Royal son-in-law of King Yeongjo, husband of Princess Hwayu, enfeoffed as Changseong-wi and leader of repeated embassies to Qing
| Life | 1740 ~ 1802 |
| Era | 조선 후기 |
| Clan | 창원 황씨 |
Hwang In-jeom (黃仁點, 1740-1802) was a late Joseon official and son-in-law of King Yeongjo. He belonged to the Sijung-gong line of the Changwon Hwang clan, the third son of Hwang Jae (黃梓), Vice-Minister of Taxation, and a half-brother of Hwang In-geom, Minister of Personnel. His great-grandfather Hwang Heum rose to Minister of Personnel under Sukjong. In 1751 he was betrothed to Yeongjo's tenth daughter, Princess Hwayu, and given the title Changseong-wi (昌城尉).
Just before the wedding the princess's half-sister Princess Hwahyeop died and the ceremony was halted; he married in 1753 and left the palace two years later. They had one son and one daughter, and the princess died of a boil in 1777. After Yeongjo's death he wrote the elegy, and between 1776 and 1793, under Jeongjo, he went to Beijing six times as chief envoy on thanksgiving, winter solstice and birthday missions. Other sources give seven trips, so counts differ.
In 1784 Yi Seung-hun, travelling with an embassy to Beijing, brought back Catholic books such as the True Meaning of the Lord of Heaven, and the matter later came back to haunt the envoys. During the 1801 Catholic persecution he was stripped of office for failing as chief envoy to prevent it, on the order of the Queen Dowager Jeongsun. He died on 4 October 1802; his only son Hwang Gi-ok had died before him. The episode shows the court's cautious handling of royal sons-in-law.
His father Hwang Jae passed the civil examination under Sukjong and served as Vice-Minister of Taxation (some sources say Deputy Director and Inspector-General) and is said to have left the travel records Gabin Yeonhaengnok and Gyeongo Yeonhaengnok about Qing trips. That Hwang In-jeom later went to Beijing so often probably owes something to both his father's experience and his status as royal son-in-law, though the circumstances were not confirmed.
The match was set in 1751 but delayed by the death of Princess Hwahyeop, and the wedding took place in 1753. Princess Hwayu died in 1777.
From Jeongjo's accession in 1776 until 1793 he went to Beijing repeatedly on congratulatory, winter solstice and birthday missions. Sources count six or seven trips.
He was stripped of office in 1801 over the 1784 importation of Catholic books. The annals record that the court had at first been reluctant to punish a royal son-in-law directly.
The location of his tomb was not confirmed.
With Princess Hwayu he had a son, Hwang Gi-ok, who died young, and a daughter; a daughter by a concubine is said to have married Kim Son-geun.