Consort of King Gongmin of Goryeo; Buddhist name Deokwol; known for the edicts enthroning Kings U and Chang and the handover of the royal seal
| Life | 1352 ~ 1428 |
| Era | 고려 말~조선 초 |
| Clan | 죽산 안씨 |
Consort Jeongbi An (定妃 安氏, 1352-1428) was a consort of King Gongmin of Goryeo and a member of the Juksan An clan. Wikipedia says she was born in 1352 in Jukju (Yanggwang province) and died on the 14th of the fifth lunar month of 1428 in Yangju, Gyeonggi. Her Buddhist name was Deokwol and she was also called Uihwa Gungju. Her father was An Geuk-in, Lord Jukseong, and her mother was of the Gari Yi clan; her brother An Suk-ro's daughter became King U's consort Hyeonbi An. Her husband was King Gongmin and she had no children. Sejong's son-in-law An Maeng-dam was a grandson of her brother An Suk-ro.
Gongmin took her as a concubine in 1366 and later made her Jeongbi. Wikipedia says that when her father An Geuk-in was dismissed for opposing the building of a memorial hall for the king, she too was expelled from the palace for a time, and it describes her conduct harshly by quoting the king's own criticism. In 1372, when Gongmin reportedly ordered members of the Jajewi to assault his consorts, she is said to have refused along with Hyebi Yi and Sinbi Yeom. Such accounts may be read differently depending on interpretation of the sources and should be treated cautiously.
After Gongmin was assassinated in 1374 she became a Buddhist nun. According to Wikipedia she issued the edicts enthroning King U in 1388 and King Chang in 1389, and in 1392 handed the royal seal to Yi Seong-gye, which led to the fall of Goryeo and the founding of Joseon. After the founding she was demoted to Uihwa Gungju and the Veritable Records show wine being supplied to her. Wikipedia mentions a tale that she lived in poor health and despair and took her own life, but presents it as hearsay. She appears in many historical dramas, whose portrayals are fictional and should be distinguished from the real person. In the account of the An Jun line of the Old Juksan An, An Geuk-in is mentioned as her father, showing that the family was maternal kin to the royal house in late Goryeo.
Wikipedia says that when Consort Jeongbi An handed the royal seal to Yi Seong-gye in 1392, Goryeo came to an end. It also records her edicts enthroning King U (1388) and King Chang (1389).
She appears in dramas such as Gaeguk (1983), Tears of the Dragon (1996-98), Shin Don (2005-06), Jeong Do-jeon (2014), Six Flying Dragons (2015-16) and Taejong Yi Bang-won (2021-). Drama portrayals are fiction and should be distinguished from historical records.
Her tomb was not confirmed.
She had no children. Her niece Hyeonbi An was the ninth consort of King U, and her father An Geuk-in was enfeoffed as Lord Jukseong.