Ui-bin Seong


Royal Noble Consort Ui of the Changnyeong Seong clan（Hangul:의빈 성씨 ; Hanja: 宜嬪成氏） was a concubine of King Jeongjo.

Biography

The future Royal Noble Consort Ui was born on the August 6, 1753. Her name is Deok-Im. She was the daughter of Seong Yun-u and Lady Im. Seong Yun-u was the slave of Hong Bong-han, who was the father of Lady Hyegyeong. In 1762, At a ten age, Lady Seong entered the royal palace to be trained as a palace maid. She then became a personal maid of Lady Hyegyeong, who was the mother of King Jeongjo.
In 1766, Jeongjo proposed to the Lady Seong. But she refused it. In 1773, she transcribed《gwagjangyangmunrog》, which was the Korean novel, with princess Cheongyeon and Cheongseon, who were little sisters of Jeongjo. In 1782, Jeongjo proposed to the Lady Seong again. But she refused it again. So, he punished her slave. After that, they were married.
Jeongjo made Seong Sang-ui. On September 7, 1782, Lady Seong was elevated to the rank of "so-young", after giving birth to a son, Prince Yi Sun. In November 1782, Prince Hyang was granted the name Prince Successor Munhyo and Lady Seong was elevated to the rank of "Bin" with the prefix of "Ui" meaning "appropriate/fitting". On March 20, 1784, Lady Seong gave birth to an unnamed Princess, who died soon after birth.
On July 2, 1784, Prince Successor Munhyo was invested as Crown Prince of Joseon. On May 11, 1786, Crown Prince Munhyo died at the age of 4 years. Four months after the death of her son, Lady Seong died during the tenth month of her third pregnancy. The unborn child died with her. King Jeongjo wrote her epitaph.
Lady Seong was buried along with her son, Crown Prince Munhyo, in Hyochangwon in Seosamneung. Her tomb was originally located in Yong-San, Seoul, but was moved during the forcible Japanese Annexation period in 1944 by the Japanese Government.

Family