[K-Women Talk] Queen Sinui Han: The Mother of Joseon We Never Knew

This is a story about someone who was the first among the greatest at this place but is hardly known. Queen Sinui Han. She was the first wife of Taejo Yi Seong-gye and the mother of Yi Bang-won. Originally, Lady Han was a native of Hamgyeong Province. Her father was Han Gyeong, who was said to be a powerful local noble in that region.

However, when Yi Seong-gye rose to prominence and moved into Kaesong, Lady Han’s family lost their influence and never became royal in-laws in the Joseon dynasty. Even if they had, Yi Bang-won would not have let it be.

What was the married life of Lady Han and Yi Seong-gye like? According to the Annals, Yi Seong-gye was busy going on military campaigns, so the household management and raising their children (six sons and two daughters) were entirely Lady Han’s responsibility. It certainly was not easy. Even Yi Bang-won, the future king, must have been a child who clung to his mother’s skirt and cried loudly at the age of five.

Then, as Yi Seong-gye gained military achievements, he married a second wife from the powerful and noble Kang family, who was more than 20 years younger. Although the discrimination between legitimate and illegitimate children was not as severe in the Goryeo period as in Joseon, it still existed. Moreover, Lady Kang was young, from a prestigious family, and a sophisticated city woman. Yi Seong-gye favored Lady Kang greatly. We cannot know how Lady Han felt about this situation, but in any case, they regarded each other as family. When Goryeo soldiers tried to take Yi Seong-gye’s family hostage during the Wihwado Retreat, Lady Han’s son Yi Bang-won took care of both families and fled. His half-brother Yi Bang-seok also rode on his horse, so there must have been some affection between them.

Yi Seong-gye founded Joseon, but Lady Han passed away before seeing this, at the age of 55. It was just ten months before the founding of Joseon. The first queen of Joseon was Lady Kang, and Lady Han was given only the title Jeolbi (Virtuous Consort). Furthermore, Lady Kang’s youngest son Bang-seok was appointed crown prince. When Lady Kang died of illness, Taejo was deeply grieved, posthumously honored her as Queen Shindeok, and placed her tomb near Jeongdong, close to Gyeongbokgung Palace, visiting often. However, Lady Han was never given the title of queen. No matter what, she was the first wife, but Taejo was too harsh. It was probably to strengthen the young crown prince’s position that no room was left for Lady Han.

But what could be done? Lady Han’s child was Yi Bang-won. He instigated the First Strife of Princes and ended his father’s reign. Eventually, Lady Han was honored as Queen Sinui, and her tomb was renovated befitting a queen, while Lady Kang was demoted to concubine status and her tomb became modest. Afterward, the son used his mother as an excuse. In the 6th year of King Taejong’s reign, Taejong was in a power struggle with officials and intended to abdicate to the then 12-year-old crown prince (Prince Yangnyeong), but Lady Han appeared in her son’s dreams every day, asking, “Are you trying to starve me?” Taejong used this as an excuse to cancel the abdication. Whether this story is true or not, ‘fortunately,’ the successor became King Sejong, and Lady Han was able to partake in ancestral rites for a long time.

What kind of person was Lady Han? A native woman born and raised in the cold, barren, and remote Hamgyeong Province. Yet, all Joseon kings and their descendants were her offspring, making Lady Han truly the mother of Joseon. Neither Taejo Yi Seong-gye nor Taejong left detailed stories about what kind of person she was.

Perhaps she was really a simple, unremarkable woman. If so, it explains why Yi Seong-gye took Lady Shindeok as a new wife and why the children did not speak of their mother’s memory. Isn’t that even more interesting? A rural, insignificant country woman became the beginning of a great kingdom. She was Queen Sinui Han, mother of Jeongjong and Taejong, and grandmother of Sejong.

Writer Lee Han