-grandniece of Queen Jeonghui, and a fourth cousin twice removed of Queen Jeonghyeon.
King Yeonsan was deposed in 1506 after a serious altercation with his Grandmother the Grand Queen Dowager Insu, which resulted into her being pushed down the stairs of her residence and falling to her death. His younger half-brother, Jungjong, was placed on the throne as the eleventh king of Joseon by leaders of the Hungu factions, the established power elites at that time who had led the coup. Jungjong's royal authority was limited due to powerful coup leaders who had put him on the throne. At the age of 10, Lady Yun had to cope with the death of her mother in 1511 and took on the task of caring for her younger siblings. She was considered a pretty and thoughtful girl in her youth.
Yun Myung-hye of the Papyeong Yun clan who was Jungjong's second queen consort died in 1515 after shortly giving birth to the Crown Prince Yi Ho and was posthumously honoured as Queen Janggyeong. Two officials from Sarim faction which was more lenient to empowering the King had petitioned him to restore status of the Deposed Queen Sin, Jungjong's first queen consort, who was deposed by Hungu faction in 1506. The officials who belonged to the Hungu faction were against the idea and retaliated by causing the two officials to be exiled. Queen Dowager Jasun who was Jungjong's mother as the Elder of the Palace decided to exercise her Royal prerogative, largely influenced by her political allies most of which were led by Yun Im and picked a new queen consort from her own clan, Papyeong Yun.김재영, 조선의 인물 뒤집어 읽기 (도서출판 삼인, 1999) 79페이지 This decision was supported by Yun Im, brother of Queen Janggyeong and uncle of her son, the Crown Prince. The Queen from the Papyeong Yun clan was expected to be the Crown Prince's protectress and secondly, the Queen Dowager was cautious as the elevation of one of Jungjong's three Royal Noble Consorts whose father's were the leaders of the Hungu faction to the position of Queen would have severely curtailed Royal power. So after mourning for two years, Yun Ji-Im's daughter was selected to become the new queen consort when she was 17-years-old and married the 29-year-old King Jungjong in 1517.《조선왕 독살사건》/이덕일 저/다산글방.
As Royal Queen Consort After Cho Kwangjo's death (he having been the most powerful leader of the Sarim faction), dozens of Sarim scholars were exiled during the literati purge in 1520, leading to Jungjong's royal authority being diminished and his being no longer able to rule on his own again after he had made earlier successful progress under Cho Kwangjo's protection. His reign was marked by a tumultuous struggle among various conservative factions, each of them backed by one of the King's consorts. Nam Kon and Sim Chŏng's faction and Kim Allo's faction vied for power after Kim Allo's son married Jungjong's eldest daughter and in the most dramatic way the Hungu faction split up into three distinct centres of political power. Nam Kon and Sim Chŏng connived with one another and ousted Kim Allo from the political arena for abusing power resulting in his exile.
Although the young Queen Yun was technically the king's Principal Consort by official amendment, Jungjong's concubines were older than her and some of them had more power as princes' mothers which surpassed her own, for instance Park Gyeong-bin who was Prince Bokseong's mother and Hong Hui-bin who was Prince Geumwon's mother. Park Gyeong-bin was also the adoptive daughter of Park Won-jong, the maternal uncle of Queen Janggyeong. Park was also the younger brother of Grand Internal Princess Consort Seungpyeong, the wife of Grand Prince Wolsan and daughter-in-law of Queen Insu.
Hong Hui-bin was the daughter of Hong Kyŏngju, one of the Hungu faction leaders. Hong Kyŏngju, Nam Kon and Sim Chŏng were collectively called "Evil Three of Gimyo" because of their role in the literati purge. Park Gyeong-bin and Hong Hui-bin were supporters of the faction.
To protect the Crown Prince from rival royal concubines, Yun formed alliances with court officials. These actions allowed her to maintain her position at court and led her to become involved in state affairs, albeit in a limited capacity, as early as age 18.
During her early years as the Queen, she had a bad relationship with Park Gyeong-bin who devised a plan to place Bokseong in line to the throne by having the Crown Prince deposed and the Queen opposed it. Park Gyeong-bin was also plotting all sorts of conspiracy to monopolize Jungjong's love which dramatically estranged her relationship with her husband to the point that he barely paid any attention to her and frequented Park Gyeong-bin's residence which scarred her own prestige and the Queen.김재영, 조선의 인물 뒤집어 읽기 (도서출판 삼인, 1999) 80페이지 On the other hand, the Queen herself gave birth to three daughters and had no son for 17 years despite Jungjong's expectation to have a prince which only intensified the arrogance of the three Consorts.
