Consort of King Hyeonjong and mother of King Sukjong; daughter of Gim U-myeong
| Life | 1642 ~ 1684 |
| Era | 조선 후기 |
| Clan | 청풍 김씨 |
Queen Myeongseong (1642-1684), of the Cheongpung Gim clan, was consort of King Hyeonjong, the 18th Joseon king, and mother of King Sukjong. Her father was Prince Cheongpung Gim U-myeong and her mother Lady Deogeun of the Eunjin Song clan. She became crown princess in 1651, married the heir Hyeonjong in December that year and became queen when he took the throne in 1659.
She had one son and three daughters: Sukjong and Princesses Myeongseon, Myeonghye and Myeongan. The first two daughters died one after another in 1673. After Sukjong’s accession in 1674 she became queen dowager; Sukjong ruled in person without regency and is said to have resented and often ignored her interference.
In the 1675 Hongsu affair she claimed the royal kinsmen Bokchang, Bokseon and Bokpyeong had consorted with palace women and threatened the king’s authority; her father submitted a memorial and she pleaded in tears before the king. With little evidence the three were released and later banished, and Southerners condemned her political interference. Her cousin Gim Seok-ju is said to have led the later Gyeongsin purge. She died in January 1684 aged 41.
Her posthumous title is Myeongseong, with the full style Hyeonyeol Huiin Jeongheon Mundeok Myeongseong; the honorific Hyeonyeol was added in 1676. The tomb is Sungneung in Donggureung.
She is not Empress Myeongseong (of the Min clan), Gojong’s consort; Queen Myeongseong of the Kim clan was Hyeonjong’s queen.
Her tomb, Sungneung, lies within Donggureung in Guri, Gyeonggi, shared with Hyeonjong.
Mother of King Sukjong; Queen Hyoui, consort of Jeongjo, came from the same Cheongpung Gim family.