인목왕후 仁穆王后
Second queen of King Seonjo, mother of Grand Prince Yeongchang and Princess Jeongmyeong; confined in the West Palace and restored after the 1623 coup
| Life | 1584 ~ 1632 |
| Era | 조선 중기 |
| Clan | 연안 김씨 |
Life & career
Queen Inmok of the Yeonan Kim clan (1584-1632) was the second consort of King Seonjo. She was the second daughter of Prince Kim Je-nam, was invested as queen in 1602 after Queen Uiin's death, and bore Princess Jeongmyeong (1603) and Grand Prince Yeongchang (1606).
After Seonjo's death in 1608 she issued a vernacular decree confirming Gwanghaegun's succession and became queen dowager. In the Gyechuk affair of 1613, however, her father was executed, her son killed, and her brothers and a brother-in-law put to death. She was confined with her daughter in Seogeodang at Gyeongungung, and stripped of her title after the deposition debate, being called merely the 'West Palace'.
She was restored after the 1623 coup and served to legitimize King Injo's accession, becoming Grand Queen Dowager the next year. She died in 1632. The Gyechuk Diary, thought to be by a palace woman, narrates her confinement; part of a Bomungyeong sutra in her hand survives at Yujeomsa on Mt. Geumgang, and a poem in her calligraphy is Treasure No. 627.
Becoming Queen
She was invested as queen in 1602 after the death of Queen Uiin. Her mother was Lady Gwangsan of the Gwangju No clan and her father Kim Je-nam was a great-grandson of Kim Jeon.
Family Ruin and Confinement
The 1613 case, launched on charges of plotting to enthrone Yeongchang, took her father and her young son. The deposition debate followed under Great Northerner dominance, and she was shut in the West Palace.
Restoration and Records
Restored in 1623, she affirmed Injo's legitimacy. The Gyechuk Diary, the Treasure No. 627 poem in her hand, and the octagonal five-story pagoda of Sujongsa (Treasure No. 1808) are associated with her.
Grave
The exact name and location of her tomb were not confirmed here.