Queen Yun as a result decided to retaliate first by manipulating the protection of her mother-in-law the Royal Queen Dowager Jasun who dared to stand up against the three Royal Noble Consorts. It is to be considered that Joseon having been a strongly confucian state that emphasized filial piety and the strict ranking system, the Consorts went to great lengths to refrain from annoying the Queen Dowager who was more strict on affairs of the Internal Court. After her father's death in 1522 Hong Hui-bin herself lost her prominence, a background upon which the young Queen succeeded in having her ousted from Royal precincts on charges of misusing Royal Authority and disrespecting the Queen who was the head of the Naemyeongbu.
Kim Allo soon returned from exile after Nam Kon's death. After receiving a special pardon from Jungjong, whose realization had led him to believe that the latter's presence was necessary to restrain resistance from Nam Kon's extremist supporters and as he was desperate to settle the scores, his first action was to accuse Sim Chŏng for accepting bribes from Park Gyeong-bin to help her put Prince Bokseong in line for the throne. Kim went ahead to fabricate evidence framing Sim Chŏng and Gyeong-bin on the charge of cursing the Crown Prince using witchcraft after voodoo objects were unearthed in the young prince’s Palace, an act which was strongly condemned and punishable by death. Jungjong eager but cunning and wise enough to not show it acquiesced to grant a Kim Allo a Royal sanction with ease that permitted Sim Chŏng, Park Gyeong-bin and Prince Bokseong's execution in cold blood in 1533 immediately.
The political scene however having appeared temporarily relaxed was finally tempered in 1534. Queen Yun herself after much longing and frustration finally gave birth to a son, Yi Hwan, who was honoured as Grand Prince Gyeongwon (), an event which became the most significant turning point in her political career. The birth of the Grand Prince though well received by the Royal Family, especially by Jungjong, aroused what was not only Kim Allo's concern, but that of many of his supporters who had gained political momentum in the Royal Court.
Kim Allo, who had started becoming cautious of the Queen earlier on, was even rumoured to fathom having one of his relatives be elevated to the Queen's position, something that the mature Queen Yun had perhaps foreseen. Once word reached her ears, she acted out immediately by gathering her own circle of political sympathizers especially those from her own clan. Kim Allo, in the name of protecting the Crown Prince as his excuse, influenced a number of high ranking officials who submitted petitions in an attempt to depose the Queen because her son was considered a threat for the Crown Prince's position.
Queen Yun who had noticed the plot beforehand had, through her infant son, won over the affection of her husband and in turn persuaded the King to get rid of him instead assuring him of the support of her clan which would strengthen his Royal Authority. Jungjong on the other hand had seemingly grown concerned with Kim Allo's political influence as the Queen had made it seem that the high ranking officials were loyal to him and not the King of the country. Kim Allo had more than once influenced a series of discreet political decisions and kept some affairs secret from the King, the Queen triumphed in creating an irreparable rift between her husband and Kim.
In the most dramatic network, Queen Yun leagued herself with high and low ranking officials, and Kim Allo was accused of misusing Royal Authority, disregarding the Queen, corruption and selling of official positions while manipulating Royal favor with the King which ended with his execution in 1537. The incident had the unfortunate consequence of isolating the Queen, whose intervention in the political strife having been publicized, ended the alliance system she had forged in her favor. For the embattled woman who had been liable to falling victim to a fatal political machination which would have cost her her life, and those of her kin, she realized that it was useless to be in a high position without wielding tremendous power.
After Kim Allo's death, Yun Im as the Crown Prince's Chief protector and the Queen's brothers, Yun Wollo and Yun Wŏnhyŏng filled the power vacuum. Ultimately, many officials gathered around the two new centers of power which eventually developed from the political conflagration that split the Hungu faction into two separate political factions. Yun Im's faction became known as 'Greater Yun', itself consisting of the majority whose hopes were the exploits of future power upon the ascension of the Crown Prince and the Yun brothers' faction as 'Lesser Yun.'