Consort of Crown Prince Hyojang (posthumously King Jinjong), eldest son of Yeongjo; adoptive mother of Jeongjo; daughter of Jo Mun-myeong
| Life | 1716 ~ 1751 |
| Era | 조선 후기 |
| Clan | 풍양 조씨 |
Queen Hyosun of the Jo clan was a daughter of Jo Mun-myeong of the Pungyang Jo clan, born in 1716 (December 1715 by the lunar calendar). Selected through a formal process in 1727 (Yeongjo 3), she became consort of Yeongjo's eldest son, Crown Prince Hyojang, but he died at ten the next year and she had no heir.
When Crown Prince Sado was born in 1735 she could no longer be called crown princess and was given the title Hyeonbin. Yeongjo favored his daughter-in-law for understanding his mind, and his own account of her records that she personally boiled chestnuts for him because he liked them. She died of illness at Changdeokgung in 1751.
In 1764 Yeongjo made the royal grandson (the future Jeongjo) the adopted son of Crown Prince Hyojang, making her Jeongjo's adoptive mother, and when Jeongjo took the throne in 1776 and honored Hyojang as King Jinjong, she was honored as Queen Hyosun. Under the Korean Empire in 1908 she was raised to Empress Hyosun Sohwanghu. Her tomb is Yeongneung, one of the Paju Samneung.
Widowed when her husband died young, she received the separate title Hyeonbin after Crown Prince Sado was born. Yeongjo recorded his affection for her in her biography.
Through the 1764 adoption Jeongjo became heir to Crown Prince Hyojang, and after his accession she was honored as queen. Her father Jo Mun-myeong thus became Jeongjo's adoptive maternal grandfather on paper.
Yeongneung, one of the Paju Samneung (three tombs) in Paju, Gyeonggi; she was buried with Crown Prince Hyojang and the tomb was later raised to Yeongneung.
Her elder brother was Left State Councillor Jo Jae-ho and her uncle Chief State Councillor Jo Hyeon-myeong. She had no heir of her own and adopted Jeongjo as her son.