Queen Sindeok

Early life

The future Queen Sindeok was born during the reign of King Chunghye of Goryeo, to Kang Yun-seong and his wife, a lady of the Jinju Kang clan. Her father died when she was 2 years old.

Lady Kang's uncle, Kang Yun-chung, was the future King Taejo's uncle-in-law as the son-in-law of Yi Ja-heung, Grand Prince Wanchang (King Dojo's eldest son and King Hwanjo's elder brother). Through this relationship, she was able to come into contact with Yi Seong-gye and soon became his wife.

Meeting and marriage

According to legends, Yi Seong-gye's first meeting with Lady Kang happened as such: one day while hunting a tiger, Yi Seong-gye got thirsty and found a well, and there was a woman at the well. When Yi Seong-gye asked the woman to pour him some water, she poured water into a gourd and then floated a handful of willow leaves on top of the water. At this, Yi Seong-gye rebuked her, saying, "What kind of evil is this?". The woman replied shyly that she had to rush because he was thirsty, and if he drank the cold water, he would get sick. After hearing this, Yi Seong-gye was deeply moved by, and looked carefully at the oustandingly beautiful woman. He was mesmerized by the her wisdom and beauty. The woman at the well was Lady Kang. This story is the same as the story of the meeting between King Taejo of Goryeo and Queen Janghwa. Queen Janghwa and Queen Sindeok were both daughters of powerful local nobility and the second wives of the founder of their respective dynasties.

During the Goryeo period, aristocratic men were allowed two wives; one wife was known as the kyŏngch'ŏ (경처), the capital wife, while the other wife was known as the hyangch'ŏ (향처), the countryside wife. Lady Kang married Yi Seong-gye in the late 1360s or early 1370s as his second (kyŏngch'ŏ) wife. At the time of the marriage, Lady Kang was more than 20 years younger than her husband; he already had a first (hyangch'ŏ) wife and at least four sons, with the eldest among them being older than Lady Kang.

In March 1392 (lunisolar calendar), when Yi Seong-gye was seriously injured after falling off his horse and Jeong Mong-ju attempted to eliminate him, Lady Kang urgently sent Yi Seong-gye's fifth son, Yi Bang-won, who was observing mourning at the tomb of his mother, to bring Yi Seong-gye safely to the capital.

Furthermore, it was said that it was Lady Kang who appeased Yi Seong-gye's anger when he severely rebuked Yi Bang-won for assassinating Jeong Mong-ju.

With the founding of the new dynasty, Lady Kang became the first queen of Joseon and received the honorific name Queen Hyeon (현비; lit. ''Illustrious Consort''). She was also called Queen Kang (강비), and during the Goryeo period she had been known as Mistress Boryeongtaek (보령택주; lit. ''Mistress of Boryeong^[c] Residence'').

Involvement in politics

Lady Kang made a political alliance with Jeong Do-jeon, and successfully convinced King Taejo to choose her second son, Yi Bang-seok, as successor to the throne.^[1]

The adult sons of Queen Sinui, particularly Yi Bang-won (known as Prince Jeongan at the time), were outraged by the fact that their youngest half-brother, who was 10 years old at the time and hadn't contributed in any way to the founding of Joseon, had become the crown prince.

Death and aftermath

Lady Kang died four years after her second son's appointment as crown prince. She was buried within Jeongneung (정릉), in present-day Seongbuk District, Seoul, South Korea.

Her death affected King Taejo immensely. To pray for her soul, he built a small hermitage next to her tomb, and had incense and tea offered every morning and evening. He then ordered the construction of Heungcheonsa Temple to the east of the tomb; as soon as it was completed, it became a daily routine for Taejo to visit his wife's tomb and the temple. After touring the two sites, he would spend the evenings with his two sons by Lady Kang, and only return to his chambers upon hearing the temple bell ringing to announce the offering of prayers at the tomb. Moreover, Taejo would only pick up his chopsticks to eat during meals after hearing the Buddhist scriptures being chanted to pray for Lady Kang's repose.

Soon after Lady Kang's death, the First Strife of the Princes broke out, resulting in the elimination of her sons, and the death of her son-in-law, leaving her only daughter, Princess Gyeongsun, to become a Buddhist nun. As she had completely captivated King Taejo and, with the help of figures like Jeong Do-jeon, had her own son appointed as crown prince, the resentment of Queen Sinui's children against her had long reached its peak. Ultimately, this resentment persisted even after Lady Kang's death and became the cause for King Taejong later establishing regulations that banned concubine-born sons from taking the civil service examination, effectively barring them from becoming high-ranking government officials.^[1]